As we rapidly are approaching the trade deadline, there has been a lot of rumors out there on whether the Nuggets will make a move; most notably trading one of their talented big man. All year, the thought has been trading Kenneth Faried, but then there was the situation of Jokic benching himself for the betterment of the team. After Coach Malone reinserted Jokic for Nurkic, it appears that there has been rumors that Nurkic is unhappy and perhaps he could be on his way out. Here's a quote from the piece Nick Silva wrote on ESPN:
"For sure, it’s tough," Nurkic told The Denver Post. "I’m 22 years old. I’m not here to sit on the bench. I’m here to play basketball. And it’s a tough decision for me, from a starting spot and 20 minutes to four straight (DNP's). You control what you control, and I let my agent do the rest of the stuff." -Jusuf Nurkic
I know first hand how talented these two players are because I saw the out, he is shooting 28.6%m play the Blazers; they destroyed Mason Plumlee on the boards and they definitely had our big's number. While I may be a Blazer fan, I am writing this piece because I think this is an interesting situation that can impact the league. I will start with Jusuf Nurkic and wrap up with Nikola Jokic.
Jusuf Nurkic is one of the most underrated big men in the league and can score with the best of them in the post. While he has some weaknesses like spacing and interior defense, he is young and can receive the ball and score on a simple move. He is shooting over 60% in the restricted area compared to Jokic's 48.6%. While 60% is pretty high, he is being assisted on over 66% of those shots, so they're pretty much dump-off passes.The problem is that once you push Nurkic outside of the restricted area, his shooting becomes more of a liability. He has only made 17 of 42 shots(40.5%) in the paint! If you go even further out to the mid-range, he is shooting 28.6%. He is a threat on the offensive glass as he receives 12.9% of the offensive rebounds which edges out Jokic's 11%. While Nurkic can receive the ball, he isn't the best at passing out of the post. He has a turnover rate of 29% and an assist rate of 17%. This means that for a guy who gets the ball on post up opportunities he is turning it over a lot which costs him at least 6 points every ten possessions. Overall, I really like Nurkic as a player, I think he can grow a lot more and maybe be a top 15 center someday. While it would be ideal to have him succeed in Denver, it would also be more beneficial for the team to trade him away. He is a young asset who hasn't hit his prime yet. Who knows who Denver could potentially get back.
Next off I would like to look at Nikola Jokic. Ever since being reinserted back into the starting lineup (in place of Nurkic), he has looked like a franchise player for this Denver team. If you haven't seen it, in the last week Jokic has made a behind the head pass (which is a candidate for the best pass of the season), and ran coast to coast while using a behind the back move to Evade Draymond Green at half court. Jokic leads Nurkic in 4 of the five major categories including averaging almost 4 assists a game. As a Portland fan, I think of him like a much better (and younger) Mason Plumlee. They're both offensive-minded big men who can catch the ball and make plays for himself or his te
amates. Where they both are a liability is on the defensive end where Jokic actually has a defensive rating of 108. When he's in the paint, he is a lot better with Nurkic out of the game because of how much he clogs the paint. Without Nurkic on the floor, he shoots 20% better in the paint. While Jokic can rebound and score inside, what really separates him from Nurkic is his ability to space the floor and shoot. In a few years I believe that he will be able to shoot the 3-ball at a high clip and truly be an offensive force. Nurkic hasn't shot outside of 15 feet this season while Jokic does not shoot below 38% on any area of the floor which includes shooting over 20 shots between 25 and 29 feet. Having Jokic in the game spaces the floor and just looking at the predicament he and Nurkic have while they play together is confusing. Jokic should fit well with him because of his ability to draw his defender out of the paint which gives Nurkic better opportunities to score inside.
While Denver essentially has to get rid of one of their bigs, I do not see them letting go of Jokic because of his value to them and his fit in the organization. They will probably look to ship off Kenneth Faried first, they will get a great load of assets for Nurkic. While centers are a dying breed in the NBA, a team like the Mavericks could use a post who can create outside of Dirk Nowitzki. Either way, a team will probably be interested Nurkic if he is a vailable and maybe the Nuggets can net a pick that works out well for them (like Jokic). With a roster including Mudiay, Murray, and Jokic, this young team is a few years away from being a contender like they were at the end of the George Karl era.
*Stats were from nba.com/stats
