Jusuf Nurkic New Home #3: Oklahoma City Thunder
As some teams start to crumble after the 2010s, others will rise in each conference during the 2020s. We may have just seen the first peak at a potential powerhouse in the West with the late push from the Oklahoma City Thunder, who were led by All-NBA First Team member Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the way to a play-in berth.
Off of the strength of the 13th-best defensive efficiency in the NBA this year, the Thunder – sans Chet Holmgren – stormed past their preseason projections and almost made it to the NBA playoffs. They had a great young core full of tenacious players like Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams and may be looking to keep the momentum going next year.
If they are, adding a burly center to the mix may be the right move. Holmgren’s entrance into the NBA should make them better, but expecting him to hold up at center is asking for trouble. Instead, pairing him with Nurkic in his prime allows Holmgren to avoid the heat of physicality while covering for Nurkic’s defensive lapses.
The Blazers could try to pry rookie center Jaylin Williams from the Thunder, given he started a number of games for them this year, but the better swing should be for some of the wings in Oklahoma City that are now expendable.
Either Lu Dort or Kenrich Williams, if not both, are players who fit a need for Portland as perimeter players who can hit shots and lock up on defense:
Lu Dort said absolutely not. pic.twitter.com/J49EgYGHOG
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) March 22, 2023
The bane of the Blazers over the past few seasons has been their defense, and adding either Dort or Williams would help to shore up that end of the floor. Plus, neither player will demand shots and instead will work as glue guys, an important role that Portland traded away when they moved Josh Hart at the trade deadline.