The Portland Trail Blazers sent Jusuf Nurkic to the Phoenix Suns as part of the blockbuster three-team Damian Lillard trade in 2023. Nurkic struggled to find his footing in Phoenix. As a result, he bounced around the league after his tenure with the Blazers, playing for Phoenix, Charlotte, and ultimately the Utah Jazz.
Even the Jazz were criticized for trading for Nurkic, whose reputation had been tarnished at that point. Whether it was his questionable fit in the modern NBA or being called out by Bosnia's national coach for being out of shape, Nurkic's value was plummeting.
But to his credit, Nurkic has quietly resurrected his career with the Jazz.
This season, the veteran big man is averaging 10.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He's been a key contributor to Utah's surprising season, as a team that was initially expected to be the lone Western Conference bottom-feeder now has a 14-25 record.
The Phoenix Suns scapegoated Jusuf Nurkic
In retrospect, Nurkic's sudden turnaround should have his former teams wondering if he was truly the problem. Swoosh Shrestha of Valley of the Suns published a piece about how Phoenix failed to realize Nurkic's true value.
"The Suns have rebuilt their rotation in the last year, and one of the most underrated departures was Jusuf Nurkic. After being shipped out last season, Nurkic has ended up on the Jazz in a nice complementary role to developing players. He's not the only talented center that wasn't able to last on the Suns, but his excellence this season could be causing some second thoughts," Shrestha writes.
Nurkic was a starting-level center in Portland, and it was surprising that he wasn't able to make those other landing spots work. Phoenix, in particular, is a team that should be questioning why he wasn't their center solution. It appears Nurkic was scapegoated for a failed season in The Valley.
Blazers fans saw the impact Nurkic had on the offensive end, particularly as a solid screener and underrated passer who can be utilized as an offensive hub for stretches. We're seeing that in Utah, as Nurkic is even playing a role in Keyonte George's breakout.
That wasn't the case in Phoenix, where his role was limited to being more of a traditional center. Considering his defensive limitations, that's not going to return value.
To a certain extent, the Suns made a similar mistake with Kevin Durant more recently. Phoenix's flawed roster went far beyond one player, and Durant noted in a recent Rockets win over the Suns that it felt good to beat a team that had scapegoated him.
“It feels good to play against a team that booted you out of the building and scapegoated you for all the problems they had,” Durant said.
Ultimately, this Nurkic situation worked out for the best interest of all parties involved. The Blazers dumped Deandre Ayton, landed building block Toumani Camara in the deal, and still have their center of the future in Donovan Clingan. Phoenix has finally addressed those roster flaws this offseason, making them the most surprising team of the season with a 24-16 record.
Meanwhile, Nurkic is thriving in Utah, looking like a perfect fit on a team that finally knows how to play to his strengths.