The mechanics of a Jusuf Nurkic for Nick Richards trade between the Suns and Hornets

Is there a way to make a deal happen for the Suns’ benched center?

Twenty-five days until February 6. The countdown is on. Note to self: submit that PTO request ASAP. Why? Because it’s the NBA trade deadline, baby. A sacred, chaotic ritual in the basketball calendar. Sure, it’s not quite the frenzied, blockbuster bonanza it used to be, but it still pulls us in like moths to a flame.

This is the day when teams hit the market, hunting for deals like bargain shoppers on Black Friday. Buying. Selling. Wheeling and dealing. Maybe they’re chasing that one missing piece for a playoff push, or maybe they’re punting on the season and stockpiling for the future. Either way, it’s all on the table, and we’re here for the drama.

We all know the uphill battle the Phoenix Suns are facing and the baggage they’re looking to shed. Front and center in that pile is 11th-year big man Jusuf Nurkic. He hasn’t seen the floor in the last two games. Not because he’s nursing some mysterious injury, but because, frankly, he’s been played off it. Rested for trade preservation, maybe? Or just an unspoken acknowledgment of his awkward fit in today’s NBA.

This isn’t the same Nurk who came in talking a big game on Twitter, trading barbs with fans and flexing his confidence. Regression has hit hard in his second year with the Suns. And let’s be real, people love chirping when they’re flying high, but not so much when they’re grounded. I’m not here to roast Nurk, though. It’s a tough spot. The guy would’ve been a beast if this were 1987. But in 2025, with $18.1 million attached to his name, he’s struggling to find a role.

And as for the trade market? The Suns aren’t exactly finding buyers either. Sure, they were willing to move him over the summer and early this season, but now? Crickets. Why? Because, let’s face it, there’s no long line of teams knocking down the door for him. Moving Nurkic would almost certainly require sweetening the pot with draft capital, something the Suns are in short supply of.

What’s in their draft pick shed? One first-round pick and three seconds. That’s it. Not exactly a king’s ransom.

Still, maybe the Suns have just enough juice to grease the wheels and unload Jusuf Nurkic for something — anything — that helps the team.

But let’s not kid ourselves: this isn’t as simple as dialing up a trade and sealing the deal. Teams don’t just swoop in to save franchises from their bad contracts or mismatched players out of sheer generosity. This isn’t a charity auction. Not every team has the inexplicable magic of the Lakers, who somehow always manage to conjure trade partners willing to give them a boost, even if the deal makes zero sense for the other side. But hey, I digress.

The question is, who can afford to take on Nurkic, or better yet, who actually wants to?

The NBA’s first and second tax aprons are like a financial chokehold, smothering teams’ flexibility and making them cautious about any move that could backfire. It’s the age of conservatism in the league, where teams are more likely to ride with their current roster than gamble on a piece that might blow up their short-term plans just to (maybe) help in the long run.

Still, when you scan the NBA landscape, there’s at least one team that could kick the tires on a Nurkic trade: the Charlotte Hornets. The rumor mill is already churning, whispering that the Hornets might be interested. Whether that’s actual smoke or just a mirage remains to be seen, but if nothing else, it gives the Suns a flicker of hope in an otherwise bleak trade market.

Ah, Nick Richards. We’ll see him play against the Suns later today, and we witnessed his abilities this past Tuesday when the Hornets earned their 8th win of the season.

Per Marc Stein:

“The Suns face similar challenges with the suddenly out-of-favor Jusuf Nurk who hasn’t merely been moved to the bench like Beal — Nurkić has been outright DNP-CD’d for Phoenix’s past two games. With Nurkić owed $19.4 million in 2025-26, generating a trade market for him has to this point prove scarcely easier than establishing one for Beal.

The Suns have three tradeable second-round picks (in addition to a 2031 first-rounder) to try to convince a team like Charlotte to take on Nurkić’s contract for a package headlined by demand Hornets big man Nick Richards … but how many of those three picks would it cost them?”

Richards, the 27-year-old big man out of Kentucky, strutted against Phoenix and dropped a sneaky 15 points and 12 boards in just 25 minutes, all while coming off the bench. That’s the kind of performance that gets front offices raising eyebrows and firing off texts. At $5 million this year and another $5 million locked in for next season, Richards isn’t exactly breaking the bank either.

His skill set? A classic rim-running, high-flying archetype. Athleticism that would slot in beautifully with the Suns’ system. Imagine him diving to the hoop off pick-and-rolls with Devin Booker threading the needle or snagging offensive rebounds and tossing them back out to Kevin Durant for dagger threes. That’s the kind of utility Phoenix desperately needs, especially with the team lacking a consistent inside presence.

Richards isn’t just a placeholder big; he’s a guy who plays with energy, purpose, and an edge. And for a Suns squad trying to maximize its title window, his skill set might be the perfect ingredient to help balance the scales.

Comparing Nurkic and Richards

When you compare Richards against Nurkic, here is what you get:

Top Five Similarities

Interior Defense

• Both players excel in defensive metrics, with high grades for Post Defense, Help Defense Talent, and Screen Mobile Defense, scoring in the 90th percentile or above.
• Grades: A or higher for both players in these categories.

Defensive Rebounding

• Both players are strong on the boards, with Nurkic ranking in the 100th percentile and Richards in the 76th percentile, earning an A+ and B+ respectively.

Player Impact on Defense (D-LEBRON)

• Both players have an A+ rating for D-LEBRON, indicating their significant defensive impact per 100 possessions.

Rim Protection

• Both are effective rim protectors, with Richards scoring slightly higher in this category (92nd percentile) than Nurkic (83rd percentile), both earning at least an A grade.

Screening Talent

• Nurkic and Richards excel as screeners, earning A+ grades for their ability to contribute to plays through effective picks.

Top Five Differences

Offensive Rebounding

• Richards significantly outperforms Nurkic, ranking in the 99th percentile (A+) compared to Nurkic’s 84th percentile (A-).

Overall Scoring Efficiency

• Richards performs slightly better than Nurkic but still falls in a lower percentile (19th, F grade) compared to Nurkic’s 5th percentile (F grade).

Playmaking Talent

• Both struggle here, but Nurkic performs better with a 14th percentile rating (F) compared to Richards’ 1st percentile (F).

LEBRON WAR

• Nurkic has a higher impact based on Wins Against Replacement (72nd percentile, B) compared to Richards (64th percentile, B-).

Perimeter Shooting

• Both struggle, but Richards is notably weaker in 3PT shooting talent (-2.27, F) and catch-and-shoot 3PT talent (-1.64, F) compared to Nurkic’s slightly higher performance (-0.66, D+ and -0.38, C+, respectively).

Note that the ‘LEBRON’ statistic isn’t a “how close is the player to being LeBron”. It’s “Luck-adjusted player Estimate using a Box prior Regularized ON-off”. LEBRON (horribly named, I know) is like the ultimate report card for basketball players, showing how much they actually help their team when they’re on the court. It looks at two things: what the stats say (like points, rebounds, assists) and how the team performs when the player is in the game versus when they’re not. Think of it as combining math and vibes for a full picture of a player’s impact every 100 possessions.

There are three versions of LEBRON:

• LEBRON (overall impact) tells you the big picture.
• O-LEBRON focuses on offense (like scoring and passing).
• D-LEBRON hones in on defense (like blocking shots or guarding opponents).

It’s all about how much the player helps the team win, not just how skilled they are. Younger players are expected to improve quickly, while older players eventually slow down—just like life.

Jusuf Nurkic is the Swiss army knife of the center position. He’s versatile, yet maddeningly inefficient. He brings a little of everything to the table: stronger defensive rebounding, a slightly better shooting touch, and the kind of offensive flexibility that makes you squint and say, “There’s potential in there, somewhere.” But when it comes to his consistency, well, that’s a different story.

Enter Nick Richards, the no-nonsense enforcer who’s the embodiment of raw, athletic power in the paint. He might not have the same offensive toolbox as Nurkic, but what he does, he does with a ferocity that makes the opposition second-guess every rim run. Richards is a menace as a rim protector, an offensive rebounder with relentless tenacity, and a screen-setter who gets the job done with surgical precision. If you need someone to control the flow in those high-impact, hard-hat areas, Richards is your guy.

Both players, though, can lock it down defensively, but Richards’ edge in athleticism gives him that extra gear, especially when it comes to protecting the rim or chasing down those game-changing offensive boards.

Making the Deal Happen

What’s in it for Charlotte? That is the question.

Swapping Nick Richards for Jusuf Nurkic doesn’t exactly scream upgrade. Even if the Suns sweeten the pot with a potential first-rounder or a couple of seconds, the Hornets might still hesitate. It’s like trading in your reliable Toyota for a clunky old Cadillac that guzzles gas and has a busted AC. Sure, it’s got some prestige, but is it worth the hassle?

And then it gets murkier.

This isn’t just a simple one-for-one deal. The NBA’s salary cap rules are here to make sure nothing is ever easy. The Hornets, not being an over-apron team, can only take back 200% of the salary they send out, plus $250,000. In this potential Nurkic-for-Richards deal, based on the amount they’d send out, can only take back $10.2 million. Translation? Richards for Nurkic straight up doesn’t cut it.

To make the math work, Charlotte would need to toss in another player.

Lucky for Phoenix, they’ve got an open roster spot just begging to be filled.

Who’s that “extra someone” in this mess? That is most likely what is taking place amid negotiations. “You want us to take Nurk?” the Hornet are questioning. “You have to take some of our crap too.” And Charlotte does have some crap.

Grant Williams

Grant Williams is out for the season with an ACL injury, but before that, he was known for bringing a serious edge, a trait Phoenix could definitely use. Williams has a knack for getting under opponents’ skin, making him a bit of a nuisance on the court. That attitude, however, didn’t always sit well with his former team, the Boston Celtics. After some memorable clashes with Jimmy Butler, they decided to ship him off to Dallas.

The 26-year-old forward inked a four-year, $53.3 million deal with the Celtics before being traded, but he didn’t even last a full season with the Mavericks. Remember how the Mavs pulled off that trade for P.J. Washington before their run to the 2024 NBA Finals? It was Williams’ contract that helped make that deal happen.

Williams is earning $13.0 million this season, $13.6 million next year, and $14.3 million in 2026-27. With that kind of salary on the books, Charlotte might be looking to make a move.

One of the major hurdles with Williams, aside from his “tough guy in a small package” antics, is the injury he suffered. Back in late November, he tore his ACL, meniscus, and other ligaments in his knee. That kind of injury typically means a year on the shelf, so any trade for Williams would likely mean he’s out until around this time next season.

Josh Green

Josh Green could also be a key piece in making the trade work financially. The University of Arizona alum is in the first year of a three-year, $41 million deal, earning $12.7 million this season.

At 6’5”, Green doesn’t add much size to the Suns’ frontcourt, but he’s stocky and, hey, he’s somewhat local, having passed through Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix. He’s started 32 games for the Hornets this season, averaging 7.2 points on 41/40/64 shooting splits, making him a solid depth addition.

The upside with Green is that he’s healthy, unlike Williams. The downside, though, is that, like Williams, he has two more years left on his contract. Meanwhile, Jusuf Nurkic only has one year remaining, which might be something the Suns are considering carefully in this potential trade.

What’s Next?

Now? We do what we’ve been doing for six months. We wait. There are numerous mechanisms at work here as it pertains to players and draft picks.

What would I do? Easy. Get Richards. And throw Grant Williams into the mix too. If you’ve got to part with a couple of second-round picks, so be it. Let’s face it, the Suns won’t stumble across another second-round gem like Oso Ighodaro every year. Use the little draft capital you’ve got left to seal the deal.

Adding both Richards and Williams gives you flexibility and talent, something Nurkic just isn’t providing from the bench. It’s time to make the move. Just walk Nurkic over to the visitor’s locker room tonight and drop him off with his lunch and his backpack.