Looks, we all know that Nurk has tons of talent. But he also have a lot of negatives, the obvious one is availability. But the elephant in the room is one of fit, between Nurk and Chauncy. Even if Nurk was available all the time, playing switching defense is misusing him on defense and frankly, putting extra wear on his over-sized frame. I have been on record that I thought around $15m is a proper salary for someone with Nurk's talent given the modern NBA, but that was with the assumption that he will be utilized to maximize his defensive talent. Between Nurk being slightly over-paid, Chauncy sticking to a system that does not maximize him and unfortunately, his continued availability issues - I just don't see how the Blazers go forward with him. I suspect Chauncy is not going anywhere - so I tend to believe the rumors that Portland was willing to discuss Nurk trade packages before the trade deadline. I would not be surprised if these intensify after the season. Once Terry went with drop coverage, Nurk's WS/48 skyrocketed. Even coming back from his injury in 2019-2021 - his WS/48 was much higher than it is under Chauncy.
We should just waive Nurk and pay Drew this summer. Maybe then Dame wouldn't have to kill himself on the glass anymore on the second night of back to backs cuz we'd have a center who could rebound. Oh wait.
I'm hoping we trade Nurk, Ant and whoever else not named Dame for Embiid because he's fed up with Doc and wants to play with Dame.
That is a stupid take and you know it. The Blazers should retain Drew if they can do it for cheap, he is excellent ROI. Nurk needs to either be traded for someone that fits Chauncy's system or the system needs to change to take advantage of his talents, and hope that he stays healthy for a change. The issue is not that Drew is not a great player. The issue is that his production has been pretty much the same as Nurk this year for a multitude of reasons. That's not Drew's fault. At least he works hard all the time. Can you imagine how good Nurk would be if he had Drew's motor?
I’d definitely try and keep Sharpe and give unlimited picks instead, but Embiid is a superstar when healthy. He’s one of the very few players I’d strongly consider trading Sharpe for if indeed that’s what the deal hinges on.
Nurk fever was just about the most fun I have had with the Blazers in the past 5 years (well, save for Dame's bye-bye shot) so he gets a pass from me. And anyway, I never quite get all the Nurk hate around here. Not easy to find a 7 footer who gets a double double pretty consistently.
There are multiple people in this forum and on other Blazers social media that very vocally believe Eubanks is a better player than Nurkic even without consideration of contracts.
