Portland Trail Blazers stars Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum remained mostly guarded when asked about potential changes that could come following the team’s first-round playoff series loss to Denver. Center Jusuf Nurkic, on the other hand, was a bit more pointed with his comments following a 126-115 loss to the Nuggets on Thursday night at the Moda Center.
Nurkic said he didn’t know if he would return next season because the one year remaining on his contract isn’t fully guaranteed and that he only wanted to return to the “right situation.” He added “this is not it.”
“I got a non-guaranteed contract,” Nurkic said. “I don’t know if I’m going to be back. I’m going to leave that to Rich Paul, my agent. We’ll see what’s going to happen. As far as right now, I’m just going to get away from basketball and see what my next step should be. We’ll see what’s going to happen. I’m not sure if I’m coming back or what’s team direction is. We’ll look at that later.”
Nurkic didn’t elaborate too much on what any of that meant, but clearly Nurkic left the Moda Center for the final time this season unhappy with his place within the organization.
“I don’t know where the future stands for me or for the team,” Nurkic said.
The Blazers are holding player exit interviews today.
First things first, there is no real ambiguity involving Nurkic’s contract.
Nurkic has one year remaining on the four-year, $48 million deal he signed in 2018. Nurkic is correct that the final season, at $12.9 million, is not fully guaranteed. The Blazers have until August to fully guarantee the final year, or pay Nurkic $4 million to walk.
According to a source, the Blazers have no intention of simply releasing their starting center in the prime of his career.
So, Nurkic will be back with the Blazers next season unless he is traded.
Still, returning next season under the same circumstances doesn’t seem to sit well with Nurkic.
Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (#27) is called for charging as the Portland Trail Blazers take on the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of their first-round NBA playoffs matchup at Moda Center on Thursday, June 3, 2021.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
He grumbled about his desire for a bigger role on the team.
“I think I could help even more,” he said.
Nurkic, who acknowledged he was heated after the game, said he would never throw anyone under the bus or point the finger. He said he accepted his role and worked hard to give the team what it wanted from him.
“I was really respectful and trying to do what they asked of me,” Nurkic said.
Clearly, Stotts preferred running a system built around three-point shooting that didn’t run very many plays for the center. The focal points were Lillard and McCollum.
Also, Nurkic hasn’t been very available over the past two seasons. He broke his leg in March 2019, missing the following season until the bubble session in the summer of 2020.
He began training camp this season admittedly out of shape and 12 games into the season broke his wrist, costing him 32 games. Upon his return, he had a knee issue that cost him three more games. He was on a minutes restriction, was held out of most back-to-backs and wasn’t full himself until the final few weeks of the season when he played extremely well, especially on defense. Then came the playoffs against Denver, when he collected 30 personal fouls in 174 minutes over six games while contending with Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.
Moving forward, maybe Nurkic could earn a bigger piece of the offensive pie, but it’s tough to figure out how Stotts should have made that happen this season.
Should Stotts be fired, which is widely speculated, then it’s possible that a new coach could provide Nurkic with the role he desires.
Nurkic said he believes change is coming to the Blazers. He didn’t say if he meant coaching changes, player changes or both.
Nurkic said that main reason to assume change is coming is that the team made a first-round exit despite having much loftier expectations. He said it was difficult to talk in detail because he was heated after the loss.
“It’s really hard for me to speak about the future,” he said. “Just all types of feelings going through my head right now. I’m going to take a couple of days off and talk to my agent and see what’s gonna be next.”
— Aaron Fentress | [email protected] | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
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