Denver Nuggets owner admits thoughts of nightmare scenario involving a Nikola Jokic trade
As the 2025 NBA Draft approaches, teams are swinging trades like there's no tomorrow. Yet, the Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets haven't struck a deal. The Boston Celtics have been especially busy, trying to clear up their cap sheet for the future.
Boston has gone all-in so they can build the strongest championship contender possible. While Boston's effort did deliver a championship ring, now they face an uncertain future, in part because of their spending. But it doesn't help that the face of the Celtics, Jayson Tatum, tore his Achilles in the Eastern Conference Finals, putting Boston's status as top contenders in doubt.
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Meanwhile, Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke has been paying attention to what's transpired in Boston, and he fears a similar situation playing out in Denver, specifically when it comes to falling so far behind that they have no choice but to trade Jokic to get back to square one.
'The wrong person gets injured, and very quickly you're into a scenario that I never want to have to contemplate, and that's trading #15.'
Denver Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke on trading Nikola Jokic
While Kroenke admitted he never wants to have to contemplate a Jokic trade, it's a situation he has clearly thought about in the back of his head. Hopefully, for the sake of all basketball fans, the Nuggets don't have to go down that road, but the financial side of team-building is certainly something the NBA may have to take a closer look at.
Related: Miami Heat ready to trade All-Star talent after missing out on Kevin Durant trade
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Forbes
14 minutes ago
- Forbes
When AI, Energy Demands And Capital Costs Collide
Charles Yeomans is the chairman and founder of Atombeam. In a testimony to Congress in April 2025, Google's former CEO Eric Schmidt addressed not only the future of AI but also the dramatic power consumption associated with it. Although the dramatic increase in energy used by data centers associated with AI workloads is well known—and my last article touched on this crucially important issue—the sheer scale of the challenge is becoming clearer. Uncharted Territory More specifically, Schmidt noted that data center energy consumption could quickly increase from 3% of the power generated today to 99% of that current value, with data centers requiring 67 more gigawatts of power by 2030. He also subsequently put that point in perspective by pointing out that the average nuclear power plant creates about 1 gigawatt of power, even as technology providers plan for 10-gigawatt data centers. 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The Legacy Problem And then there's the issue of legacy communications and industrial networks that remain in use across many industries. These systems will need to be upgraded to handle large AI workloads if commercial applications of AI are to progress as envisioned. This includes the supervisory control and data acquisition systems (SCADA) that remain prevalent in the utility sector and across industries like manufacturing, with many now two and three decades old. But the issue of legacy systems isn't confined to any one sector. Link 16, the U.S. military's most-used digital datalink, is now in its fourth decade of use. Focusing On The Data Clearly, given these factors, the costs of the modernization and expansion efforts AI demands aren't feasible as viewed currently, particularly in a time when public-sector and private-sector investments are contracting, not growing. Nor is it realistic to believe we collectively have the people and businesses needed to keep pace with AI's rapid expansion and building demands. That's why we must, now more than ever, be pragmatic not only about our response to the investment AI calls for but also the kinds of AI data we use and how we manage, store, share and use that information. It's time to focus on data itself. Does it need to be this big? Can we make it more efficient and reduce the strain on resources? Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
20 minutes ago
NBA owners unanimously approve $1.5B sale of Wolves, WNBA's Lynx from Taylor to Lore-Rodriguez group
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USA Today
23 minutes ago
- USA Today
Soaring team valuations mean WNBA can't cry poor in contract talks with players
It's practically a given for leagues and owners to cry poverty at some point during contract talks. David Stern famously did it in 2011, saying the NBA was losing money. Adam Silver raised similar concerns four years later. Major League Baseball's current contract doesn't expire until the end of next season, yet Rob Manfred is already putting the idea out there. The implication of this kind of hand-wringing, of course, is that the leagues can't possibly have the money needed to give the players what they're asking. But it's usually more negotiating tactic than reality, a way of moving the bar lower. The WNBA won't have that luxury this time around. Sportico released its latest valuation of the 13 WNBA teams on Tuesday, and the numbers are jaw-dropping. The Golden State Valkyries lead the league with a $500 million valuation, which is a whopping 10 times what owners Joe Lacob and Peter Gruber paid to get the expansion team just two years ago. The average valuation is $269 million, and six teams are worth $250 million or more. Now, those numbers pale in comparison to the $10 billion the Los Angeles Lakers sold for last week. But aside from the fact the W is still playing catchup, beginning 50 years after the NBA, that average valuation of $269 million is a 180% increase from last year. And that, according to Sportico, is more than double the previous record gain by a sports league. To put it simply, the W is a growth stock. A rocket-fueled one. And the players know it. "This is a defining moment for the WNBA. As the league grows, it's time for a CBA that reflects our true value,' Chicago Sky veteran Elizabeth Williams said over the weekend, echoing a message shared by several other player reps. 'We're fighting for a fair share of the business that we built. It's business. We're not fighting for anything unreasonable. We're fighting to share in the growth that we've created,' Williams added. "Every other category across this business has grown: Media rights, ticket sales, team values. The only thing that's still capped is player salaries. We deserve our fair share. We're demanding salaries that reflect our true value. Again, it's business.' Negotiations between the WNBA and the Players Association are private, so it's unclear what prompted the collective warning from players over the weekend. Maybe they got wind of Sportico's valuations. Maybe it's a result of the op-ed in the New York Times earlier this month by Noble Prize-winning economist Claudia Goldin, who said W players are making 1/80th of what NBA players make rather than the one quarter or one third that would be required for equitable pay. And before the peanut gallery chimes in, W players are not asking for LeBron money. They're not even asking for Cooper Flagg money, assuming he's the No. 1 pick that he's expected to be Wednesday night. What they are asking for is a fair share, and the W and its owners are going to have to open their wallets to get them there. Currently, W players get about 10% of the league's revenues. That's less — way less — than the roughly 50% of revenues that players in the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL get. Yes, the W has stepped up, finally providing charter flights last year for the entire season and boosting the payout for the Commissioner's Cup. Some individual teams now have their own practice facilities, an 'amenity' that's been a given in men's sports for years. But there's more to be done. Much more. This isn't a charity project, either. The Sportico valuations confirm what has been evident for the last five years: There is money to be made in women's sports. A lot of it. But sports are driven by stars, not owners. Fans are shelling out for tickets, merch and the league pass because of Caitlin Clark, A'ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, Angel Reese, Breanna Stewart and Paige Bueckers, not because of any owner. Which means the players need to be equal partners. 'The current system is unsustainable for us and that means it's unsustainable for the business that we created. Nothing short of transformational change will do for the future we see and the fans clearly see,' Williams said. 'So we're paying attention.' The W players know their value. More importantly, they know the value of the league and its teams, too. Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
