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

When he's engaged, he is as good a passer, way better defender, both interior and perimeter, and a better low post guy.

I worry about the leg compressions he wears.

I love his attitude on the floor. He has a mean streak

 

He actually had great handles for a center. But he was undersized and had the offensive game of Chris Dudley.

 

It will be interesting to find out who eats crow.

I admit Nurkic is the better player based on "PAST STATS". But that does not mean he will be the better player 1 month, or 1 year from now.

Nurkic and Plumlee are switching roles. Plumlee is going from a starter to a back-up role, the opposite is true for Nurkic. This alone could reverse their future rating to each other.

Plumlee is 5 years older than Nurkic, and probably at or very near his peak. Nurkic is almost as good as Plumlee, but with a lot more upside "potential" and time to develop.

While Plumlee is upset to leave his friends and start over, Nurkic is ready to prove himself on the floor with a new roster. Mentally, they are heading in opposite directions.

There is no way to know how this ends, but my guess is. NO did the best he could with a bad situation.

This trade was way better than doing nothing.

 

I would give this trade a B+.

Plumlee was gone. One way or another. We weren't about to pay him 16-18 million per year. So unless we wanted another Allen Crabbe scenario, or maybe include him in a bigger trade, this was our best case scenario.

Deal Plums for a young prospect and a first rounder.

It would have been nice if the pick was a little higher, but all things considered this was a win.

 

I agree with this, but it is important to note that NO put himself in a bad situation. He shouldn't be applauded for barely avoiding complete disaster.

 

Recorded an emergency podcast last night with @evanem and @dasage ... had to give Portland an A on this one, Denver a C+.

 

Right now, Plumlee's puzzle piece doesn't fit our puzzle.

Plumlee might be the better player right now, but is he better for us?
You factor in we got another first round pick?
How can you not be happy? Nurk isn't a WABC, so I don't get the beef. We got rid of a WABC for a non WABC and you are still not happy? lol

 

How am I not happy?

 

You seem to read like it. But then I need to remind myself its just you.

 

I wonder if the Nuggets are planning on moving Plumlee before the deadline. They can trade him to another team as long as they don't include another player.

 

Of course they aren't. He is their backup center and will get 18-20 mins a game.

 

Seen in the broader context, this move was required because of the massive failure Crabbe's and Meyers' contracts represent: this move was a casualty of those overpays. I agree he made the best of a bad (self-inflicted) situation, so I'm fine with the outcome, but I don't think Neil deserves too much credit. Maybe that pick turns into a great move later on, or Nurkic gets back on track, but for now at best I'd give him an "Incomplete."

 

Because you want to pay $17-18M for a backup center?

 

Meyers is getting paid 9 million a year. Even if we hadn't signed him, would you have been comfortable giving Plumlee 16-18 million per year? He is a casualty of this market. I don't think Crabbe or Meyers had any bearing on the decision. Plumlee is a solid role player, but he's not a star. He should be getting paid 9 million, like Meyers, and I think we would have retained him at that price.

 

Doesn't really matter when the starter is on a rookie deal. It's why I was down for a Plumlee/Nurkic duo.

 

I would gladly take Plumlee for 16 million over Crabbe and Meyers combined for 27 million. He at least will come close to living up to his contract. I agree he's not a star and wasn't the long-term starter at the five, but as was evidenced, he is movable and desirable in trades. It remains to be seen if either of those other boat anchor contracts can be offloaded without having to sweeten the pot with future or current draft picks -- the lifeblood of any underacheiving team serious about rebuilding.

 

I don't consider Meyer's contract to be a boat anchor. I think 9 million is tradeable. Obviously Crabbe is making quite a bit more, but if he were traded it would be to a team that needs a starter. His contract is not unreasonable for a starting caliber shooting guard. I like Crabbe but at that price he needs to go.

 

It's interesting how some just assume Portland actually wants to trade Crabbe. Young shooters aren't a dime a dozen. If they were, he wouldn't have gotten paid like he did. Its why I'm so against trading him. I don't care about his contract, he's a good player that could start for a lot of teams. Teams that aren't a FA destination would probably love to trade for him as well. That contract doesn't look so heavy if he were starting. Just tired of hearing how much of a burden his contract is. Tired!

 

We can't have that much money sitting on our bench. The new rules about the luxury tax will make Crabbe's contract a huge weight on our roster. We won't be able to add new players. You can't pay a bench player that much, especially with Nurkic coming up for free agency in a year. The team will stay as it is if we don't offload some salary.