Trade Grades: Blazers Send Mason Plumlee To Nuggets For Jusuf Nurkic

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Two centers with marginal long-term prospects on their Northwest Division teams will switch spots in hopes of brightening their outlooks.

The Blazers have agreed to trade starting center Mason Plumlee and a 2017 second-round pick to the Nuggets for reserve center Jusuf Nurkic and a 2017 first-round pick, according to Yahoo Sports. The 2017 pick originally belonged to the Grizzlies.

Let’s grade the trade. Portland Trail Blazers Grade: C+

Blazers acquire: Jusuf Nurkic and a 2017 first-round pick

Once CJ McCollum, Evan Turner, Allen Crabbe, Moe Harkless and Meyers Leonard all got paid last fall, something had to give. Count Plumlee, 26, as the first official casualty of the Blazers’ 2016 spending spree, which has backfired badly and left Portland fighting for the West’s final playoff spot. Acquired from Brooklyn in a 2015 trade and given every opportunity to establish himself as the center of the future, Plumlee (8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.3 APG) just wasn’t up to the task.

A willing and able passer who plays with energy and represents a vertical threat with his finishing ability, Plumlee hasn’t paired his intriguing offense with capable defense. In his two seasons as starter, Portland ranked 20th and 27th in defensive efficiency, and he posted an abysmal defensive rating of 111 this year. On a team built around Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, two limited backcourt defenders, it made no sense to spend big in free agency this summer to retain a center who provides little cover. Given Plumlee’s nonexistent untapped potential, Portland’s failure to sustain positive momentum in recent weeks, and the prospect of a 2017-18 luxury tax bill, the Blazers were better off getting some return now for Plumlee rather than watching him become too expensive to keep come July.

The return package is modest, and probably best judged once this month’s trade deadline passes. The first-round pick from Memphis should fall around No. 20, giving Portland three first-round picks in June’s draft. However, it’s conceivable that Blazers GM Neil Olshey will need to part with draft assets to grease other trades in an effort to reduce his bloated payroll.

Given that Lillard is 26 and McCollum is 25, Portland is set up more for a “win now” timeline rather than a retooling effort via the draft. What the Blazers still need, especially following Plumlee’s departure, is a defensive-minded starting-quality center. They needed that last season, last offseason, and now -- not in three or four years when a 2017 draft pick develops.

Nurkic (8 PPG, 5.8 RPG) isn’t the answer. The 22-year-old Bosnian seven-footer might be an Internet cult hero due to his fearsome physical presence, but he hasn’t been a positive difference-maker in his two-plus seasons in Denver. This year, his -10.3 net rating and 98.2 offensive rating were the worst marks among the Nuggets’ rotation players, and he rightfully lost his starting job in mid-December. From the team perspective, Nurkic represents a step backwards from Plumlee offensively given his mediocre scoring efficiency, turnover issues and floor-cramping paint-bound game. And remember, Denver is one of just three teams with a worse defensive rating than Portland this season. While Nurkic has had the chance to be a savior for a poor defense, he hasn’t even played effectively enough to warrant true starter minutes.

The biggest plus regarding Nurkic from Portland’s standpoint is his rookie contract: The Blazers add him on a low salary number ($1.9 million this year and $2.9 million next), much like they did with Plumlee two years ago, and plunge forward with their search for a real long-term solution in the middle. The cycle continues.

Denver Nuggets Grade: B+

Nuggets acquire: Mason Plumlee and a 2017 second-round pick

There’s a decent amount of intrigue in this move from Denver’s side. Most importantly, it represents a clear step towards life with Nikola Jokic as the team’s franchise player.

Given Nurkic’s limited effectiveness, shaky commitment and untenable pairing with Jokic (together they posted an atrocious -15.6 net rating), Denver had no reason to force the issue and hang on to a hopeless cause. Already stocked with too many prospects to play and their own 2017 first-round pick, parting with a late-first was a reasonable price to acquire Plumlee, a player who is well-suited to playing a key reserve role.

Now, Jokic and Plumlee run the risk of redundancy given their shared limitations on defense, but this move allows coach Michael Malone to keep a clear offensive identity across his rotations. It’s hard to envision the Jokic/Plumlee pairing functioning all that well together, but the ability to keep at least one on the court for 48 minutes sets up Denver for a fun, open attacking style that can help compensate for the limitations of Emmanuel Mudiay and provide structure as both Mudiay and Jamal Murray grow.

While Plumlee looks like a Jokic back-up long-term, he’s a winner here, as he can make his case for a summer payday by attempting to boost Denver into the postseason for the first time since 2013. Unlike Portland, Denver is well-positioned to retain Plumlee as a restricted free agent this summer. The Nuggets, loaded with players on rookie deals, already project to have significant cap space and may have more if they move additional veterans before the trade deadline.

Longer-term, the Nuggets are likely to run into the same frustrations as the Blazers did with Plumlee. He won’t solve their defensive issues, he’s overmatched against the West’s top bigs and his poor free-throw shooting makes him a hack target. But the responsibility for driving Denver’s future falls first to Jokic, not Plumlee, and the latter should settle in nicely as a complementary option who can hold the fort.

 

Seems right. Super intelligent, hard working, great passing big for a good defensive malcontent big

 

Seems fair--Denver got the better player right now.

 

Sounds about right.
C+
Nurkic is not the defensive center we need by a long shot, but begrudgingly I admit that Plumlee isn't either.
This summers contracts cost Plumlee a roster spot.
The draft picks should be used to both shed some horrible contracts and/or bring in bigs who can actually make an impact. Starting over and building through the draft isn't the answer.

 

I am not saying Nurk is going to blossom, however he played very well his first two seasons and there is no reason to believe he cannot attain and easily exceed that play (he's only 22). He had an injury and was somewhat of a malcontent this season and there are some "possible issues" there. However IMO he has a decent chance to be a better C than Plumlee and this was and is a very good low risk/high reward trade for the Blazers. We were not going to be able to retain Plumlee anway and we got a decent 1st as well. I'd say Blazers B or B + and Denver C or C+. BS on that idiots interp

 

RealGM trades & transaction forum has a poll up on this trade. Fans from all of the teams are rating who won.

Denver won 11 votes
Both teams won 18 votes
Neither team won 9 votes
Portland won 137 votes.

My rating
Portland A+
Denver C-

 

It seems about right? Isn't the goal for us long term and not short term? How can Denver get the better end of the deal based on this portion of his argument:

"Longer-term, the Nuggets are likely to run into the same frustrations as the Blazers did with Plumlee. He won’t solve their defensive issues, he’s overmatched against the West’s top bigs and his poor free-throw shooting makes him a hack target"

And they gave us a 1st round pick? I thought we needed to build through the draft?

 

Highlights one of my biggest concerns: we just traded one of our starters- a leader who worked his ass off every game and has produced for us in the playoffs despite his warts- for a guy who couldn't even earn his minutes in fucking Denver.

 

do you understand that we could not in any way realistically retain Plumlee due to the cap/tax situation and the summer signing mistakes made? So for once Neil made the best of a bad situation and acted proactively, in THIS instance he made a good trade when the other options were all dismal. I can get behind firing him for the summer performance but this trade had to be done and we got probably better value than most thought we would

 

Teams flirting with a .400 record don't have the luxury of keeping a player you can't afford to pay at the end of the season.

I'm just glad Neil didn't let another productive asset expire for nothing.

 

Nice kid, good passer, could dribble, hustles.

But also,

A mediocre center on a mediocre team. No handles. Can't shoot. Can't really defend a big.

Sorry to say, realistically, not a great loss.

 

This would only be true if the guy who beat him out sucked. And since he doesn't.........

 

This trade helped to heal several problems.

1) Before this trade, we did not have a starting caliber center signed for next season. NO would need to spend money, somehow, to get one. This alone makes the trade a winner.

2) Nurkic has another year on his rookie contract. Another positive, it helps reduce the luxury tax problem.

3) Nurkic is a beast, he brings the paint toughness we lack, helps solve another problem.

4) WOW and we land a 2017 first round pick in a loaded draft, just wow.

5) This trade also improves our chances of making yet another trade before the deadline.

 

I think that C+ has a healthy dollop of "Olshey put the Blazers in a bad spot, necessitating this trade." Which is true! On the other hand, if we're just grading this trade and leaving the past in the past, I think it probably deserves a grade in the B+ range. Given that the Blazers are where they are now, it was a rational and productive trade. It makes them worse in a non-contention season, gives them a cheap, young big man to take a flier on and another first-round pick in a deep, strong draft.

Splitting out the implied (to me) double-grade, it's:

Olshey's off-season: D-
Olshey's Plumlee trade: B+

Current state of the franchise: engine still on fire, but starting to pull out of the dive

 

Not to rain on the parade (who am I kidding? Of course I wanna rain on the parade ) but Nurkic lost his job for a reason. Yes Jokic overtook him, but he has a frigid offensive rating and has regressed since a promising rookie campaign.

Maybe he just needs a change of scenery and he can be salvaged, but for now I wouldn't get too carried away.

 

Yes, I understand.

 

On that front, I agree.

 

That's a good point.

 

Quite. Nurkic is not a great prospect. There's a reason that Denver had to kick in a first-round pick to upgrade from Nurkic to the immortal Mason Plumlee. Nurkic is best thought of as a flier or a lottery ticket. A better one, to be sure, than Vonleh since Nurkic has had a good season in the League, but still mostly a cheap flier. The first-rounder is the prize for a soon-to-be free agent.

 

Great for Denver, we couldn't afford to keep Plumlee anyway.

But we just got even weaker at center than before.

Meyers Leonard and Ed Davis are our 2 best centers now.

Will they at least get minutes or will it be more a 3 way split thaat accomplishes nothing?