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The Nuggets are wasting Nikola Jokic's time

August 10, 2024; Paris, France; Serbia's power forward Nikola Jokic (15) reacts after a play against Germany in the men's basketball bronze medal game during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win's basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to have it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Do you have any feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this short reader survey. This is Mike Sykes

Happy Friday, people! Welcome back to Layup Lines. Thank you for being with me today. I hope you had a happy Halloween and have a fantastic weekend ahead.

It's still very early in the NBA season, so it's probably not the best time to respond to the slow starts from all the teams that aren't as good as we think they should be at this point. The Denver Nuggets are certainly one of those teams. Denver is 2-2 after four games so far, but could easily be 0-4 after picking up two overtime wins against poor competition earlier in the season.

That's not the part of their season that concerns me the most. It honestly has nothing to do with the game on the pitch. Rather, I think the mentality of the front office today should raise the eyebrows of Nuggets fans.

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reports that the Nuggets had a chance to grab Paul George this offseason, but passed up that chance. Why? Because to get George, Denver would have had to give up younger players to pay the required salary.

Here's Shelburne with more.

“League sources said the Nuggets inquired about Paul George this offseason, but the talks never escalated because Denver refused to talk about Braun, Watson or Strawther, and the Clippers weren't just interested in future salaries “To take back – probably the $147 million owed to Porter and Zeke Nnaji.”

Fundamentally, the Nuggets are reluctant to give up on young pieces, even if it means adding a proven All-Star caliber piece to a championship core.

Here's the deal. Paul George is by no means a sure bet to help the Nuggets win a championship. He was an All-Star last season, but it's been years since he was an All-NBA caliber player. He will be 35 at the end of this season and his next contract should be very expensive. The Nuggets, like many other teams around the league, are wary of the NBA's second frontcourt.

Beware of the apron: How the NBA's second frontcourt is tearing apart your favorite teams

But here's the thing: When you have arguably the best player in the NBA on your side, sometimes you just have to give it your all. Sometimes that means chasing a player like Paul George. Sometimes it means keeping expensive players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope around. Sometimes it means letting go of younger people you could make something of to try and get things done now.

Jokic is 29 years old. He's in his prime and coming off his third MVP season in four years. Getting him the best help possible should be the Nuggets' top priority. That might mean not waiting for Julian Strawther or Payton Watson to succeed.

The Nuggets want to have their cake and eat it too. It's the whole “two timeline” approach the Warriors tried, but much worse. At least for Golden State, Jordan Poole had developed into a regular player. Jonathan Kuminga was a lottery pick. James Wiseman was brimming with potential.

The Nuggets don't really have these players. At best, the names in the squad are supplementary players who could make a big contribution in supporting roles this season. In the worst case, they won't matter at all.

These are the players Denver is betting on right now. And after such a slow start to the season, it looks like the risk far outweighs the reward.

Wemby does Wemby things

Oct 9, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) looks up during the first half against the Orlando Magic at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory attribution: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images ORG XMIT: IMAGN-885373 ORIG FILE ID: 20241009_tbs_da8_159.JPGOct 9, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) looks up during the first half against the Orlando Magic at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory attribution: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images ORG XMIT: IMAGN-885373 ORIG FILE ID: 20241009_tbs_da8_159.JPG

Oct 9, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) looks up during the first half against the Orlando Magic at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory attribution: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images ORG XMIT: IMAGN-885373 ORIG FILE ID: 20241009_tbs_da8_159.JPG

Speaking of a slow start to the season, Victor Wembanyama definitely had one this year.

That slow start is over after he managed his second five-on-five game of his career on Thursday night. He finished the Spurs' game against Utah with 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals and five blocks.

According to Stat Muse, he is the only player in NBA history younger than 22 to play a five-by-five game. He also joins Hakeem Olajuwon and Andrei Kirilenko as the only players in league history to ever play more than one five-by-five game Pod of Fame Jim Miloch.

This guy is about to destroy the NBA.

Shootaround

— We discussed whether Bronny James should cut down the nets after his first basket. This is hilarious.

– Speaking of the first basket: LeBron was unmoved. Cory Woodroof has more to offer.

– Robert Zeglinski ranked the best rivalries in the NBA today.

— Wemby's refusal to say Chet Holmgren's name because of their rivalry is pretty wild.

That's it, folks. Thank you for reading. I wish you a great weekend. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

This article originally appeared on For The Win: The Nuggets are wasting Nikola Jokic's time

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