MidMountain wrote:NuggetsWY wrote:MidMountain wrote:
Before the trade, Nurkic quit trying and had little to no value. Neither Nurkic nor the pick would have been a major piece in an all-star trade and can be replaced by other assets.
Uh, yeah, well, we'll have to agree to disagree there. It sure seems like Portland made the better trade and that was without throwing in a 1st round pick. They weren't happy with Plumlee & Denver wasn't happy with Nurkic. Portland received a starter they love and Denver received a backup that they may or may not resign after a partial season.
Meanwhile, 1st round picks are often considered "a major piece" in any trade, especially when trading for an all-star. But that's just my opinion and I've been wrong before.
Nurkic was a risk for Portland. The trade worked out in their favor since he turned his attitude around and became a productive player again. There was no guarantee he would start playing hard again, and if he hadn't the trade would have been skewed our way.
Perhaps, but then again, he worked very hard last off-season. He seemed prepared to seriously contribute. It seemed like the Nuggets did not handle Nurkic well and it also appears Nurkic did not handle things well. It should have been no surprise that a man that worked that hard last off-season would work hard at being given a new start.