Report: Nuggets interested in acquiring Jokic’s Serbian teammate

When the Denver Nuggets dumped Reggie Jackson to the Charlotte Hornets earlier this offseason it seemed obvious who the team might be trying to get back. Of course, the Nuggets just ended up eating Jackson at the cost of three second-rounders in a somewhat puzzling move.

Jackson was coming off an up-and-down season but surely lived up to a $5 million expiring contract. The confusing trade left the Nuggets without a backup guard which they solved by signing the Nikola Jokic-recommended future Hall of Famer Russell Westbrook. But what if Jokic still has a recommendation about somebody playing for Charlotte, who could be an obvious fit?

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Nuggets could be a landing spot for Serbian national team point guard Vasilije Micic.

However, the Nuggets do not have a roster spot open and are up against the second-apron supertax that have been trying to avoid all summer.

“With a salary of $7.7 million this season and an $8.1 million team option in 2025-26, Vasilije Micić continues to be mentioned as a potential down-the-road trade target for Denver given Micic’s close relationship with Nuggets star Nikola Jokić,” Stein wrote. “Bear in mind, though, Denver is just $5 million or so shy of the second luxury tax apron and thus couldn’t absorb Micic’s contract without dreaded second-apron complications. The Hornets could also elect to keep Micic around to play behind former All-Star LaMelo Ball.”

If the Nuggets do bring in Micic it’s likely as a third-string guard, or if Westbrook did not pan out, or if one of Westbrook or Murray were injured. Denver would need to either clear Jalen Pickett’s roster spot after the sophomore struggled in Summer League, as well as some salary—or dump Zeke Nnaji in a swap for Micic.

Jokic and Micic go way back, as the two played for Kosarkaski Klub Mega Basket together in Belgrade about 10 years ago and each was drafted into the NBA together in 2014 11 spots away from the other. While Jokic has gone on to become a three-time NBA MVP and snag a Finals MVP too, Micic won the 2021 EuroLeague MVP and won the Final Four MVP in 2021 and 2022 while leading Anadolu Efes, from Istanbul, to back-to-back titles.

Micic, now 30, then jumped to the NBA—signing a three-year deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder for $23 million. But the guard didn’t play much and was shipped to Charlotte at the deadline. After averaging just 12.0 minutes a night in Oklahoma City, Micic assumed a starting role with Ball injured and averaged 10.8 points and 6.2 assists in 27.2 minutes per game over the final 30 contests of the year.

Micic proved his chemistry with Jokic is still alive during Serbia’s run to a bronze. The guard was the team’s third-leading scorer behind Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic and he was the second-leading assist-getter behind Jokic.

While the move looks unlikely to happen this summer, keep in mind that this could be a Nuggets target ahead of the trade deadline, especially if something goes array in a backcourt with many questions entering the season.