By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
More squad depth for the Denver Nuggets surely strengthens their championship bid, in addition to directly addressing public comments by Nikola Jokić at the end of the 2024-25 campaign. However, it goes the other way too, with arrivals, such as Cam Johnson and Tim Hardaway Jr., being excited to play alongside the Joker, rather than against him.
The Nuggets‘ newcomers appeared on The Young Man and The Three and shared a funny moment when asked by host Tommy Alter if they were looking forward to being on the same team as Jokic. Johnson and Hardaway were laughing, apparently relieved.
“Honestly, a big part of it is not having him as an opponent no more,” mentioned the 29-year-old combo forward, with the 33-year-old winger nodding in agreement, “Because he’s a problem. He’s just a problem. That’s it. Period.”
“He can pass, he can rebound, he can score. You don’t know what you’re going to get on any given day, in what mode he is in,” he continued on the Serbian superstar.
The former champion, as the Finals Most Valuable Player in 2023, was candid talking about the lack of depth compared to other contenders, following elimination from eventual champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs presented by Google.
Johnson was acquired via a trade with the Brooklyn Nets. The Nuggets sent Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick to secure the services of a veteran of 378 NBA games.
Hardaway, a free-agent addition and former teammate of Slovenian Luka Doncic at the Dallas Mavericks, carries the experience of 861 appearances in the league.