TUALATIN — Jusuf Nurkic’s Portland Trail Blazers’ career is now one practice old.
Nurkic, who arrived in Portland around noon on Monday, went through his first official practice with his new team on Tuesday, getting on the court for some 4-on-4 work and a crash course of Blazers’ playbook a day before he will make his debut with the team against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
“It was great,” Nurkic said of his first run with the Blazers. “It was fun, kinda fast (with) everything. Trying to pick it up quick as possible. But it was fun.”
The Blazers acquired Nurkic from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for center Mason Plumlee. There are obvious challenges trying to incorporate any new player mid-season, particularly since Nurkic presents an entirely different skillset than what Plumlee offered.
“Mase did a lot of stuff on the perimeter, initiating the offense and playing out of our 1-gather sets and some of our motion series,” said Blazers guard CJ McCollum,. “Mason thrived in transition. (Nurkic) is a different type of big in that he’s going to play back to the basket. Sometimes we’re going to throw him some balls in the post and mid-range, I think he can shoot the mid-range jumper, too.”
Blazers coach Terry Stotts said part of the “getting to know you phase” with Nurkic will be figuring out the best ways to utilize the 22-year-old big man on offense. Whether it’s adding a post-up element that the Blazers have rarely featured in the past two seasons or simply letting Nurkic set screens in pick and rolls and make passes out of the high post.
Terry Stotts says Trail Blazers will ‘make the best use of’ Jusuf Nurkic
Nurkic reiterated that part of his excitement in joining the Blazers isn’t just getting out of a situation that had turned toxic in Denver, but landing with a team that features one of the league’s most dynamic backcourts.
“Like I said yesterday, I have never played before with those kind of guards who nobody can go under (on pick and rolls),” he said before adding that McCollum and Damian Lillard should have been named to the All-Star team.
McCollum said that he had film of Nurkic loaded up on his iPad and planned to study it on the flight to Utah to get a better sense of what his new teammate likes to do on the court.
Nurkic said in the moments after his first practice he hadn’t discussed his role or playing time with Stotts. In addition to learning the Blazers’ playbook, Nurkic will have to get himself into game shape. He joked with teammates during his first practice that he was tired after playing sparingly in Denver over the past two months.
After starting the first 25 games of the season with the Nuggets, Nurkic lost his spot in the first unit and watched his playing time and production drop off after Christmas. The Blazers knew they what were getting when they traded for the 7-foot, 280-pound center, but working on his condition adds another wrinkle to the acclimation process.
“He’s a very skilled young guy,” Stotts said after watching Nurkic go through 4-on-4 drills. “He has nice touch around the basket. He has a good feel for the game and he needs to get in better shape.”
–Mike Richman
mrichman@oregonian.com
@mikegrich
Trail Blazers: CJ McCollum says Jusuf Nurkic will ‘help us right away’
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