The Jusuf Nurkic Thread

[ohara]

I would be okay with drafting Nurkic at 24.

If he is still on the board, he would be a terrific pickup at #24.

[MrTwister]

I dont know if i want him or not, maybe a better Pekovic?

Every time i am lurking on your boards i see some Euro prospect being mentioned And with your draft history i am not surprised that you are predicting him to bust considering you guys picked Zeller at 4 last year for which i thought wont even be in the lottery.I have a theory that no basketball player named Zeller can be anything more than role player for 10ish min.But thats only me

There is something about Pekovic-Nurkic comparation.People see bulky 280 pound Euro center and first player comes to mind is Pek, imo he reminds me more on Chris Andersen.There is some things which these 2 have in common compared in adequate periods but fact is that if Nurkic comes over he will most likely be a project, not almost finished product like Pek was, considering he needs some time to develop he might even pan out better than Embiid which is widely considered #1 overall.I am not that high on Embiid like rest of the forums and i can elaborate but i dont think its wise to do it here.

Since walls of text are my thing, I'll try to present him as clearer as i can for you guys.Imagine 19y old,more athletic, less offensively polished, better defensively Pekovic.He draws double teams on him because he is too strong even for senior competition because he uses his strength well but he still can improve in that field.Good passing skills, usually for high-low plays and when double-teamed he usually pass it out to open man on perimeter.Plays with a lot of contact and is a lot stronger than he looks (especially his face make him look harmless) and he goes often to the FT line where he shoots over 70% which is decent for a big man. With his back to the basket game, he can move defenders deeper in the post and when he doesn’t want to do that he can go to a quick spin move which as a 19 year old he has mastered pretty well.He hustles for every rebound and also have great motor and is very active on offensive glass, good finisher also thanks to his soft touch around the rim with nice baby hook shot he developed this season.I saw him few times in Adriatic league and you see he tries to do too many things at once which often leads to turnovers or fouls.He is sometimes too aggressive, making stupid fouls, getting easily in foul trouble is reason why he doesn't start games for his team even though he is their #1 center.His help defense need some improvement consider him little better than Pekovicbut still not god enough in that area.He uses his size and lenght very well and makes him very nice post defender.He sometimes shoot off balance and with some wierd 2-hand mechanic but it can be fixed, he has some annoying habit on help defense to block shots with 2 hands like a volleyball player which i find concerning but its also fixable with right coaching and training.

My prediction about him is that if Nuggets pass him he will most likely drop to late lottery or mid-late teens considering teams there are in much more need for shooting than big men.

[Eoghan]

He reminds me of Greg Ostertag. A more modern, Euro Ostertag. I should probably watch him more.

[Liver_Pooty]

He reminds me of Greg Ostertag. A more modern, Euro Ostertag. I should probably watch him more.

LOL. I actually thought about this the other day. Awesome comparison

[mrknowitall215]

Jusuf Nurkic: Nurkic is all over draft boards. He's one of the few true big men in this draft, which really helps him. Some teams have him as the third-best international prospect after Exum and Saric. Others have him as low as the sixth- or seventh-best international prospect. Obviously his size and soft touch are the things teams are interested in. But his lack of athleticism and rebounding issues keep him from being an elite prospect among some scouts. He could go as high as No. 12 to the Magic and his range probably ends at No. 21 to the Thunder.