Nikola Jokic won the MVP in 2020-21, and somehow, it still feels as though the Serbian big man is underrated going into next season. Nikola Jokic had an astounding year passing the ball and being the focal point of the Denver Nuggets’ offense.
There is no question that on top of being good, Nikola Jokic is also an extremely fun player to watch. How often do we see big men of his size be able to send pinpoint passes to his teammates, and do it consistently at that? It’s obvious that Nikola Jokic could be the best passing big man that the NBA has seen.
One of Nikola Jokic’s admirers happens to be Golden State Warriors GM, Bob Myers. When speaking on the recent broadcast for the preseason matchup between the Nuggets and the Warriors, Myers stated that the reigning league MVP is “a joy to watch”.
Golden State GM Bob Myers just now on the Warriors broadcast: “I’m not supposed to talk about other team’s players, but Jokic, he’s a joy to watch.”
All facts. #Nuggets
— Chris Dempsey (@chrisadempsey) October 7, 2021
The quote mentions that Myers knows he’s “not supposed to talk about other team’s players”, but he ended up doing so anyway, presumably because of Jokic’s stellar play. The tampering rules state that GMs or executives can’t talk to players in the hopes of recruiting them to their team, and sometimes that can include innocent comments on someone’s play such as this. It should also be made clear that Myers did not make any comments directly connecting Jokic to the Warriors.
If Myers does end up getting fined for tampering it certainly won’t be the only instance of that happening in the Warriors organization in recent memory, as Warriors’ governor Joe Lacob has been fined $50000 after his comments on Ben Simmons just a few weeks ago.
The good thing for the league is that it is highly unlikely that the Warriors will acquire Nikola Jokic, at least in the near future. The Nuggets have committed big money to their core around Nikola Jokic, signing Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and Aaron Gordon to lucrative contracts over the last few years. While Bob Myers seems to be a big fan of Nikola Jokic, it’s improbable that Jokic ends up making his way to the Bay.
