Of course he is paid. But how do you think the athletic get money to pay him? No ads in their site. We as subscriber pay for it. It's disrespectful to make what @Scalma did. And I just wanted to make you a bit more aware of this. Why not copy a paragraph or two and put the link for the whole article?
And as far as the Athletic goes? They made the decision to hire the guy. Maybe they got a spot for the writer of the year John Canzano?
Nurks usage in January: 27% In Nurks best season (‘18-19) his best month was March when his usage was just under 27%. His numbers then: 17ppg, 12rpg, 4apg. Last two seasons his usage never topped 22%. This isn’t a guy playing for a contract. This is a guy finally being utilized correctly.
Certainly more? Does his usage stay the same with Lillard on the court? Exactly what would be “Correct “ if Lillard, Little, Nance, and Ant are on the court with him?
Nurk should never be lower than the second option. And with all the attention Dame gets it would make sense to have the offense run through Nurk more. It’ll make everyone’s job easier and he’s not a selfish player, he will find the open guys.
It's sad to read you. I tend to like your general opinions over here. But this is just cheap. You can do better.
I don’t mind keeping Nurkic at this point. But if the goal in anyone’s mind was to continue and pursue Ben Simmons, would anyone be down with trading Nurkic for Bamba + 2023 CHI top-4 protected 1st? I think that Nurkic has played good enough that the Magic can see it as fair value. With the remaining schedule until the trade deadline, he has another possible 4-5 games where he can be putting up his recent monster numbers. But Bamba is going to be a much better fit. We’ll have rights to match any offer and we’ll be able to see how Bamba fits in Chauncey’s defensive schemes going forward before Dame comes back next season. An extra 1st on top is also always good. Bamba also isn’t nearly the player Nurkic is currently, so tank projections increase. Earlier in Ant’s breakout people were saying hide Ant on the bench so people don’t see enough of him to give him a high offer. I always hated that thought cause you’re not giving him an opportunity to provide for his family. If you want to see what’s he’s worth, trades like this is how you do it. Make him prove what he can do when we get rid of the vets for assets. If he proves he can still maintain this play, he’s gonna be worth whatever we pay anyways. If he struggles with more attention to him on defense, that certainly could help during negotiations.
Couldn't agree more. If your bigman is going to bust his ass on defense/boards they deserve to be fed.
If we were getting Simmons this would be a brilliant trade. So that changes my ideal trade deadline to...
I don't think that's always true....unless they are really good at offense...which Nurk is not Ben Wallace busted his ass on defense and the boards and he didn't get 'fed' nor did he deserve to be. His highest usage rate was 15%; highest FGA/100-possessions was 13. Rudy Gobert busts his ass and his usage rate is 17% and his highest FGA/100-possessions was 13. Nurkic's usage rate is 24% and his average FGA/100-possessions is 20 and his mark this season is 18.3. That 18.3 mark is Nurk's lowest in Portland and it may not be coincidence that he also has his highest TS% mark this season. He might be one of those players that losses efficiency with a higher usage. It may be he's at his optimum balance of shots and efficiency now, if you're talking about whether it should be Nurk taking more shots with his .593 TS% or CJ taking more with his .537 mark than it probably should be Nurkic
Ben Simmons is pretty much the only scenario trading Nurk makes some sense and even then I probably wouldn’t do it. I hate Bens whole aura, and he’s gradually gotten worse since his rookie year, which suggests he’s not a worker. He’s not the savior some want him to be imo. But I’d at least consider it because I’m a sucker for upside. Other than that, Nurks my center and they better pay him.
If their opening offer was CJ, three firsts and two swaps for Ben, why wouldn't CJ, DJJ and three firsts be good enough for Ben and Shake who really would have a very reduced role if he were to stay. I don't think we have to have Shake back in the deal to make it, maybe it's just Springer but I actually think we could get Shake... I would throw in a swap if it was necessary to get this done. What I like is the idea that next season we would be starting Dame, Nas, Brown, Simmons and Bamba... that's a championship starting lineup.
If by savior you mean someone who puts us over the top as an only move, sure. But I don’t expect him to do that. But I think it’s completely fair to expect him to transcend how we play defense as well as be the 2nd ball handler when he’s on the court. And we have ways to acquire players to hide his shooting. I think it’s shortsighted to not consider Ben because of his “aura”. Ben was drafted as a pillar in Philly. He’s coming here with Dame already on the roster, and even Anfernee is an up and coming star that the fans would rally behind over him. I question anyone who’s super critical of a young rich guy who doesn’t know how to act but forgets how they were when they were in their early 20s. And personally, I hate the idea of keeping Nurk and paying him more than $12m a year and having him injured again on and off. He seems to be injured when we compete, and he’s fine when we aren’t. If you don’t capitalize now on his value, you better be damn sure he’s gonna play more than 8 games in one season and more than 37 in another for his next contract. Otherwise, Bamba at the old Nurk contract or cheaper with some upside still attached to him + a 1st, I’m way more interested in that.
I mean I’d be happy to be wrong, but I just don’t think Morey would go for it. I think the Celtics would even be reluctant, although that would be a very decent haul for them even without picks. I would worry if everyone will be happy with their role, but fit wise—four potentially good-to-great defenders around Dame, four potentially good-to-great shooters around Simmons, I’d expect us to be close to favorites. But I’d rather just keep Simons until the end of the season. Even if the trades “make sense” based on value, too far fetched to propose two stars coming to Portland of all places by the trade deadline lol.
You’re saying Bamba at less than Nurkic’s current $12m a year would be worse than Nurkic at, say, $16m a year? Plus a 1st. Like, if you look at numbers of games played, Bamba actually has played more. Lol. But yeah, I guess.
