Nikola Jokic is the best player in the NBA. He puts up historical statistical lines nearly every night, yet his Denver Nuggets team has been struggling of late. Things have gotten so bad that they fired head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth just three games before the end of the regular season.

Jokic does it all from the center position. He can score inside or outside, he is a fantastic rebounder, and he is the best passing center in NBA history. The only player with a similar skill set at the five position in the league is Houston Rockets big man Alperen Sengun. A Jokic trade is extremely unlikely, as they seem to be gearing up for the next era of Jokic basketball in Denver.

The team is clearly a mess right now, though, which has made some fans questioning if an offseason trade involving Jokic is possible. If it is, the Rockets are one of the most likely teams who could make a trade for Jokic, and the Nuggets could find the three-time MVP's replacement in the form of Sengun.

Nikola Jokic

Alperen Sengun, Tari Eason, Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore, 2025 first-round pick, 2027 first-round pick, 2027 first-round pick (via Nets), 2027 first-round pick (via Suns)

The Rockets have a system in place, and it has led to them all but securing the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Sengun is the star, but Jalen Green and Amen Thompson aren't far off from that level. Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks are the veteran role players, and Jabari Smith Jr., Cam Whitmore, Tari Eason, and Reed Sheppard are all young players with loads of potential.

The team thrives in part because they run their offense through Sengun. The big man can bang down low and score in the paint, but he also has a reliable jump shot. Most importantly, though, Sengun gets his teammates involved because of elite IQ and playmaking, both of which are rarities at the center position. Of course, though, Jokic does all of those things a lot better than Sengun.

The acquisition of Jokic would allow the Rockets to maintain their style of play while also getting a monumental upgrade. Houston is already one of the best teams in the NBA, and they have a very bright future going forward. There is no telling what they could do with Jokic, though.

Slashers like Green and Thompson, in particular, would thrive alongside the Serbian. The defensive presence of Thompson, Smith, and Brooks would also be valuable alongside the center, considering the root of Denver's recent problems have been on the defensive end. Even Steven Adams would be a great backup to Jokic. Teams would walk away sore from every game because of how elite those two are at setting screens.

Jokic single-handedly wills his teams to the playoffs, but the Rockets would be perennial contenders with The Joker on their roster. They are past the point of rebuilding, so their surplus of draft assets should be used in a blockbuster trade. Houston gets a little bit thinner in this trade, but Jokic more than makes up for the lost production.

The Nuggets are a mess right now. They won the NBA Finals only two seasons ago, but they've limped to a 3-7 record over their last 10 games. The losing has come at a bad time, as the playoffs are just around the corner. The matter in which Denver has lost is what is even more worrisome, though.

Jokic has been putting up record-breaking performances nearly every night, yet no one has been able to help him out. The Nuggets' players and coaches have had poor mannerisms and bizarre interviews, and chemistry has seemingly gone out the door out of nowhere.

These things led to Malone's firing. While many have assumed that the Nuggets ownership ran the idea firing Jokic's only NBA coach by him, there isn't any telling what exactly is going on in Denver and what the future holds for the Nuggets. One thing that is for sure is that they will likely never again have a player as talented as him on their roster.

Because of that, a Jokic trade is unlikely, but if their hand was forced and they had to deal him, bringing a player back in return who can do a lot of Jokic-esque things would be smart. Everyone on the Nuggets roster, notably longtime teammates Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., only knows how to play alongside an elite passing big man.

Sengun's presence on Denver's roster would make the post-Jokic transition a little bit easier. While Sengun likely won't rack up the MVPs like Jokic has, he did make his first All-Star Game this season. Sengun is averaging 19.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game this season, which are numbers comparable to what Jokic was averaging before he broke out into an MVP-caliber player.

With players around him who know how to maximize a passing center's skill set, it is possible that Sengun could take the next step forward and make Jokic's loss less detrimental. This trade haul sets the Nuggets up well, too. They add four first-round picks in this proposed trade, and the picks they get from the Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets could be near the top of the draft.

Additionally, Eason, Sheppard, and Whitmore are young players worth gambling on. All three of them are recent first-round picks. Eason plays great defense, and Whitmore is a freak athlete. Sheppard has been stuck on the bench this season due to Houston's depth, but he was the third overall pick in 2024 and still has tons of potential.