The Portland Trail Blazers on Monday made a surprising move ahead of the NBA trade deadline, sending Mason Plumlee and a 2018 second-round draft pick to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for center Jusuf Nurkic and a 2017 first-round pick.
“We are pleased to add a young center with Jusuf’s talent and potential to our roster and excited by the prospect of three first round picks in the 2017 NBA Draft,” Neil Olshey, the Blazers’ President of Basketball Operations said in a release.
Nurkic, 22, is unlikely to play Monday night when the Blazers host the Atlanta Hawks. So before he dawns his new No. 27 Blazers jersey, here’s what you need to know about the Blazers’ new big man.
First off, he certainly is big. “The Bosnian Beast” or “Bosnian Bear,” depending on your preferred nickname, is listed at 7-feet, 280-pounds. Nurkic provides a significantly bigger body than the rest of the Blazers’ frontcourt options. Not surprisingly, that big body runs in the family as Nurkic’s father is a 7-foot, nearly 400-pound policeman in Nurkic’s hometown of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Nurkic’s basketball career took off when a local newspaper wrote about his father’s massive frame and an agent immediately contacted the family with the hope the burly officer had a son. At the time, Nurkic was 14 years old with very little organized basketball experience. Within five years, he was a first-round pick in the NBA.
The Nuggets initially acquired Nurkic on draft night in 2014, sending Doug McDermott and Anthony Randolph to the Chicago Bulls in order to acquire the then 19-year old big man, who was selected No. 16 overall.
During his rookie season, Nurkic was a pleasant surprise for the Nuggets. His development was supposed to happen mostly behind the scenes as an end-of-the-rotation big man. But injuries to Denver’s other centers created unexpected playing time and Nurkic made the most of it, averaging 6.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game to earn second-team All-Rookie Team honors.
During his rookie season, Nurkic revealed a brash and bold personality. He got into a back-and-forth with Memphis’ Marc Gasol, exchanged barbs and shoves with Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins and briefly taunted Cleveland’s LeBron James. He also famously bowled over Phoenix’s Markieff Morris, completing a layup before handing the ball to Morris, who was still lying on his back in the lane.
However, his second season was completely derailed by offseason surgery on a partially torn left patellar tendon. He was sidelined for eight months and struggled to get into game shape and rekindle the production from his rookie season. He played just 32 during the entire 2015-16 season.
Nurkic was the Nuggets’ starting center coming out of training camp in 2016-17, starting the first 25 games of the season before losing his spot to Nikola Jokic. The move to the bench didn’t sit well with Nurkic, who saw a major dip in his production mixed in with a few games where he never got off the bench.
“It’s tough. I’m 22 years-old, I’m not here to sit on the bench, I’m here to play basketball,” Nurkic told Harrison Wind of BSNDenver.com at the end of December. “Tough decision for me, from starting spot for three minutes, to seven, four-straight not play. I’m not accept that. Nobody probably understands my position so even if you don’t know if you’re starting the next game or not. But like I said, you can control what you can control and I let my agent do the rest of the stuff.”
There is no guarantee Nurkic will get starter minutes in Portland, but Jokic’s emergence as Denver’s franchise pillar and Nurkic’s public frustration meant the Nuggets virtually had to make a move.
Nurkic’s arrival in Portland marks a massive stylistic change for the Blazers. Nurkic possesses very few of the natural playmaking instincts that made Plumlee a unique and effective fit in coach Terry Stotts’ offense. Plumlee had more assists this season (214) than Nurkic has in his entire career (148).
However, Nurkic adds a potential for post offense that the Blazers have lacked since LaMarcus Aldridge’s departure. More than 35 percent of Nurkic’s offensive plays this season have come from post-ups, the third-highest mark in the league, according to NBA.com. But while he likes to use his strength to muscle opponents in the post, Nurkic hasn’t been particularly effective on the block, averaging just 0.72 points per possession in the post, making him one of the league’s least efficient post scorers.
Nurkic is under contract through the 2017-18 season, giving the Blazers about 100 regular season games to determine whether he should be part of the franchise’s future.
“Thanks to the opportunities you have given me in the Denver Nuggets,” Nurkic wrote Sunday on his personal Instagram account. “Former teammates, fans and the club I wish all the best. Now its time for new challenges! #RipCity.”
–Mike Richman
mrichman@oregonian.com
@mikegrich
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