Blazers' Jusuf Nurkic trade looks even better after coach puts him on blast

The Portland Trail Blazers were Jusuf Nurkic's home for the majority of his NBA career. In 2023, they traded him to the Suns as part of a three-team trade with the Bucks that sent Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara to Portland. Two years later, Nurkic's trade value has dipped significantly.

Nurkic and Bosnia are preparing for EuroBasket, and it's not going well. Their most recent loss was against Montenegro, 102-90. The coach, Adis Beciragic, called Nurkic out after, saying that the center is "out of shape and can barely run," per BasketNews.

Nurkic has struggled since leaving Portland, staying in Phoenix for a season and a half before the Suns sent the Hornets a 2026 first-round pick to offload his contract before this past February's deadline. He finished the season coming off the bench for Charlotte in the majority of the games he played (he only started nine of 26 games).

The Hornets traded Nurkic to the Jazz this offseason in exchange for Collin Sexton and a future second-round pick. Yes, they sent a pick to the Hornets for Nurkic.

Jusuf Nurkic is doing himself no favors this offseason

Nurkic's best playing days are well behind him. He'll turn 31 later this month, so it's not like he's well into his golden years. He managed to average a double-double in 2023-24, his first season with the Suns (10.9 points and 11 rebounds per game), and it doesn't seem like he'll come close to that player again (and he had his flaws then).

Portland made the right move to get rid of Nurkic when it did, capitalizing on Phoenix's need for a center. Ayton's time with the Trail Blazers didn't work out, but at least they got Camara out of it. The 25-year-old has turned into a player that the organization and fans love, to the extent that Portland wants to keep him around long-term.

The Suns can't even claim by any stretch of the imagination that the Nurkic trade was a win. He hurt them more than he helped them during a time that Phoenix was trying to make a championship push with Kevin Durant. Look at how that turned out.

Nurkic has one more season left on his current contract, as he'll make $19.4 million. That's Utah's problem. One thing is for sure, and it's that unless Nurkic makes a turnaround, he'll be out of the league before he knows it.