The Denver Nuggets will be without their MVP on Friday night in New Orleans. They face the Pelicans in their first Emirates NBA Cup game.

The Denver Nuggets unexpectedly announced on Thursday that superstar center Nikola Jokic was questionable for Friday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans due to personal reasons. Jokic has since been officially ruled out for this game,

The Nuggets will likely be hard-pressed to acquire a rotation-worthy big man before the trade deadline — Robert Williams III, Jonas Valanciunas and Nikola Vucevic come to mind — unless they’re willing to part with young talent, which could compromise an already tenuous floor-spacing situation.