The Denver Nuggets finally made their first splash in the NBA’s trade season on Sunday morning. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Denver is trading center Jusuf Nurkic and the Memphis Grizzlies’ 2017 first-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for big man Mason Plumlee and a second-round pick.
Portland sends Mason Plumlee a 2018 second round pick for Nurkic and a 2017 first-rounder (via Memphis), league sources tell @TheVertical
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 12, 2017
Nurkic, 22, has spent all of the first three seasons of his NBA career as a member of the Nuggets.
Once thought to be the center of the future for the Nuggets, Nurkic’s career has not panned out exactly like the organization thought it would. Injuries, attitude issues, and physical shape were all problems that restricted the Bosnian from ever reaching his full potential in Denver.
After losing his starting job earlier in the year, Nurkic became disgruntled with his role with the team, and from there on, Nurkic’s days as a Nugget were numbered.
Nurkic averaged 7.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest in his tenure in the Mile High City.
Nurkic surely does have the talent to be a successful big man in the NBA; however, if he wants to reach an elite level, he will have to overcome one difficulty that has plagued him more than anything in his career thus far: himself.
From a Nuggets perspective, this is a solid deal. They dealt Nurkic and brought in a steady big man, whose game will translate well to the style of basketball the Nuggets are playing. More importantly, Mason Plumlee will fit in nicely next to cornerstone Nikola Jokic.
Plumlee, 26, is currently in his fourth year in the league and is currently averaging 11.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game this season.
While it is unclear how Denver will use Plumlee, he will still be a nice fit and a quality addition for head coach Michael Malone. Plumlee will help instill defensive presence and offensive flow when Jokic is not on the floor.
General Manager Tim Connelly did a tremendous job at reinforcing the Nuggets frontcourt while not surrendering a plethora of assets in the deal; however, if the Nuggets seriously want to contend here in the near future it is going to take a lot more than Plumlee to put Denver over the top.
With that said, this is certainly a step in the right direction for a Nuggets team that has been on the upswing since the new year.
