The Denver Nuggets have received a new update about their franchise cornerstone, Nikola Jokic’s knee injury. There were many doubts about his return following the knee hyperextension he sustained while playing against the Miami Heat in late December. Early reports suggested he could be back by the end of January, but recently, Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman didn’t offer much on Jokic’s return, which increased uncertainty.

However, NBA Insider Shams Charania on Tuesday came up with an encouraging update about the Serbian center. He revealed that the Nuggets will re-evaluate Jokic in about a week.

“He’s making great progress. He is in the ramp-up phase of his return-to-play process. This Denver Nuggets team, as well as Jokic, is working together to weigh the team’s long-term health and success throughout the season. More than just him being eligible for the postseason awards like MVP or the All-NBA,” Charania stated.

The Nuggets will face the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, and this will be Jokic’s 15th straight game missed. However, the Nuggets have held their own pretty nicely even without their MVP.

They are 9-5 without Joker and several other injuries, including the likes of Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon, and Cameron Johnson. Meanwhile, Peyton Watson, Jonas Valanciunas, and even Jamal Murray have also missed games. Therefore, they are third in the Western Conference with an impressive 31-15 record.

For now, certain sources suggest that the Nuggets could be active ahead of February’s trade deadline.

Nuggets planning to cut ties with $2.2m star on trade deadline

Currently, all eyes are on the trade market as teams make moves ahead of the trade deadline on February 5. However, the Nuggets are a much settled team, and they are doing well even without their star player, Jokic. So there’s not much opportunity for them to make a big trade in this window.

However, they face a dilemma, and to resolve it, they may become active at the trade deadline. The Nuggets are currently $400,000 over the luxury tax, and they still have to offer a contract to Spencer Jones, who is on a two-way deal with only five games remaining in his eligibility.

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So while they would love to go under the luxury tax threshold, they also need to offer Jones a proper contract to keep him on the roster.

Therefore, the Nuggets need to shave off some money, and in this case, NBA Insider and The Athletic’s Danny Leroux has stated an interesting name who could get traded away from Denver. “I think Hunter Tyson is one of the most likely players to be traded in the entire league at the deadline,” Leroux said on Dunc’d On Podcast with Nate Duncan.

Tyson is the last player on the Nuggets’ roster and is out of rotation. Plus, he is only earning $2.2m this season. While he is not a crazy name, the Nuggets need to move out his contract to go under the luxury tax threshold.

However, he hardly has any interest around the league, so they will have to add a sweetener to make the move work.

The Nuggets wouldn’t want to give up on something extremely valuable just to clear up cap space. So they may add a second-round pick, pick swaps, or someone from the rotation like Julian Strawther, who could have a few admirers in the league right now.

Overall, they need to offer a new contract to Spencer Jones and also go under the luxury tax mark.

There’s some possibility that they could spend money in this trade deadline, but considering their ownership, the Kroenkes and their past decisions, they will very likely maintain the current roster without making any major moves. Fans will hope they can add Jones to the roster and somehow trade Hunter Tyson.