Nuggets’ GM Admits They had Doubts Over Nikola Jokic’s Future

According to Arturas Karnisovas, the Denver Nuggets’ management had doubts about Nikola Jokic and his future in the NBA. The general manager of the franchise from Colorado spoke about that and several other things linked with the Joker earlier today at Adrian Wojnarowski’s podcast show.

Karnisovas, who never played in the NBA, but became one of the best executives in the last few years revealed several very interesting facts. Among various topics, he spoke about Nikola Jokic and his development into one of the most dominating players in the league. In the beginning, nobody believed in his capabilities, mostly due to the lack of athleticism.

“Everybody were thinking that he is not athletic enough to make it in our league, you know, including us,” Karnisovas told Wojnarowski about the Joker.

But what drew Denver’s attention was Jokic’s talent, who was undoubtedly enormous.

“The skillset was always there, from passing to shooting, to probably the best hands I ever seen,” the Lithuanian stated.

Denver GM Arturas Karnisovas on Western Conference arms race, discovering/developing Nikola Jokic, waiting on Russian KGB to allow him to Seton Hall, playing with Sabonis against '92 Dream Team. The Woj Pod:
ESPN: https://t.co/8vOtYZ4iK9
Apple: https://t.co/Az2qB9v81u

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 29, 2019

Jokic was drafted as the 41st pick in the 2015 NBA draft, and he came to the league from a Serbian club called Mega Basket. Back in the days, the Nuggets’ scouts were trying to compare him and Marc Gasol and to do so, they found old tapes of the now Raptors’ center and view them all the time. The Spanish international too had problems with his body, but he managed to emerge as one of the toughest big players in the league.

“We had to watch a lot of Marc Gasol’s tapes when he was 18, 19 and he played in Spain… you know, it worked out for us, it was a little risk, and of course the credit goes to Joker actually — you know the level of the player he became.”

Karnisovas explained to Wojnarowski that Jokic gradually moved up the ladder and that his progress happened to be consistent in the beginning. After some year and a half, when Nuggets’ coach Mike Malone decided to make him a starter, the Joker simply exploded.

Today, he is arguably the most versatile center in the league and a unique big man. The way he handles the ball and sends passes to other teammates isn’t seen from one 7-footer so far in the NBA. Karnisovas emphasized his impact on the team, saying that Jokic is in fact, the Nuggets’ playmaker.

“Now we say that he is our point guard, he initiates our offenses,” he said.

The Joker became the All-NBA first team last season and recorded his first All-Star appearance. After signing a five-year $148 million extension with the Nuggets the entire franchise simply flourished, finishing second in the West with 54 wins and 28 losses. Pepsi Center was the most hostile arena in the country, and Nuggets had the league-best 34 triumphs at home.

This wouldn’t be possible without the Joker who averaged 20.1 points, 10.8 boards, 7.3 assists with 1.4 steals. He had 16 triple-doubles this, four of them during the playoffs. Denver was stopped in the Western Conference semifinals against the Portland Trail Blazers after a seven-game series.

The lack of experience turned out to be the biggest flaw of this young side, but that is all behind them now. Even though the Nuggets are the third-youngest team in the league according to Karnisovas, this squad has the same core for a long time. Jamal Murray, Garry Harris, Will Barton, Jokic and several other players already created a chemistry which will only get better as the time passes by.