What is the 'Right Situation' for Jusuf Nurkic to Return to the Trail Blazers?
Terry Stotts might as well already be on his way out of Rip City. Most anticipations of significant offseason roster overhaul revolve around a long-shot C.J. McCollum trade and the Blazers' ability, or inability, to re-sign Norman Powell.
Change is coming in Portland, sooner rather than later. And after his team was eliminated from the playoffs in more disappointing fashion on Thursday, Jusuf Nurkic suggested his exit could be among the Blazers' biggest dominoes to fall.
"In the right situation, yes," Nurkic said when asked if he wants to remain in Portland going forward.
The 26-year-old made abundantly during his headline-grabbing post-game presser that the "right situation" isn't the one he was in this season.
Nurkic openly pined for a bigger role offensively shortly after coming back from injury in late March. Though his playmaking prowess was key to Portland's versatility offensively, Nurkic was rarely even a secondary scoring option for the Blazers in 2020-21.
The vast majority of his touches came when working dribble hand-offs with guards or catching on the roll after setting ball screens, a crucial yet subtle function that hardly lends itself to much attention or box-score production. Nurkic, like all proud, talented big men, appears to want a more steady diet of opportunities to score on the block.
"I wish my role was bigger. I think I could help more," he said. "Like I said, I was really respectful and tried to do what they asked of me."
Nurkic's contract situation looms at least as large to his future with the Blazers as any change in his on-court responsibilities.
The four-year, $48 million contract he signed as a restricted free agent in July 2018 includes a partial guarantee for 2021-22. The $12 million salary on the final year of Nurkic's contract becomes fully guaranteed if he's still on the roster past August 3, a mere formality given Portland's extremely limited financial wiggle room.
Once the Blazers guarantee Nurkic's contract, they'll have the option of offeingr him a multi-year extension with an initial annual salary up to 120 percent of his previous one. As noted by ESPN's Bobby Marks, the most lucrative deal Portland can give Nurkic is a four-year, $64.5 million extension, making his yearly earnings above-average for starting centers league-wide.
Would that be enough to keep him in Portland? As long as that raise and sense of long-term financial security is accompanied by an increased role offensively, it's safe to assume yes.
Nurkic, however, refused to commit to his future either way.
"In my mind, this my seventh year in the league, try to be bigger for the team. Any type of role I was accepting from the coach," he said. "But it's really hard for me to speak about the future. Just all types of things going through my head right now. I'm gonna take a couple days off, then talk to my agent and see what's there for me – or where it's gonna be next."
The unfortunate reality for Nurkic is that even if he requested a trade or wanted to be released, there's not a team in the league that would be willing to meet his on-court demands.
Nurkic shot 41.9 percent on post-ups this season, per NBA.com/stats, in the 17th-percentile among all players. Despite some intermittent success going at Nikola Jokic, he was even less efficient with his back to the basket in the playoffs.
The fact of the matter is that Nurkic isn't Jokic, Joel Embiid or Karl-Anthony Towns. His value will always be derived from defense and playmaking first and foremost. The next frontier of Nurkic's game isn't becoming a low-post hub, but proving that his career-best 12-of-30 shooting on threes this season is a sign he's ready to be a consistent threat from long-range.
Nurkic refused to single anyone out for his frustration with the Blazers. Considering the obvious love Nurkic has for his teammates, though, it's clear his discouragement is rooted elsewhere.
"This might be the best group of people I've been around as far as teammates, but at the same time it wasn't enough," Nurkic said. "A lot of things look like and feel like it's gonna be changed; that's on the people above to do it."
Maybe a change on the sidelines is the one Nurkic needs to feel optimistic about his prospective future in Portland. But until both player and team come to a decision on his extension, expect rumors of Nurkic's potential departure to hang over the Blazers' offseason.