Jusuf Nurkic, Portland Trail Blazers Like Smart, it’s hard to say Jusuf Nurkic has really hurt his stock this season considering the Portland Trail Blazers are statistically a better team when he suits up. But the Bosnian big man is still having trouble staying healthy, and even besides that, is shooting 45.5 percent from the floor this season. For a center to shoot that poorly while also not functioning as a three-point threat is almost unheard of. A max deal is likely out of the question, but Nurkic should still garner a deal with an annual average of value in the seven-figure range.
Highly doubt Avery Bradley or Marcus Smart have hurt their future contracts. Two of the best defenders in the game. They’ll get paid. As for Nurkic, his stock is probably in line with where the entire league saw it last year - with the exception of a few Portland fans ready to go all in after a 15 game sample size.
10. Marcus Smart's passing It's an NBA riddle: How can a wing shooting 32 percent end up on the positive side of the plus-minus ledger every night? Boston fans would point to Smart's bullying, chest-to-chest defense, and the balls-to-the-wall plays -- flying in from nowhere for rebounds and saves -- that inspire teammates. (Many of those fans would wish not to consider the possibility that some of those plus-minus numbers are random noise that comes with playing on a very good team, and that historically bad shooting isharmful on certain nights.) The debate has given short shrift to Smart's passing -- a must for any non-shooter who has the ball so much. Smart has grown in that department every year. He was wild and uncertain at first. By last season, he had mastered the simple stuff -- obvious drive-and-kick reads, pick-and-pop passes to Al Horford. Now, he's thinking one step ahead, manipulating defenses: Malcolm Brogdon, and that if he does, Marcus Morris will fade to the corner. A bigger guard who can run the offense provides crucial roster flexibility. Smart's free agency this summer will be fascinating. The league doesn't quite know what to do with him. He's a polarizing player. Given Boston's financial commitments to Horford, Gordon Hayward, and Kyrie Irving -- plus the play of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, both ahead of Smart now in the organizational pecking order -- a rich offer sheet could present Boston with a thorny dilemma. - Zach Lowe piece from ESPN, Link didn’t copy properly as I transitioned from another story.
Sounds like Evan Turner as a Celtic. The Brad Stevens coaching style of making something out of nothing. Some team will someday sucker for Smart and overpay.
