There was a time when Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic looked like he was going to be drafted by the Atlanta Hawks. They changed their minds at the last moment though, opting for former Oklahoma standout Trae Young instead. Doncic could have also been drafted by the Sacramento Kings, who picked before them. However, former Kings general manager Vlade Divac didn’t see him fitting beside De’Aaron Fox, who he preferred.
What wasn’t known is that the Denver Nuggets, who already had Nikola Jokic, were also interested in drafting Doncic.
Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets Tried Trade For Mavs’ Luka Doncic
“The Nuggets knew that Vlade Divac was not particularly high on Luka Doncic,” Nuggets director of intelligence and strategy Mike Singer tells The Hoop Collective Podcast (h/t RealGM).
“And they had designs on pairing Nikola Jokic with Luka Doncic. On draft night in 2018, they tried. There was a call placed. There was a proposal and the Nuggets attempted to get the No. 2 pick for Gary Harris and two first round picks was what I was told.”
This offer was presumably too low for the Hawks to accept and understandably so. Not only were they trying to land a top-three pick, Doncic was a highly touted prospect. However, if Doncic had been drafted, the Nuggets might have won their first championship in franchise history a little earlier.
Could They Still Team Up?
Jokic and Doncic’s developing friendship has been the subject of scrutiny for months if not years.
Nobody seems to know exactly when the two first connected or how their relationship evolved. Jokic has admitted his appreciation that he and Doncic, who is from Slovenia, can speak the same language. The Republic of Slovenia’s official language is Slovene, but there’s a minority Serb population in the country. As a result, there are quite a few Serbo-Croatian speakers.
However, there’s also a mutual respect between Jokic and Doncic that’s based on their savant-like skill. This is what makes him an attractive trade target even now. It’s one thing for Doncic to be as talented as he is, but another for him to be an elite player who Jokic would probably have excellent chemistry with.
In fact, Jokic was open to teaming up with Doncic as recently as February. There’s just one caveat: he would have to come to Denver.
“I don’t want to leave Denver… If Luka gets pissed off in Dallas, he can come.”
Nikola Jokic says he’d be open to teaming up with Luka Doncic but only on the Nuggets.
(Translated by @MiroslavCuk ) pic.twitter.com/t8q4sd4f2w
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) February 20, 2024
In that trade scenario, either Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. would likely find their self in Dallas, if not both. Frankly, this does seem like a move that the Nuggets would be willing to make, but the way trade negotiations for Paul George played out in this offseason brings that into question.
The actual offer isn’t even the biggest hurdle to this pipe dream. Doncic hasn’t demonstrated a willingness to leave the Mavericks yet, quite the opposite in fact. On top of that, Dallas is fresh off a trip to the NBA Finals, and may feel they’re trending in the right direction.
Fate can’t be predicted with any certainty by a mere mortal though. Jokic and Doncic teaming up doesn’t seem like it would happen in the immediate future. Still, it may very well be their destiny.
