The Bosnian Bear is reportedly on his way to Rip City.
The Denver Nuggets are trading center Jusuf Nurkic and a 2017 first-round pick (via the Memphis Grizzlies) to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for big man Mason Plumlee and a 2018 second-rounder, league sources told The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Nurkic suited up for 45 games in his third season with the Nuggets, averaging eight points and 5.8 rebounds on 50.7 percent shooting in 17.9 minutes. His role diminished significantly over the past month under head coach Michael Malone when it became painfully obvious that a frontcourt of two natural fives in Nurkic and Nikola Jokic - who continuously outplayed him - wasn't going to cut it.
A major issue upon the change, though, was that Nurkic wasn't content with being part of the second unit, and even vented about it to the media. His frustrations, paired with his inability to play alongside Jokic, are what pushed Denver into making a move, sources told ESPN's Jeff Goodman.
Plumlee was putting up the strongest numbers of his four-year career through 54 appearances, averaging 11 points on 53.2 percent shooting, eight boards, four dimes, and 1.2 rejections. He's eligible to receive a contract extension as well, which could have wound up being a max.
With a number of players on its roster already locked up on long-term contracts, Portland probably wouldn't have had the wiggle room to keep the 26-year-old Duke product without taking a hit into the luxury tax. Nurkic is far more affordable with one more year remaining on his rookie-scale contract at $2.9 million.
In what's widely considered to be a deep 2017 draft class, the Trail Blazers will now have their own pick at their disposal (which could be in the lottery if they fall out of the playoff picture), the first-rounder from Memphis, as well as one from the Cleveland Cavaliers (acquired in the series of deals involving Anderson Varejao).
Only one game separates the two teams in the standings, with Denver holding down the eighth seed in the Western Conference at 24-30.
