Welcome Jusuf Nurkić

[enigmatics]

3 blocks, 2 steals (4-5 deflections), 7 dimes, and 6 free throw attempts today while his offensive struggles continued. The guards were also able to take it to the rack more often because Nurk was sealing off defenders and the young athletic Detroit front line of Stewart/Duren were complete non-factors.

Again, imagine how much more opened up it will be when he's passing to the Big 3. Dude could easily average 7-8 dimes a game.

Nurkic's production Is pretty much what I expected out of him. The only thing I'm really concerned about is his low fg percentage. im guessing his 3pt shooting has something to do with that

Ehhh he's still shooting poorly regardless - something like 9 for 28. But again that's gonna get cleaned up when defenses are spread thin by the Big 3. It will lead to more open looks in the paint.

It's interesting because you can see the footwork/fundamentals down low but man he takes some goofy ass lazy shots at times.

[sashaturiaf]

Nurk is fine, our offensive system is designed to be shooting heavy from the guard spots and his elite screening and court vision at the 5 enables that perfectly. He's going to be our 5 and I'm far more worried about whether he can stay healthy rather than whether he is effective enough.

Defensively I'm less convinced since he's so ground bound and yet slow footed at the same time. However as Denver showed with Jokic you can get away with a guy like that at the 5 as long as the perimeter defenders can cover for him, in the long term I see Bates Diop or Little or even Bol Bol being the 5th guy in the lineup since they offer so much more size over Okogie who offers no rim protection and can't cover 4s and 5s,

[KdoubleDees23]

3 blocks, 2 steals (4-5 deflections), 7 dimes, and 6 free throw attempts today while his offensive struggles continued. The guards were also able to take it to the rack more often because Nurk was sealing off defenders and the young athletic Detroit front line of Stewart/Duren were complete non-factors.

Again, imagine how much more opened up it will be when he's passing to the Big 3. Dude could easily average 7-8 dimes a game.

Nurkic's production Is pretty much what I expected out of him. The only thing I'm really concerned about is his low fg percentage. im guessing his 3pt shooting has something to do with that

Ehhh he's still shooting poorly regardless - something like 9 for 28. But again that's gonna get cleaned up when defenses are spread thin by the Big 3. It will lead to more open looks in the paint.

It's interesting because you can see the footwork/fundamentals down low but man he takes some goofy ass lazy shots at times.

It’s funny how you say this is good lol then all you do is hate on Ayton! Just be honest with yourself , Nurkic is avg at best and not good. We will get exposed by good teams

[enigmatics]

It’s funny how you say this is good lol then all you do is hate on Ayton! Just be honest with yourself , Nurkic is avg at best and not good. We will get exposed by good teams

What's actually funny is that you don't know the difference between hating on a player vs. having KNOWN criticisms of them. You also take it really personal almost like I'm talking about you specifically.

[KdoubleDees23]

It’s funny how you say this is good lol then all you do is hate on Ayton! Just be honest with yourself , Nurkic is avg at best and not good. We will get exposed by good teams

What's actually funny is that you don't know the difference between hating on a player vs. having KNOWN criticisms of them. You also take it really personal almost like I'm talking about you specifically.

Nope . You have no credibility! Just annoying tbh

[enigmatics]

It’s funny how you say this is good lol then all you do is hate on Ayton! Just be honest with yourself , Nurkic is avg at best and not good. We will get exposed by good teams

What's actually funny is that you don't know the difference between hating on a player vs. having KNOWN criticisms of them. You also take it really personal almost like I'm talking about you specifically.

Nope . You have no credibility! Just annoying tbh

I'm so terribly burdened that I have no credibility with you.

[enigmatics]

Some advanced metrics for Nurkic vs. Ayton for anyone that cares.

The glossary can be found here: https://craftednba.com/glossary



TRADITIONAL


ADVANCED


PLUS/MINUS


Not sure why they don't show OPM, DPM, and BPM - but from Basketball Reference they are (ranked by all players):

OBPM
#119 - Ayton (-1.0)
#138 - Nurkic (-1.5)

DBPM
#4 - Nurkic (2.9) (Eubanks is #10 with 2.5)
#16 - Ayton (2.0)

BPM
#57 - Nurkic (1.3)
#63 - Ayton (1.0)

[darealjuice]

Nurkic needs to keep it simple on offense. Jacking up a 3s and trying to back down big men is a losing battle for him. Set strong screens, hit the offensive boards, and be a playmaker for others. Focus more on scoring on open lanes on pick and roll, mismatches on guards, or putbacks.

Playmaking and screening have mostly lived up to expectations so far. Shooting percentage should bounce back, especially once we start to get healthy and the looks get easier. He's been fine defensively for the most part, but he can obviously be played off the floor. Definitely not the traditional center presence in the paint either.

[suns12345]

Nurkic needs to keep it simple on offense. Jacking up a 3s and trying to back down big men is a losing battle for him. Set strong screens, hit the offensive boards, and be a playmaker for others. Focus more on scoring on open lanes on pick and roll, mismatches on guards, or putbacks.

Playmaking and screening have mostly lived up to expectations so far. Shooting percentage should bounce back, especially once we start to get healthy and the looks get easier. He's been fine defensively for the most part, but he can obviously be played off the floor. Definitely not the traditional center presence in the paint either.

Good points here.

It's important to remember he was brought in to be a good piece with three all stars. He has only played with one so far and I actually think looked fine (better than Ayton IMO)... But this will only improve as Book and Beal return (assuming they do) and he has less of a scoring and playmaking burden

[Jdiddy701]

We all said when the trade went down that DA is definitely the better player. Nobody disagreed with that. Ayton’s lazy play is still better than Nurk’s best play.

Nurk will be better when Book and Beal return. Right now, we’re asking Nurk to do things offensively that he may be doing soon but a lot less and will come easier when the attention is drawn to Book, KD and Beal.

I still much rather have Ayton off the team. His contract was one of the worst in the league. I’m OK with Nurk. He’s not the best option but Nurk is a really good passer and sets solid screens. I think those things are really undervalued with him. It will get better soon with him.

DA didn’t wanna be in Phoenix. We had to move him. While it hurts to lose Camara, Grayson Allen will be a very important piece for us this year.


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[Saberestar]

We all said when the trade went down that DA is definitely the better player. Nobody disagreed with that. Ayton’s lazy play is still better than Nurk’s best play.

Nurk will be better when Book and Beal return. Right now, we’re asking Nurk to do things offensively that he may be doing soon but a lot less and will come easier when the attention is drawn to Book, KD and Beal.

I still much rather have Ayton off the team. His contract was one of the worst in the league. I’m OK with Nurk. He’s not the best option but Nurk is a really good passer and sets solid screens. I think those things are really undervalued with him. It will get better soon with him.

DA didn’t wanna be in Phoenix. We had to move him. While it hurts to lose Camara, Grayson Allen will be a very important piece for us this year.


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I think Ayton is the better player but not by much because he doesn’t add too many intangibles.

I am the first one that gets frustrated when Nurkic misses a close shot around the rim, but I understand all the small things that he does for the team.

His passing, screening and overall decision making are his biggest strengths on offense and all three are huge for a team with All-Star scorers.

[garrick]

We all said when the trade went down that DA is definitely the better player. Nobody disagreed with that. Ayton’s lazy play is still better than Nurk’s best play.

Nurk will be better when Book and Beal return. Right now, we’re asking Nurk to do things offensively that he may be doing soon but a lot less and will come easier when the attention is drawn to Book, KD and Beal.

I still much rather have Ayton off the team. His contract was one of the worst in the league. I’m OK with Nurk. He’s not the best option but Nurk is a really good passer and sets solid screens. I think those things are really undervalued with him. It will get better soon with him.

DA didn’t wanna be in Phoenix. We had to move him. While it hurts to lose Camara, Grayson Allen will be a very important piece for us this year.


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I think Ayton is the better player but not by much because he doesn’t add too many intangibles.

I am the first one that gets frustrated when Nurkic misses a close shot around the rim, but I understand all the small things that he does for the team.

His passing, screening and overall decision making are his biggest strengths on offense and all three are huge for a team with All-Star scorers.

If we had a true PG we wouldn't require our center to be a facilitator on offense and you really don't want to depend on your center for play making unless it's someone like Jokic.

The only problem with this is that either Booker or Beal would need to slide to SF so I guess that was the reasoning they had when getting Nurkic so Book and Beal could play at guard.

[sunsbum]

We all said when the trade went down that DA is definitely the better player. Nobody disagreed with that. Ayton’s lazy play is still better than Nurk’s best play.

Nurk will be better when Book and Beal return. Right now, we’re asking Nurk to do things offensively that he may be doing soon but a lot less and will come easier when the attention is drawn to Book, KD and Beal.

I still much rather have Ayton off the team. His contract was one of the worst in the league. I’m OK with Nurk. He’s not the best option but Nurk is a really good passer and sets solid screens. I think those things are really undervalued with him. It will get better soon with him.

DA didn’t wanna be in Phoenix. We had to move him. While it hurts to lose Camara, Grayson Allen will be a very important piece for us this year.


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I think Ayton is the better player but not by much because he doesn’t add too many intangibles.

I am the first one that gets frustrated when Nurkic misses a close shot around the rim, but I understand all the small things that he does for the team.

His passing, screening and overall decision making are his biggest strengths on offense and all three are huge for a team with All-Star scorers.

If we had a true PG we wouldn't require our center to be a facilitator on offense and you really don't want to depend on your center for play making unless it's someone like Jokic.

The only problem with this is that either Booker or Beal would need to slide to SF so I guess that was the reasoning they had when getting Nurkic so Book and Beal could play at guard.

If we had a real PG we wouldnt be able to play booker beal and KD together, so lets check that out first.

[Saberestar]

I think Ayton is the better player but not by much because he doesn’t add too many intangibles.

I am the first one that gets frustrated when Nurkic misses a close shot around the rim, but I understand all the small things that he does for the team.

His passing, screening and overall decision making are his biggest strengths on offense and all three are huge for a team with All-Star scorers.

If we had a true PG we wouldn't require our center to be a facilitator on offense and you really don't want to depend on your center for play making unless it's someone like Jokic.

The only problem with this is that either Booker or Beal would need to slide to SF so I guess that was the reasoning they had when getting Nurkic so Book and Beal could play at guard.

If we had a real PG we wouldnt be able to play booker beal and KD together, so lets check that out first.

Yeah, we need these 3 players to have the ball in their hands and create shots, doesn't make sense to put a pure PG next to them because they're not strictly finishers.

[bigfoot]

We all said when the trade went down that DA is definitely the better player. Nobody disagreed with that. Ayton’s lazy play is still better than Nurk’s best play.

Nurk will be better when Book and Beal return. Right now, we’re asking Nurk to do things offensively that he may be doing soon but a lot less and will come easier when the attention is drawn to Book, KD and Beal.

I still much rather have Ayton off the team. His contract was one of the worst in the league. I’m OK with Nurk. He’s not the best option but Nurk is a really good passer and sets solid screens. I think those things are really undervalued with him. It will get better soon with him.

DA didn’t wanna be in Phoenix. We had to move him. While it hurts to lose Camara, Grayson Allen will be a very important piece for us this year.


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I think Ayton is the better player but not by much because he doesn’t add too many intangibles.

I am the first one that gets frustrated when Nurkic misses a close shot around the rim, but I understand all the small things that he does for the team.

His passing, screening and overall decision making are his biggest strengths on offense and all three are huge for a team with All-Star scorers.

I wouldn't even consider Ayton a better player. He has has better shooting skills and the agility to cover the perimeter.

Anything other than those and Nurk is better including motor, boxing out, IQ, passing, screening, ball handling, rebounding, getting free throws, etc.

I can live with a couple of dumb Nurk plays per game versus being extremely frustrated when Ayton isn't even trying for half a game.

Stats Per 36 minutes for

DA 12.5p/15.9r/1.5a/2.7s/1.2b/0.5ft
Nurk 12.9p/11.7r/6.1a/2s/1.6b/5.1ft

The difference in assists and free throws is quite stark

[NapoleonII]

We all said when the trade went down that DA is definitely the better player. Nobody disagreed with that. Ayton’s lazy play is still better than Nurk’s best play.

Nurk will be better when Book and Beal return. Right now, we’re asking Nurk to do things offensively that he may be doing soon but a lot less and will come easier when the attention is drawn to Book, KD and Beal.

I still much rather have Ayton off the team. His contract was one of the worst in the league. I’m OK with Nurk. He’s not the best option but Nurk is a really good passer and sets solid screens. I think those things are really undervalued with him. It will get better soon with him.

DA didn’t wanna be in Phoenix. We had to move him. While it hurts to lose Camara, Grayson Allen will be a very important piece for us this year.


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I think Ayton is the better player but not by much because he doesn’t add too many intangibles.

I am the first one that gets frustrated when Nurkic misses a close shot around the rim, but I understand all the small things that he does for the team.

His passing, screening and overall decision making are his biggest strengths on offense and all three are huge for a team with All-Star scorers.

If we had a true PG we wouldn't require our center to be a facilitator on offense and you really don't want to depend on your center for play making unless it's someone like Jokic.

The only problem with this is that either Booker or Beal would need to slide to SF so I guess that was the reasoning they had when getting Nurkic so Book and Beal could play at guard.

You don't need a PG when you have Booker's playmaking, Beal's shooting and driving, and KD's gravity and tough-shot making. Maybe someone to 'set the table' and run the bench, but then you still stagger so one (or two) of Book/Beal/KD are there.

I still think we need either a real 3 n D wing like Royce O'Neal, or a tweener who can rebound and guard the perimeter.

I'm actually hopeful that Yuta (his scrappiness, shooting, improving defensive awareness) can be plugged into the starting line-up. He's a legit 6'9, a shooter, plays a bit dirty.

So then you have Yuta initially guarding the big wings (Lebron, Ant, Tatum) but also being able to switch with KD (his length/shot blocking).

We'll need Booker to step it up defensively tho.

[bwgood77]

We all said when the trade went down that DA is definitely the better player. Nobody disagreed with that. Ayton’s lazy play is still better than Nurk’s best play.

Nurk will be better when Book and Beal return. Right now, we’re asking Nurk to do things offensively that he may be doing soon but a lot less and will come easier when the attention is drawn to Book, KD and Beal.

I still much rather have Ayton off the team. His contract was one of the worst in the league. I’m OK with Nurk. He’s not the best option but Nurk is a really good passer and sets solid screens. I think those things are really undervalued with him. It will get better soon with him.

DA didn’t wanna be in Phoenix. We had to move him. While it hurts to lose Camara, Grayson Allen will be a very important piece for us this year.


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I agree we had to move Ayton, but just was hoping for a better package. I am not sure why people care about his contract, as we are so far over the cap we never would have had cap space. Nurkic being cheaper doesn't matter...unless people care about Ishbia saving money.

Unless the rationale is getting Grayson Allen with the extra salary difference (and Little), and he helps some, but doesn't really make up for the difference.

Would have loved to at least get someone like Capela. A guy like Lopez would have been perfect....or Porzingis, and I wouldn't be surprised if Washington would have dealt us him for Ayton had we gotten into that earlier.

[enigmatics]

You don't need a PG when you have Booker's playmaking, Beal's shooting and driving, and KD's gravity and tough-shot making. Maybe someone to 'set the table' and run the bench, but then you still stagger so one (or two) of Book/Beal/KD are there.

I still think we need either a real 3 n D wing like Royce O'Neal, or a tweener who can rebound and guard the perimeter.

I'm actually hopeful that Yuta (his scrappiness, shooting, improving defensive awareness) can be plugged into the starting line-up. He's a legit 6'9, a shooter, plays a bit dirty.

So then you have Yuta initially guarding the big wings (Lebron, Ant, Tatum) but also being able to switch with KD (his length/shot blocking).

We'll need Booker to step it up defensively tho.

Yuta is a turnstile on defense - at least so far.

The guy looks like he's on skates out there and often gets caught in no-man's land, especially on switches.

[Qwigglez]

I wouldn't even consider Ayton a better player. He has has better shooting skills and the agility to cover the perimeter.

Anything other than those and Nurk is better including motor, boxing out, IQ, passing, screening, ball handling, rebounding, getting free throws, etc.

I can live with a couple of dumb Nurk plays per game versus being extremely frustrated when Ayton isn't even trying for half a game.

Stats Per 36 minutes for

DA 12.5p/15.9r/1.5a/2.7s/1.2b/0.5ft
Nurk 12.9p/11.7r/6.1a/2s/1.6b/5.1ft

The difference in assists and free throws is quite stark

DA is more of a finesse player, while Nurkic uses his body. Definitely love that about Nurkic because his shooting is atrocious for a big man.

I actually think this article written for the Oregon state newspaper was a fairly accurate assessment of Nurkic (this past summer).
https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/2023/04/jusuf-nurkic-wants-to-remain-with-the-portland-trail-blazers-but-contract-could-help-facilitate-blockbuster-trade.html

A big knock on Nurkic is missing shots near the basket. In another article It was mentioned that Nurkic was taking too many floaters early in the 2021-22 season, and Billups told him not to shoot those anymore since the Blazers have plenty of guards to take floaters, and that Nurkic should be dominating the paint. Totally agree with that, and I am hopeful when the team is at full strength Nurkic gets these easy buckets right under the rim.

Also... a bit annoyed about that article linked above as it says if the Blazers plan on trading Nurkic, they likely have to include Sharpe or Anfernee Simons. Welp... Suns didn't get either of those guys

[suns12345]

I wouldn't even consider Ayton a better player. He has has better shooting skills and the agility to cover the perimeter.

Anything other than those and Nurk is better including motor, boxing out, IQ, passing, screening, ball handling, rebounding, getting free throws, etc.

I can live with a couple of dumb Nurk plays per game versus being extremely frustrated when Ayton isn't even trying for half a game.

Stats Per 36 minutes for

DA 12.5p/15.9r/1.5a/2.7s/1.2b/0.5ft
Nurk 12.9p/11.7r/6.1a/2s/1.6b/5.1ft

The difference in assists and free throws is quite stark

DA is more of a finesse player, while Nurkic uses his body. Definitely love that about Nurkic because his shooting is atrocious for a big man.

I actually think this article written for the Oregon state newspaper was a fairly accurate assessment of Nurkic (this past summer).
https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/2023/04/jusuf-nurkic-wants-to-remain-with-the-portland-trail-blazers-but-contract-could-help-facilitate-blockbuster-trade.html

A big knock on Nurkic is missing shots near the basket. In another article It was mentioned that Nurkic was taking too many floaters early in the 2021-22 season, and Billups told him not to shoot those anymore since the Blazers have plenty of guards to take floaters, and that Nurkic should be dominating the paint. Totally agree with that, and I am hopeful when the team is at full strength Nurkic gets these easy buckets right under the rim.

Also... a bit annoyed about that article linked above as it says if the Blazers plan on trading Nurkic, they likely have to include Sharpe or Anfernee Simons. Welp... Suns didn't get either of those guys

They were taking on a bad contract too though. DA's contract is a lot for a rebuilding team if you assume he isn't going to improve much.

I don't think DA was really a desirable asset at all.