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The Denver Nuggets have reportedly had tension between the coaching staff and front office, but Nikola Jokic has declined to offer an opinion on the situation.

“That’s not my job,” Jokic said. “I’m just trying to play basketball, and I’m happy if we have a chance every year.”

Since winning the championship in 2023, the Nuggets have lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown, Jeff Green and Reggie Jackson.

“There was this urge to compete, especially from the players and the coaches and even myself,” Calvin Booth told ESPN. “You want to win, especially coming off the heels of winning the championship. And that’s probably where the tension started.

“What are you guys trying to do? Are you trying to win? Are you trying to develop? I think everybody had the best intent going in. There was buy-in. But I think competition and the focus on that can distract you from the buy-in.”

“I think people in general, they always want more and more and more, but they don’t know what they have,” Jokic said. “I’m really happy we have one title — a lot of very good players don’t win.”

“If we don’t win it this year,” Michael Porter Jr. told ESPN. “We all know they might have to break it up.”

Booth said he speaks with Jokic often for his input on the team.

“[He] has earned the respect of check-ins and seeing, ‘What do you think about it?'” Booth said. “There’s a fine line — if there’s somebody that he’s played with for a long time, I wouldn’t put that responsibility on him. … But we try to involve him as much as we can.”

“I’m just here to play basketball,” Jokic said. “I don’t understand contracts, this and that, years and CBA. … That’s not my job.”

The Portland Trail Blazers are widely expected to select and keep Scoot Henderson if he’s available at No. 3, though they will continue to listen to offers through when they’re on the clock.

If the offers they receive don’t improve, the Blazers are comfortable keeping the pick even though that means a potential trade of Damian Lillard in the immediate aftermath. The Blazers don’t appear to believe that is a possibility, even though the teams across the league with interest in Lillard are preparing for that scenario.

“Portland isn’t admitting that, but the rest of the league knows it and they’re preparing their offers for what happens over the next 24 to 72 hours with how Lillard might react to them going forward and making the draft [pick],” said Brian Windhorst on Thursday morning.

Lillard has been clear in his public comments that he wants the Blazers to acquire win-now players and isn’t prepared to be patient as they bring along young players. For Portland, the plan was likely to trade the pick if it was outside the top-3 but moving up has made that decision more difficult for their front office.

“They are already getting ready waiting for the moment to happen,” Windhorst added. “Whether Lillard makes the move, or the Blazers make the move, nobody seems like they want to be the fall guy. Lillard doesn’t want to look like the bad guy. The Blazers are still hoping to convince him to stay, but we’ll see how long they continue with that position.”

The Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets are expected to be among the teams with interest in trading for Lillard and can assemble a package that is enticing for the Blazers.