Karl went after the franchise he once coached, saying Denver has not supported Nikola Jokic well enough for him to become a top ten player of all time.
George Karl does not comment on the Nuggets very often these days, but when he does, it usually stings.
The Hall of Fame coach spent nine seasons on the Denver sideline from 2005 to 2013, leading the franchise to the playoffs every year and reaching the 2009 Western Conference Finals.
He took to X on Wednesday night after the Peyton Watson sign-and-trade to Cleveland was finalized.
"Some franchises aren't capable of supporting their legends the right way," Karl wrote. "Jokic was on a path to becoming one of the Top 10 players to ever play basketball. That wasn't realistic in Denver."
Three Summers
Karl's frustration is not coming out of nowhere.
The Watson deal sent a 23-year-old starter to the Cavaliers on a four-year, 88 million dollar contract, and Denver's return was Cleveland's 2031 first-round pick, a 2032 second-round pick and Julian Reese, whom the team plans to waive.
Watson averaged 14.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season while shooting 49.1 percent from the field, and losing a two-way wing at that age is not easy to replace.
Watson is only the latest name on a growing list.
Bruce Brown Jr. left for Indiana after the 2023 championship before returning, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signed with Orlando the following summer, and Michael Porter Jr. was traded to Brooklyn last year.
Each departure thinned the supporting cast around Jokic, and each one happened because Denver could not afford to keep the player.
The rotation projections without Watson show a team that is running low on depth.
Whether Karl Has a Point
Denver sits above the second luxury tax apron at 221.7 million dollars, and keeping Watson would have pushed their tax bill from roughly 68 million to more than 220 million.
No franchise outside of a few big-market teams has ever absorbed that type of penalty.
But Karl is not wrong about the result.
Jokic put up 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game last season, finished second in MVP voting and recorded 198 career triple-doubles.
He is playing at a level that only a handful of players in league history have reached, and the team around him just lost its third meaningful contributor in three years.
Denver went 54-28 and still got bounced by Minnesota in the first round, which raises questions about Jokic's long-term future in Denver.
Karl's language was harsh, but the frustration behind it is shared by a lot of people who follow this team.
The Nuggets have not chosen to tear things down, and they are actively pursuing DeMar DeRozan and other veterans on minimum deals to fill the gaps.
But the window that felt wide open three years ago has narrowed considerably, and the offseason grades reflect that reality.
Whether Denver can prove Karl wrong may depend on whether Jokic gets enough help to carry a roster that looks very different from the one that won a championship.
