I will defend Denver a little bit. We pretty much bought that first rounder from them. I know it's easy to forget about the cash we sent, because why would we care, but it really is no different than back in the day when teams would buy mid-late first rounders all the time. I mean that's how we got Rudy. So from Denvers pov the deal was pretty much Plumlee and a second for Nurkic, and then cash for the pick. It still looks bad, but not as bad as Plumlee for Nurkic and a first lol.
Irrelevant. We were lacking at the C. We aren't anymore. We have a quality C today, one who could grow into a dominant one. We've drastically improved. We don't have to be best at each position, but we need to be formidable, if not above-average. Mission accomplished.
the only thing that actually matters is that Nurk is here and works well with us and our needs and makes US better.
First, Jokic is 9th in PER. http://bkref.com/tiny/3fo1X Second, Jokic would have been a cooler name than Nurkic. Keep Portland weird. Third, Sly's best friend Ben Golliver says that we got stiffed in the trade. http://www.si.com/nba/2017/02/12/po...ver-nuggets-mason-plumlee-jusuf-nurkic-grades
Nobody sells first round picks anymore, and especially not in this draft. If Memphis continues to tank the pick could end up being a late lotto.
Memphis will not fall out of playoffs. They are 36-29, worst case scenario they will end up around .500 mark and that will still be enough to make the playoffs.
Just my opinion, but Jusus could go 0 for 20, 0 for 10 at the line, and have 10 turnovers in one game. I would still want him to start the next game, instead of Meyers Leonard.....
Jokic and Nurkic were on the same team (which is the best comparison because it's same situation, same everything) and Jokic was by far the better player. I don't get what is the debate here. We are comparing two players that are on a different level. Like comparing Lebron with Paul George for example. Jokic's skills with the ball are sick, his court vision and shooting touch are far superior to Nurkic's. His assists are not coming just from the offensive flow, he is many times rebounding and get the ball to the other side where he initiates the offense. He is a playmaker for Denver. Nurkic cannot do that. And Nurkic cannot shoot almost 60% from the field or 80% from the line or shoot the three. As for their defense Nurkic has more tools there I agree, his built is superior and he has more length, but with him on the court Nuggets were - while with Jokic they are +, because their difference in the offensive end is HUGE. I'm pretty sure most of you doing these comparisons have not watched Jokic play or maybe 1 or 2 games. The guy is a joy to watch. A true star for this league, up there with the best. For those of us that we have watched him play and we don't see only RIP CITY through our glasses this comparison is garbage.
Why didn't that moron Olshey get us Jokic? Why does the unpatriotic Sly hate the Blazers? Why doesn't Nurkic just change his name to Jokic? How many thousands of salutes got you promoted to Editor-in-Chief?
I feel like he has had a letdown game already, it just wasn't a rock bottom kind of thing.. Well compared to what Nurk has been doing it kind of was... VS the only super skilled/two way big he's faced so far Nurk's line was.(I don't consider Drummoned/Vucvic/Adams/Lopez two way bigs) 21 minutes 8 points 3-9 from the field 2-3 from the line 4 rebounds 2 assists 0 blocks 1 steal 1 turnovers 4 fouls That's a pretty big drop off from what Nurk has been putting up. JV is so good. Though I will say, I've started to see Nurk's weakpoint on the defensive end. JV attacked Nurk there, and Okafor in the 3rd quarter started having success attacking Nurk in the same area. Then Philly randomly pulled him for no reason.
Yeah that was really cringey. He couldn't have been more wrong. It was actually laughable how wrong he was.
You believe that having a big man that can run the offense like a guard is more valuable than what Nurkic does and I completely disagree. We already had that. Plumlee essentially did those exact same things. What Nurkic does is much more rare and more valuable. A big man that can play in the post unselfishly and make the right pass willingly is so incredibly valuable. He finds the open shooter on the wing. He finds the open cutter on the pick and roll. A center that can essentially run the offense from the block can open up your offense and create so many opportunities because it's extremely hard to defend. He's also a huge threat to score so teams can't sag off him waiting for the pass either. What Jokic does is impressive, but we don't need that. We have an All Star caliber point guard. What we have been lacking is a big man who can do the things that Nurkic can do. Bill Walton. Arvydas Sabonis. There's a reason why these two names continue to resonate with Blazer fans, and Nurkic possesses some of the same attributes that made those two players great.
I'm dreading the game when Hurd interrupts live game action to watch a replay. To explain how Nurk isn't a center, he's a point-center.
Every player in this league has weak points. Every player in this league has been score on. Both players aren't that much different in most areas. Want both these guys do for there teams they make the player around them better.
Jokic can do these things too on a higher level than Nurkic. Anyway, I give up. As I said is like comparing Lebron with Paul George. Even if you lack perimeter shooting you could never take George over Lebron. Same thing here. It doesn't matter what you need. The question is who is the best player.
What Nate said! Nurk remindes me of Bill Walton in his passing especialy. That 1977 team was a delight to watch as Gross would cut and recieve the pass and was unstopble becasuse there exicution was so exacting. Everybody new what they were running but was so unstoppable. Im waiting for Nurk to do like Walton would do rebounding the ball and turning in midair and outleting to Davis at mid court. Nurk should try to emulate Walton as much as possible.
