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Jusuf Nurkic

Northwest Notes: Hyland, Gordon, Towns, Blazers

February 1st, 2023 at 9:08am CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets guard Bones Hyland would be open to a trade that allows him to secure a larger role on a new team, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report stated during Tuesday night’s broadcast of the Pelicans/Nuggets game in Denver (Twitter video link).

While Haynes’ info is new, it lines up with what we’ve heard during the last week from other reporters. Jake Fischer said last Friday that “occasional clashes” between Hyland and Nuggets head coach Michael Malone were a factor in Denver’s willingness to gauge his trade market, while Marc Stein alluded this week to “tensions” about the second-year guard’s playing time.

Hyland averaged 19.0 minutes per game during his rookie season in 2021/22 and has played a similar role in year two, logging 19.5 MPG so far in ’22/23. He’s tied for seventh among Nuggets players in minutes per game, but is one of the team’s top five scorers with 12.1 PPG.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • In a conversation with Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon spoke about the importance of continuity in Denver, his experience playing alongside Nikola Jokic, and the odds of earning his first All-Star nod. “It would mean a lot to me,” Gordon said of the All-Star possibility. “I hope I make it.”
  • There’s still no set return timeline for injured Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns, who remains out indefinitely due to his calf injury, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said on Tuesday during a radio appearance on KFAN 100.3 (Twitter link via Dane Moore). However, the team’s “full expectation” is that Towns will return at some point this season, Connelly added.
  • After resetting their roster last season with a series of major trades, the Trail Blazers – tied for 11th in the West with a 24-26 record – seem to be back in no-man’s land, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. O’Connor considers what moves Portland can make around star point guard Damian Lillard to become a contender, arguing that center Jusuf Nurkic is a weak link and that the team should be open to the idea of moving any of Anfernee Simons, Josh Hart, and Shaedon Sharpe if the return is right.
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Trade Rumors: Guards, Centers, Hornets, Mavs, Hyland, More

January 30th, 2023 at 3:55pm CST by Rory Maher

Previous reports have indicated that the Suns and Clippers are interested in point guards, and they have been the two most active teams looking for help at the position, sources tell Matt Moore of Action Network.

At least one report indicated that the Heat aren’t actively shopping Kyle Lowry, but that hasn’t stopped rival teams from calling to check in on him, Moore writes.

Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer wrote last week that the Clippers are interested in Lowry and Fred VanVleet, and their names are not a coincidence. According to Moore, Kawhi Leonard “has made it clear” that he would welcome backcourt help, and the three players were teammates when the Raptors won the championship in 2019.

Moore believes VanVleet is more likely to be on the move than Lowry due to his age and contract situation. VanVleet, who turns 29 next month, is expected to decline his player option and hit free agency in 2023. Lowry, on the other hand, turns 37 in March and is owed $29.7MM in 2023/24.

As for the Suns, they’ve been looking more at reserves than starters. His name hasn’t come up in trade talks, according to Moore, but rival executives are keeping a close eye on Chris Paul‘s situation in Phoenix in case new owner Mat Ishbia decides to go in a different direction — Paul turns 38 in May.

Moore says Bulls guard Alex Caruso might be the most difficult guard on the market to acquire, as his contract, age, and versatility hold a lot of appeal. Nearly a dozen teams are thought to have “serious interest” in Caruso, but some have already pulled out of talks with Chicago due to a high asking price.

Here are several more trade rumors from Moore:

  • If the Spurs trade Jakob Poeltl, Moore believes it will come right before the deadline. Rival executives are skeptical San Antonio will be able to get two first-rounders for the veteran center.
  • While Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic is reportedly available, Moore writes that Portland will only move him for an upgrade at the position.
  • Multiple teams have inquired on Timberwolves center Naz Reid, but evidently Minnesota didn’t like the offers. Moore hears the Wolves are going to hang onto the 23-year-old and will try to sign him to a contract extension.
  • The Hornets have set a pretty high bar in talks regarding Terry Rozier and Mason Plumlee. They’re looking for a first-rounder in exchange for either player, according to Moore.
  • The Mavericks are open to discussing their wing players in an effort to upgrade the roster, but they might also look to shed long-term money. Keep an eye on the Jazz, says Moore, as they could offer “short-term upgrades on expiring contracts” to fulfill both of those desires.
  • Moore classifies the Pelicans as a team “unlikely to make moves,” though they are interested in wing help. Sources tell Moore the Hawks are unlikely to trade John Collins, as the new front office regime appears to value him more than the previous one did.
  • The Nuggets are looking for a “playoff-ready wing who can defend” for guard Bones Hyland, but have only received “lowball offers” thus far. Moore believes they’re unlikely to make a deal. However, sources tell Mike Singer of The Denver Post that the Nuggets “believe they have traction on potentially acquiring a first-round pick” for the 22-year-old. Singer also reports that the Nuggets are looking for players on “cost-controlled” contracts similar to Hyland’s, who is in the second year of his rookie scale deal.
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Fischer’s Latest: Blazers, Pelicans, Collins, Bucks, Jazz

January 27th, 2023 at 7:54pm CST by Rory Maher

The Trail Blazers are still committed to building around Damian Lillard and intend to sign Jerami Grant to a long-term deal. One report also indicated that they view Anfernee Simons as “close to untouchable.”

However, the remainder of the roster could be in play ahead of the trade deadline, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Starters Josh Hart and Jusuf Nurkic appear to be available — ESPN’s Zach Lowe said a couple days ago that Hart’s name “is very, very hot right now,” and Fischer hears the same.

Nurkic, 28, has been Portland’s starting center for six-plus seasons. He became trade-eligible on January 15 after re-signing with the Blazers this past offseason, inking a four-year, $70MM contract.

The Blazers are targeting players athletic players with size and 3-and-D wings, sources tell Fischer.

Here are several more trade rumors from Fischer:

  • The Pelicans are interested in John Collins, but their talks with the Hawks have yet to gain much traction, sources tell Fischer. New Orleans is said to be looking for offensive upgrades and shooting, while Atlanta is searching for defensive upgrades. Money concerns may dampen the Pelicans’ pursuit of Collins, Fischer notes, as ownership has long avoided the luxury tax.  Like Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, Fischer hears Atlanta is comfortable hanging onto Collins if the team doesn’t find an offer it likes.
  • Jaxson Hayes, Devonte’ Graham and Naji Marshall are among the players the Pelicans have had preliminary discussions about, sources tell Fischer, though not necessarily for Collins.
  • As he has reported multiple times, Fischer continues to hear that the Bucks are shopping Grayson Allen and second-round picks in search of a “defensive-minded forward” who makes around $10MM, which is why they’ve been trying to land Jae Crowder for seemingly months now.
  • The Jazz continue to actively shop Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt and Mike Conley, sources tell Fischer. Other veterans are also considered available. Marc Stein reported last week that the Clippers are interested in Conley, but a source tells Fischer that an L.A. deal for the point guard appears to be “unrealistic.”
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21 More NBA Players Become Trade-Eligible

January 15th, 2023 at 8:23am CST by Luke Adams

Today is Sunday, January 15, which means that nearly two dozen players who signed free agent contracts meeting specific criteria this past offseason are now eligible to be traded.

Most offseason signees became trade-eligible on December 15, but players who met the following criteria were ineligible to be moved for an extra month:

  1. The player re-signed with his previous team.
  2. He got a raise of at least 20%.
  3. His salary is worth more than the minimum.
  4. His team was over the cap and used Bird or Early Bird rights to sign him.

The following players met that criteria and are eligible to be traded as of Sunday:

(* Players marked with an asterisk have the ability to veto trades.)

Most of the players on NBA rosters are now eligible to be moved, though a small handful still can’t be dealt. That group includes Thunder guard Isaiah Joe, who becomes trade-eligible on Monday, Bucks swingman Pat Connaughton (trade-eligible on Wednesday), and Thunder forward Kenrich Williams (trade-eligible on Friday).

There are also several players who won’t become trade-eligible before this season’s February 9 deadline, including Lakers star LeBron James. Players on 10-day contracts are also ineligible to be dealt.

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Gary Payton II Expected To Make Blazers Debut Monday

January 1st, 2023 at 8:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Gary Payton II is expected to make his Trail Blazers debut on Monday. He is not listed on the team’s injury report for their home game against Detroit (Twitter link).

Payton signed a three-year, $26MM contract with the Trail Blazers as an unrestricted free agent in July, then had core muscle surgery during the offseason. Payton was a key rotation player on the Warriors’ championship team and the Blazers anticipate that he’ll serve a similar role behind Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons.

Payton, 30, struggled to find a team that would give him a steady role until he emerged as a defensive force for Golden State. He averaged 7.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 71 regular season games, including 16 starts. He also appeared in 12 postseason games, including a pair of starts. Payton also played for Milwaukee, the Lakers and Washington but never appeared in more than 29 games the previous five seasons.

Portland could use the boost, as it used an eight-man rotation in its last game due to illness and injuries. Justise Winslow won’t play on Monday due to a left ankle sprain while starting center Jusuf Nurkic and reserves Keon Johnson and Greg Brown are listed as questionable due to illness.

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Northwest Notes: Gobert, Mitchell, Billups, Nurkic

September 3rd, 2022 at 8:36am CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly realizes it was a risk dealing so many draft picks and rotation players for Rudy Gobert but felt the club needed another impact player to get to the next level, he told Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star Tribune on a podcast.

“We’re trying to redefine how the league views us,” Connelly said. “We knew we gave up a lot, but the hardest thing to find is elite talent and elite ‘happy’ talent is even harder to find.”

However, there will be a transition period. “It won’t be easy or seamless,” Connelly added. “I’m sure there will be some clunky moments initially. But we felt like we took a huge step forward with the acquisition of Rudy.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • Donovan Mitchell thanked former Jazz coach Quin Snyder and Utah fans in an Instagram post as he waits for the blockbuster deal with the Cavaliers to become official. “Thank you for the memories and the incredible times… you guys watched me grow up on and off the floor… Coach Quin thank you for giving me the opportunity and trusting me to lead this team for the past 5 years‼️”
  • Grading the impending deal, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News gives the Jazz a B-plus and the Cavs a B. Todd notes the Jazz accomplished their goal of trying to get younger and to come away with some assets for future use. There’s also the possibility of Mitchell or some of Cleveland’s other stars eventually bolting in free agency, which would make those unprotected picks and pick swaps even more valuable.
  • Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups is at the EuroBasket tournament in Germany and feels it’s important to show support for his players, such as Bosnia’s Jusuf Nurkic, he told Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops.net. “I love to see guys go play on their national teams,” Billups said. “Because you’re playing the right way. You’re playing with a purpose and obviously because of that experience  you’ll be in shape.”
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More Than 30 NBA Players On Track To Suit Up For EuroBasket

August 18th, 2022 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The first EuroBasket tournament in five years will tip off in two weeks and there are currently 34 NBA players on track to participate in the event, representing 17 different countries, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net.

EuroBasket is a 24-team international basketball competition also known as the European Basketball Championship. It historically took place every two years, but that gap was recently adjusted to four years, emulating the FIBA World Cup schedule.

The last EuroBasket tournament was played in 2017 — the next one had been scheduled for 2021, but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics. As a result, after being played every two years since 1947, it has now been five years since the last EuroBasket tournament, easily the longest layoff since World War II.

It’s possible that some NBA players will be cut from their teams’ rosters or will have to drop out due to injuries or personal reasons before the event begins on September 1, but in general enthusiasm to participate in the long-awaited event appears high.

Here’s the list of NBAers currently set to play in EuroBasket, per Eurohoops:

There are also multiple NBA free agents on EuroBasket rosters, including French swingman Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and German guard Dennis Schröder.

A number of young NBA players, such as 2022 draftees Jeremy Sochan and Nikola Jovic, have dropped out to focus on getting ready for the 2022/23 season, while others, including Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia) and Frank Ntilikina (France), were ruled out due to injuries.

Round robin play will begin on September 1, with each team facing the other five clubs in its group once. The top four teams in each group will advance to a 16-team bracket that begins on September 10. The final will take place on September 18, just over a week before NBA training camps get underway.

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Contract Details: Drummond, Jones, LaVine, Cancar, Martin, Nurkic

July 9th, 2022 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The two-year contracts that Andre Drummond and Derrick Jones signed with the Bulls have virtually identical terms. Both players will earn guaranteed $3.2MM salaries in 2022/23, with $3.36MM player options for the ’23/24 season, Hoops Rumors has learned. The only real difference between the two deals is how the Bulls completed them — Drummond received a portion of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, while Jones was re-signed using his Non-Bird rights.

Here are more details on recently signed contracts from around the NBA:

  • Zach LaVine‘s five-year, maximum-salary contract with the Bulls includes a 15% trade kicker, Hoops Rumors has learned. For 2022/23, at least, that kicker will be inconsequential since LaVine is already earning the max, but it could be a factor later in his deal if the annual salary cap increases outpace his annual 8% raises.
  • Vlatko Cancar‘s three-year contract with the Nuggets features matching $2,234,359 cap hits in each of the first two seasons, plus a $2,346,606 team option for 2024/25. The first two years are guaranteed.
  • Heat forward Caleb Martin received a starting salary of $6,479,000, which is the full portion of the taxpayer mid-level exception. Miami remains below the tax apron, so the team can use the rest of the non-taxpayer MLE (approximately $4MM more) if it so chooses. Martin also got a third-year player option and a 15% trade kicker on his new three-year deal.
  • Jusuf Nurkic‘s four-year, $70MM contract with the Trail Blazers is fully guaranteed and is structured with standard 8% annual raises. It starts at $15,625,000 in 2022/23 and increases to $19,375,000 by year four in ’25/26.
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Jusuf Nurkic Signs Four-Year Deal With Trail Blazers

July 1st, 2022 at 11:17am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: The Trail Blazers put out a press release officially announcing Nurkic’s new contract. The announcement included a statement from GM Joe Cronin, who said it was “incredibly important” to bring back the veteran center as a key piece of the team’s core.

“Nurk’s physicality, rebounding prowess and defensive acumen make him an integral part of what we do on both sides of the ball,” Cronin said.

JULY 1: The Trail Blazers will re-sign center Jusuf Nurkic at $70MM over four seasons, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Nurkic’s agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, confirmed the agreement.

The deal shows that Nurkic is still viewed as part of the future in Portland. There had been speculation around the trade deadline that he might be moved as part of a rebuild, but the Blazers have been heading in the other direction, making roster moves aimed at a quick return to contention.

Nurkic, 27, averaged 15.0 points and 11.1 rebounds last season, but he was sidelined by plantar fasciitis in mid-February. With Portland well out of the playoff race, the team opted to not have Nurkic try to return for the end of the season.

Nurkic started his NBA career with the Nuggets, but was traded to the Blazers in 2017 after Nikola Jokic emerged as a star in Denver. He overcame a compound fracture of his left tibia and fibula in 2019 and was fully healthy heading into last season.

Re-signing Nurkic ends any interest that Portland may have had in the Suns’ Deandre Ayton. The Blazers had been mentioned as a possible destination for the free agent center.

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report first reported earlier in the week that a four-year deal in the range of $17MM per year for Nurkic and the Blazers was a likely outcome. It’s a pay raise for the big man, whose last contract was worth $48MM over four years.

Portland has been busy so far in free agency, reaching multiyear agreements with Anfernee Simons and Gary Payton II in addition to Nurkic.

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Trail Blazers Rumors: Lillard, Nurkic, Simons, Ingles

June 29th, 2022 at 7:11am CST by Luke Adams

Damian Lillard only appeared in 29 games for the Trail Blazers during the 2021/22 and posted career-worst shooting percentages of 40.2% from the floor and 32.4% on threes before undergoing abdominal surgery. However, it doesn’t appear as if Lillard’s down year will stand in the way of an opportunity to secure another substantial payday this offseason.

According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, there’s an expectation that the Blazers will offer the six-time All-Star a two-year contract extension worth north of $100MM.

If Lillard agrees to sign that extension, he would likely exercise his $48.8MM player option for 2024/25 as part of the deal and tack two new years onto the three he still has left on his current contract. It would put him in line to earn upwards of $240MM over the next five seasons, depending on the exact value of the extension.

Here’s more on the Blazers:

  • There’s a belief among league personnel that Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic will sign a four-year deal with an average annual value around $17MM to remain in Portland, Fischer reports. Nurkic’s previous four-year contract, signed in 2018, was worth $12MM per year.
  • Like Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Fischer has heard that a new contract for restricted free agent guard Anfernee Simons will be in the range of $80MM over four years, plus incentives. Simons is expected to stick with the Blazers.
  • Free agent forward Joe Ingles, who is recovering from a torn ACL, has been doing some of his rehab work in Portland and there’s a belief he could re-sign with the Trail Blazers despite having been acquired after he was injured, sources tell Bleacher Report. However, Fischer cautions that Ingles seems to have “plenty of interest” from other teams as well.
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