BSN Exclusive: Will Barton certain a max contract won't change Nikola Jokic

MILWAUKEE — Nikola Jokic’s rise from second-round pick to franchise cornerstone has been well documented. Ask Denver’s front office personnel about Jokic’s development, and they’ll say they got lucky. Nuggets coach Michael Malone will echo a similar sentiment and admit that he was initially taken aback by how quickly Jokic ascended to the All-Star caliber player he’s played like over the past month.

Count Will Barton as one who’s also stunned by Jokic’s climb toward the top. Barton has watched Jokic go from a no-name at Summer League in 2015 to notching a triple-double in an NBA record 16 minutes like he did Thursday night in Milwaukee.

Jokic is an advanced stats darling, but he’s not a fan of box scores. He’s perplexed when reporters ask him about triple-doubles and 30- or 40-point nights when his team loses. But Jokic is more than happy to discuss a poor shooting night as long as Denver comes out on top.

He’s also on the cusp of NBA stardom, but his life is about to change. Jokic is potentially in line for a max contract this summer, which will be a big jump up from the $1.47 million he’s making this season.

Jokic could go from the second-lowest paid player on Denver’s roster to one of its highest. Money changes some people, but it won’t change Jokic.

“No way. He won’t change,” Barton told BSN Denver of Jokic’s looming payday. “Look at him.”

Denver has won nine of its past 12 games. Over that stretch, Jokic is averaging 19.4 points on 50.9 percent shooting from the field and 46.5 percent from three, 11.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game.

The Nuggets recalibrated their offense around Jokic on Jan. 21. Malone said he’d call fewer plays to try and return Denver’s offense to the elite level it played at a season ago. It worked.

Twelve games later, Jokic is playing the best basketball of his career. He’s come a long way from his rookie season where he began in Denver as an afterthought. His 30-point, 15-rebound, 17-assist performance against Milwaukee and first-half triple-double left Nuggets players in disbelief.

“That is insane,” Barton said of Jokic’s historic night. “Guys saw him at Summer Leauge, nobody thought he was that good. You saw flashes, maybe he’s going to be okay. But this?

“He’s incredible. That guy is incredible. When he first came here he was just happy to be here, and now look at him. He just wanted to be one of the guys. He wasn’t even supposed to play. Seriously. He was not going to play. He was the last big man on the depth chart. They didn’t even know if they were going to bring him over (from Europe) at first.”

Jokic’s unique skill-set, top-tier basketball IQ and playmaking ability is what stands out on the surface. But it’s Jokic’s genuine and refreshingly pure personality that makes him a rare commodity in today’s NBA.

It sounds like it’s here to stay.