The Suns find themselves in an interesting spot with their big man.
Jusuf Nurkic was originally acquired in hopes of being an offensive hub who could help unlock the Suns’ stars offensively with his playmaking from the top of the key.
The defense wasn’t ever expected to be great, just solid.
Size and playmaking. It made sense on paper, I guess. But then I zoom back out and think about it from a team with hopes of winning a title and being “all-in” and it goes back to making zero sense.
Nurkic was never the answer. He is a poor finisher around the rim, flat-footed defensively, doesn’t move well, and can’t stretch the floor properly. In a playoff environment, he is the type of big that gets exposed year after year.
After dealing with a frustrating center in Deandre Ayton for years, Suns fans felt like Nurkic was the answer after a few intriguing stretches last season. He was not.
Including Camara in that deal stings.
Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images
Fast forward to this season. He got himself suspended, relegated to the bench, DNP’d in multiple games, and benched to close games he was playing in earlier this season.
Statistically speaking, this is his worst season by far in his career as a regular rotation player. It’s the first time he has been below double figures in points since 2016.
His 45.4% shooting from the field is his lowest since 2015 when he was a sophomore reserve seeing limited minutes in Denver. His turnovers remain the same from a season ago at 2.3 per game… the issue is he is averaging only 1.9 assists per game (4.0 a year ago) and playing four fewer minutes per game.
The eye test matches the numbers. It’s been a disastrous season for the veteran big man.
Who wants him?
The short answer is… no one.
Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro stated: “The Suns have been unable to find a single team willing to take on Jusuf Nurkic’s contract in a trade.”
The contract is steep given the production (or lack thereof) and he’s not someone who would be in the long-term plans of rebuilding teams at 30 years old. So that leaves us in a spot where the Suns would 100% have to attach a pick (or two) to unload his contract.
The criteria should be pretty simple for which teams could take that bait. A bad team that can afford to eat the contract for another year during their rebuild while gaining some extra draft capital to do so.
The options are fairly limited to bear with me here.
Option 1: Toronto Raptors
The Raptors have some talent but are clearing tanking at 10-31.
Kelly Olynyk is a name that comes to mind as a rotation piece who is rumored to be on the block. The numbers work. Hell, they could even try to snag Garrett Temple as well for depth purposes in a Nurkic 2-for-1 with a pick attached.
The question is, would a 2nd round pick be enough to entice Toronto?
Option 2: Washington Wizards
The Wizards are shopping big man Jonas Valanciunas. You could combine him with a salary like Saddiq Bey to make the numbers work. Phoenix would have to toss in a pick, but this gives you another center who can carve out minutes alongside Richards.
It’s not perfect but it’s possible.
Option 3: Portland Trail Blazers
AGAIN?! Well, look. Their center rotation is stacked. They’ve been there and done that. Would they take on his contract for a pick? Probably not.
But the Suns have been linked to Duop Reath. Here’s an idea I dropped below for fun on Twitter X.
Just throwing this out there.
You get your Okogie replacement and another big body in case of emergency. pic.twitter.com/T3x4u2UTyz
— Zona (@AZSportsZone) January 15, 2025
Due to financial limitations, uninterested teams, etc., this has been a rough process to go through. The Suns may very well be stuck with Nurkic unless they pay a premium to get rid of him without improving much if at all.