When you have a player of Nikola Jokic's caliber, it's crucial to do everything in your power to maximize their greatness. 

Former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins, now with ESPN, says the Denver Nuggets are doing the opposite. 

"It's a shame [because] we're talking about a top 10 center of all time," he said on Monday. "We're talking about arguably the best player in the game of basketball in his prime. [The Nuggets] can't afford to continue to waste [Jokic]'s greatness. At some point, they have to do what's right by him." 

At 31, entering Year 12 in the NBA, Jokic has accomplished everything. However, he's simply too good to rest on his laurels. His consistent elite production shows he isn't, but the Nuggets might be. 

Since winning the championship in 2023—with 'The Joker' earning the Finals MVP—Denver has not advanced past the Western Conference semifinals despite being a perennial 50+ win team. 

That's extremely underwhelming when you have someone so utterly dominant in the fold. 

Jokic — a three-time MVP, eight-time All-Star, six-time First Team All-NBA selectee — averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists per game last year. He showed absolutely no signs of slowing down. And what are the Nuggets doing to help him chase more rings? Perkins says not much. And the proof is in the pudding. 

The Nuggets failed to improve their roster this offseason after going 57-25 last season, before falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves in six games in the first round of the postseason. 

With a bunch of marquee free agents looking for new homes, Denver brought in an aging DeMar DeRozan, Tyus Jones, Marvin Bagley III, and international wing Alpha Diallo to strengthen the unit around Jokic. 

Meanwhile, they lost Peyton Watson, Jonas Valanciunas, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Bruce Brown. Those were high-quality contributors in their roles, and the Nuggets not only didn't improve on them; they barely replaced them with equal producers. 

Perkins thinks that the Jokic-Jamal Murray duo has hit its ceiling as a tandem, and the Nuggets should have hit the market hard to strengthen their roster. 

Since they didn't, he now expects Murray to produce at an All-NBA level after being named an All-Star for the first time last year. That's the least Jokic deserves. 

Additionally, Perkins pointed out that most championship runs are anchored by elite two-way wing play, referring to the New York Knicks' OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges last season, and he doesn't believe Cam Johnson and Christian Braun can provide that consistently. 

The Nuggets believe in Braun, though, as he enters the first year of his new five-year, $125 million deal signed last fall. 

Jokic is in the final guaranteed year of the five-year contract he signed in 2022. 

He has a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28. He has already said that he plans to re-sign with the Nuggets in due course. However, could he be faulted for having a wandering eye if Denver can't compete again this season? 

Granted, Mile High City isn't the most lucrative NBA market for free-agent recruitment. However, having a selfless generational superstar in your ranks should be enough of a pitch to bring more talent to the team than 37-year-old DeRozan, a legend in his own right, but not exactly who you imagine Jokic running alongside on his quest for another title. 

In that regard, the Nuggets simply have to do better. Their run towards the first championship in franchise history was unique. They did it their way. But if they want another, it will take more.