Nurkic: "I don't see my future in Denver"

[RRFB]

Smart makes some sense if they plan to get rid of Nelson in a separate deal, but I thought Boston still valued him highly?

I'd do either Smart + a 1st, or Olynyk + a 1st for Nurkic.

[theman]

I don't know about the Celtics front office but moving on from Marcus does make some sense not because he is bad but because he has value. You have to give something to get something. I think they are still high on Smart but Rozier is starting to play well and they have Bradley and Isaiah Thomas in the back court.

Add to that the Bkn pick could easily go to another point guard. Nurkic fills a need. Celtics right now need defense and rebounding and I think Nurkic provides that.

[Nuggets_Talk]

Well this is patent nonsense. I can't account for the weird thing that seems to exist between our fanbases right now, but I can say for sure that our mod crew is one of the most reasonable and communicative on the site - they will tell you if they feel you are crossing a line, before taking action.

And there is a large roster of fans from other forums, including key rivals, who hang out with us regularly. In my experience, the Boston forum is more welcome to opposing viewpoints than most.

It's not. I've seen it myself. If you have any opposing opinions you are simply laughed at and/or insulted.

It is. First of all, you are flatly wrong about our mods. Can't put it any more plainly. They're a great crew, and they are anything but ban happy (believe me, I sometimes wish they were a little quicker on the trigger). If you've had run-ins with them, you did something to earn it. So by all means feel free to visit, and speak your mind.

As for the posters: again, highly active board. You're going to get some jerks. If those are all you choose to see, then there's nothing I can say to you. If you want quality conversation, it's there to be had, in abundance. If you're looking to be offended and have your preconceptions reinforced, I have no doubt you'll succeed there too.

We will agree to disagree. My differing opinions were not very welcomed there overall (some were nice, some were not but the bad out weighed the good). Or perhaps the aggressive posters just post more often?

I was never banned but I felt restrained while the home board fans could say whatever they please. I never insulted anyone or trolled.

You can describe it however you'd like but there is a stark difference in welcoming opposing viewpoints here vs there.

[yosemiteben]

Curious what the DEN board might ask for from CHA in a trade for Nurkic. Are you folks expecting a 1st? Given your contract situation it doesn't seem like you would make a move just for an expiring or short term contract like Hibbert or Hawes and it also seems like you don't have much of a need for a wing like Lamb or Belinelli given your wing depth.

How would you feel about Hibbert or Hawes + 2017 or 2018 1st? Not sure Cho would do that, but curious as to DEN's potential asking price.

what is a deal Charlotte would do? If they won't trade hibbert/hawes plus a first what's the point in asking it?

I don't know, I don't know if they would do it or not, thus why I said I wasn't sure if Cho would do it. It makes sense for both sides, just depends on how much Cho likes Nurkic. I'll say probably the biggest concern is he seems to not like coming off the bench, but Zeller is pretty firmly entrenched in the starting lineup.

[NuggetsWY]

Curious what the DEN board might ask for from CHA in a trade for Nurkic. Are you folks expecting a 1st? Given your contract situation it doesn't seem like you would make a move just for an expiring or short term contract like Hibbert or Hawes and it also seems like you don't have much of a need for a wing like Lamb or Belinelli given your wing depth.

How would you feel about Hibbert or Hawes + 2017 or 2018 1st? Not sure Cho would do that, but curious as to DEN's potential asking price.

what is a deal Charlotte would do? If they won't trade hibbert/hawes plus a first what's the point in asking it?

I don't know, I don't know if they would do it or not, thus why I said I wasn't sure if Cho would do it. It makes sense for both sides, just depends on how much Cho likes Nurkic. I'll say probably the biggest concern is he seems to not like coming off the bench, but Zeller is pretty firmly entrenched in the starting lineup.

and I'll say again, Clifford is the exact right coach for Nurkic - I have no doubt he'd be content to come off the bench, for now, as long as he knew his place on the team and got consistent minutes - Nurkic knows Clifford has a history of teaching young bigs - it would be a great fit and I have no doubt that Clifford, Hornets, and Hornet fans would love Nurkic

[yosemiteben]

I'm definitely not opposed to it, could be in the cards. All depends on how our FO views him and if they want to take that risk, which I agree seems worth it.

[The Rebel]

Curious what the DEN board might ask for from CHA in a trade for Nurkic. Are you folks expecting a 1st? Given your contract situation it doesn't seem like you would make a move just for an expiring or short term contract like Hibbert or Hawes and it also seems like you don't have much of a need for a wing like Lamb or Belinelli given your wing depth.

How would you feel about Hibbert or Hawes + 2017 or 2018 1st? Not sure Cho would do that, but curious as to DEN's potential asking price.

what is a deal Charlotte would do? If they won't trade hibbert/hawes plus a first what's the point in asking it?

I don't know, I don't know if they would do it or not, thus why I said I wasn't sure if Cho would do it. It makes sense for both sides, just depends on how much Cho likes Nurkic. I'll say probably the biggest concern is he seems to not like coming off the bench, but Zeller is pretty firmly entrenched in the starting lineup.

I don't know if coming off the bench is even half the reason Nurkic wants out. Reportedly Malone never talked to Nurkic about him coming off the bench, or why he was taken out of the rotation, which is reportedly Nurkic's biggest issue. Another issue is the way Malone is constantly screwing with rotations, last week Nurkic put up 12 and 7 in 18 min or so on good shooting, and with him anchoring the bench defense it was arguably the best defensive game of the season. He the has not gotten off the bench the last couple of games. Who can blame the guy for getting frustrated? At least tell the guy what he is doing wrong, and needs to work on.

[yosemiteben]

Interesting, didn't know that back story. That would never happen under Cliff.

[U hova]

honestly i'm still hoping we just keep him, boot malone, and apologize for how much of a dunce he was

and maybe bring back hunt.

[Dzon Dilindzer]

Read on Twitter

[Tecmo]

I just hope we don't give Nurkic away. What could we get in return? It seems like the buyers would have the upper-hand.

[yosemiteben]

Posted this Nurkic pros and cons list on our trade deadline board, curious what Nuggets fans who have seen him play more would add or change:

Pros:
Good size and very strong - 7 footer, 7'2" wingspan, 280 pounds
Very mobile for his size
Excellent in the PNR (1.21 ppp as PNR roll man, better than Cody Zeller, but not run nearly as frequently)
Pretty good post moves, willing to go to work on the block
Willing passer (gets sticky when he starts working in the paint though)
Solid on the boards (current ORB% would be 1st on our team, DRB% would be 2nd)
Still young (22, turns 23 in August)

Cons:
No shooting range (21 total shot attempts outside of 9 feet this season on poor %'s) and poor FT shooter (career 59%)
Still developing post game (53.6% FG within 10 feet but tracking stats say only 0.75 ppp on post-ups, which is worse than Frank)
Undisciplined defensively (chases blocks, team underperforms defensively with him on the floor)
Not a great rim protector (allows 55% at the rim)
Injury history (played 62 games rookie season and only 32 last season)

[psimanic1]

Actually he has shooting range i just don't know why he is not shooting, he was even able to score few 3pts when he was playing for younger NT for Bosnia...

[The Rebel]

Posted this Nurkic pros and cons list on our trade deadline board, curious what Nuggets fans who have seen him play more would add or change:

Pros:
Good size and very strong - 7 footer, 7'2" wingspan, 280 pounds
Very mobile for his size
Excellent in the PNR (1.21 ppp as PNR roll man, better than Cody Zeller, but not run nearly as frequently)
Pretty good post moves, willing to go to work on the block
Willing passer (gets sticky when he starts working in the paint though)
Solid on the boards (current ORB% would be 1st on our team, DRB% would be 2nd)
Still young (22, turns 23 in August)

Cons:
No shooting range (21 total shot attempts outside of 9 feet this season on poor %'s) and poor FT shooter (career 59%)
Still developing post game (53.6% FG within 10 feet but tracking stats say only 0.75 ppp on post-ups, which is worse than Frank)
Undisciplined defensively (chases blocks, team underperforms defensively with him on the floor)
Not a great rim protector (allows 55% at the rim)
Injury history (played 62 games rookie season and only 32 last season)

As Psimanic said Nurkic historically has a pretty good mid range shot out to about 18-20 feet, but for some reason he only gets touches in the post. Also the reason that Nurkic's pnr number is so low is that Malone does not like the pnr offense at all. He has stated it numerous times in interviews. One of the issues I have with Malone is his half hearted try at getting the Jokic Nurkic lineup to work, if he had set up the offense to run through Jokic at the top of the key and had Nurkic setting side screens and either cutting to the rim or spotting up to take his mid range shot than I truly believe it would have worked. It took Malone 26 games to even figure out that the offense should be running through Jokic, so it is no wonder he is not creative enough to figure out that with shooters to spread the court, Nurkic and Jokic could work together, much like the old princeton offense run in Sacramento.

Also his injury history was 1 injury. His rookie season he was not played early, then hurt his knee and tried to play through it, playing some nights and missing others, he had surgery in March if I remember correctly. He was cleared for full contact practice and drills in late December, and came back a week later. He was out of shape and still not 100% throughout the end of the season, so he was limited throughout all of last year. This year he has been fully healthy.

His defense was actually better his rookie year, and even last year. Part of the issue is that you can just kind of see that his heart is not in it the last 6 weeks or so. Basically ever since Malone decided to have him come off the bench and started jerking his minutes around. Occasionally you will see flashes of the defense he used to play, so he is still capable.

[Prince12]

So obviously the Nurkic trade has been well documented now for months and I suspect something will happen. Are you guys mostly wanting him out due to attitude or has he actually declined as a player?
I see with Jokic out he has started but played minimal minutes. I've been intrigued with him for a couple of seasons and I havnt seen enough of you guys play to understand the situation. I know skywalker33 has certainly been active in trade discussions on our board and as usual we are probably over valuing our guys and what would it take to make it happen. Would you want a big back? Henson and Plums are certainly available but I would expect we would require to add some form of asset. Certainly with the way our season is tracking our 1st pick would be off limits. Can you see a deal you'd like with us?

Was coming out for this game on Friday but the bucks play of late has made me save my cash haha but I do hope that Jokic is back, dude is a beast.

[The Rebel]

So obviously the Nurkic trade has been well documented now for months and I suspect something will happen. Are you guys mostly wanting him out due to attitude or has he actually declined as a player?
I see with Jokic out he has started but played minimal minutes. I've been intrigued with him for a couple of seasons and I havnt seen enough of you guys play to understand the situation. I know skywalker33 has certainly been active in trade discussions on our board and as usual we are probably over valuing our guys and what would it take to make it happen. Would you want a big back? Henson and Plums are certainly available but I would expect we would require to add some form of asset. Certainly with the way our season is tracking our 1st pick would be off limits. Can you see a deal you'd like with us?

Was coming out for this game on Friday but the bucks play of late has made me save my cash haha but I do hope that Jokic is back, dude is a beast.

There is a ton of discussion on why Nurkic has not been effective, but I doubt it is because he has declined in the last 2 months. He was putting up double doubles when he was starting early in the season, but as posted in this thread, as soon as he was benched he did not handle it well. Part of it is reportedly that Malone has not had a conversation with him about why he was pulled from the starting lineup, nor why his minutes have been so limited. In addition Malone has made it really clear that he prefers to play small.

I do not know a single person who would prefer to trade Nurkic, but Nurkic wants out and he is one of those guys who's game is reliant on his emotions. He is just not the same player since his agent reportedly made the trade request.

You will also see some big disagreements on his value, some Nuggets fans think he is worth a decent young prospect, some think he is worth the 2017 Brooklyn pick plus some. Personally I think he is worth a good pick, so while we would need a backup center when he is traded, it will take some assets in addition to the 1st round pick for the Nuggets to take either Henson or Plumlee. I could see something like Henson, your 2017 1st top 5 protected, and a future 1st making sense, but I am sure you will disagree. But my reasoning is pretty simple, 1 pick for taking Henson and his deal, and 1 pick for Nurkic.

[Prince12]

So obviously the Nurkic trade has been well documented now for months and I suspect something will happen. Are you guys mostly wanting him out due to attitude or has he actually declined as a player?
I see with Jokic out he has started but played minimal minutes. I've been intrigued with him for a couple of seasons and I havnt seen enough of you guys play to understand the situation. I know skywalker33 has certainly been active in trade discussions on our board and as usual we are probably over valuing our guys and what would it take to make it happen. Would you want a big back? Henson and Plums are certainly available but I would expect we would require to add some form of asset. Certainly with the way our season is tracking our 1st pick would be off limits. Can you see a deal you'd like with us?

Was coming out for this game on Friday but the bucks play of late has made me save my cash haha but I do hope that Jokic is back, dude is a beast.

There is a ton of discussion on why Nurkic has not been effective, but I doubt it is because he has declined in the last 2 months. He was putting up double doubles when he was starting early in the season, but as posted in this thread, as soon as he was benched he did not handle it well. Part of it is reportedly that Malone has not had a conversation with him about why he was pulled from the starting lineup, nor why his minutes have been so limited. In addition Malone has made it really clear that he prefers to play small.

I do not know a single person who would prefer to trade Nurkic, but Nurkic wants out and he is one of those guys who's game is reliant on his emotions. He is just not the same player since his agent reportedly made the trade request.

You will also see some big disagreements on his value, some Nuggets fans think he is worth a decent young prospect, some think he is worth the 2017 Brooklyn pick plus some. Personally I think he is worth a good pick, so while we would need a backup center when he is traded, it will take some assets in addition to the 1st round pick for the Nuggets to take either Henson or Plumlee. I could see something like Henson, your 2017 1st top 5 protected, and a future 1st making sense, but I am sure you will disagree. But my reasoning is pretty simple, 1 pick for taking Henson and his deal, and 1 pick for Nurkic.

Yeah I guess from the other side you hope that maybe Denver just wants him out if they feel he is becoming an issue in the lockeroom. That is the value that skywalker was looking at or similar if I remember correctly and I don't blame you because I'm just desperate to get rid of Henson but there is just no way I could give two firsts especially given we are heading down the standings quickly.

And don't get me wrong Henson absolutely sucks I'm just hoping a team will buy into the 'potential' that he hasn't tapped into in 5 years so far.

[The Rebel]

There is a ton of discussion on why Nurkic has not been effective, but I doubt it is because he has declined in the last 2 months. He was putting up double doubles when he was starting early in the season, but as posted in this thread, as soon as he was benched he did not handle it well. Part of it is reportedly that Malone has not had a conversation with him about why he was pulled from the starting lineup, nor why his minutes have been so limited. In addition Malone has made it really clear that he prefers to play small.

I do not know a single person who would prefer to trade Nurkic, but Nurkic wants out and he is one of those guys who's game is reliant on his emotions. He is just not the same player since his agent reportedly made the trade request.

You will also see some big disagreements on his value, some Nuggets fans think he is worth a decent young prospect, some think he is worth the 2017 Brooklyn pick plus some. Personally I think he is worth a good pick, so while we would need a backup center when he is traded, it will take some assets in addition to the 1st round pick for the Nuggets to take either Henson or Plumlee. I could see something like Henson, your 2017 1st top 5 protected, and a future 1st making sense, but I am sure you will disagree. But my reasoning is pretty simple, 1 pick for taking Henson and his deal, and 1 pick for Nurkic.

Yeah I guess from the other side you hope that maybe Denver just wants him out if they feel he is becoming an issue in the lockeroom. That is the value that skywalker was looking at or similar if I remember correctly and I don't blame you because I'm just desperate to get rid of Henson but there is just no way I could give two firsts especially given we are heading down the standings quickly.

And don't get me wrong Henson absolutely sucks I'm just hoping a team will buy into the 'potential' that he hasn't tapped into in 5 years so far.

I don't think the Nuggets want him out at all, outside of Malone I should say. I and many other fans still believe that Nurkic and Jokic could work together with a coach willing to try to design a system and lineup around them, but Malone is hard headed and has never really done that. So I have to believe that there are some in the front office that still believe they will work together as well.

The real issue is that Nurkic wants out, and who can blame him? He is good enough to start on many teams around the league, and yet he has a coach that would rather play small with Chandler or Faried at the 5 than actually use a big in the bench lineup, despite the fact that the bench continually gets killed due to not having any size in the middle.

I think Henson is past the point of teams buying into potential, I used to really like the guy and thought he could become a very good starter, now I think he is a decent backup shot blocking center, the problem is that he is paid to be a starting caliber center and he just is not there.

One other offer that I could see the Nuggets considering is 2017 1st top 5 protected, Henson, and Thon Maker, but then I think Thon has the potential to eventually grow into a good fit next to Jokic.

[Prince12]

There is a ton of discussion on why Nurkic has not been effective, but I doubt it is because he has declined in the last 2 months. He was putting up double doubles when he was starting early in the season, but as posted in this thread, as soon as he was benched he did not handle it well. Part of it is reportedly that Malone has not had a conversation with him about why he was pulled from the starting lineup, nor why his minutes have been so limited. In addition Malone has made it really clear that he prefers to play small.

I do not know a single person who would prefer to trade Nurkic, but Nurkic wants out and he is one of those guys who's game is reliant on his emotions. He is just not the same player since his agent reportedly made the trade request.

You will also see some big disagreements on his value, some Nuggets fans think he is worth a decent young prospect, some think he is worth the 2017 Brooklyn pick plus some. Personally I think he is worth a good pick, so while we would need a backup center when he is traded, it will take some assets in addition to the 1st round pick for the Nuggets to take either Henson or Plumlee. I could see something like Henson, your 2017 1st top 5 protected, and a future 1st making sense, but I am sure you will disagree. But my reasoning is pretty simple, 1 pick for taking Henson and his deal, and 1 pick for Nurkic.

Yeah I guess from the other side you hope that maybe Denver just wants him out if they feel he is becoming an issue in the lockeroom. That is the value that skywalker was looking at or similar if I remember correctly and I don't blame you because I'm just desperate to get rid of Henson but there is just no way I could give two firsts especially given we are heading down the standings quickly.

And don't get me wrong Henson absolutely sucks I'm just hoping a team will buy into the 'potential' that he hasn't tapped into in 5 years so far.

I don't think the Nuggets want him out at all, outside of Malone I should say. I and many other fans still believe that Nurkic and Jokic could work together with a coach willing to try to design a system and lineup around them, but Malone is hard headed and has never really done that. So I have to believe that there are some in the front office that still believe they will work together as well.

The real issue is that Nurkic wants out, and who can blame him? He is good enough to start on many teams around the league, and yet he has a coach that would rather play small with Chandler or Faried at the 5 than actually use a big in the bench lineup, despite the fact that the bench continually gets killed due to not having any size in the middle.

I think Henson is past the point of teams buying into potential, I used to really like the guy and thought he could become a very good starter, now I think he is a decent backup shot blocking center, the problem is that he is paid to be a starting caliber center and he just is not there.

One other offer that I could see the Nuggets considering is 2017 1st top 5 protected, Henson, and Thon Maker, but then I think Thon has the potential to eventually grow into a good fit next to Jokic.

Your assessment of Henson is spot on. Unfortunately we paid him based on one excellent series against the bulls and he's never looked like that player since.
Thon has flashed to much in very limited minutes to trade him away. Many have hopes of him being the starting 5 moving forward next to Giannis with crazy length.
I could have been swayed to trade out out first a few weeks ago but at that point it looked like a late teens pick, now we are three games out of the 5th pick with a tough schedule ahead, the thought of a pick in that range with this draft is to tantalising to give up.
It's going to be intriguing to see how this plays out. Hopefully it works out well for you guys.

[psimanic1]

What about Delly and something for Nurkic and Nelson?