Does this trade make sense for the Portland Trail Blazers?
Damian Lillard’s future in Portland seems a little bit clouded right now and while he has remained loyal to this franchise for almost a decade now, the time is ticking for this front-office to make moves in order to appease their All-Star.
Getting better defensively is the only way this Portland Trail Blazers team is going to become a real threat in the Western Conference come playoff time, which is why adding Myles Turner at the expense of Jusuf Nurkic makes sense. Losing Nassir Little could wind up hurting the Blazers in terms of having depth behind Norman Powell on the wing, but this is a risk they need to take.
Over the years, Myles Turner has turned himself into a legit Defensive Player of the Year candidate and for a team that currently ranks 18th in the league in defensive rating, he could immediately make them a Top-10 defensive team in the NBA.
Jusuf Nurkic is a really strong center in terms of scoring in the paint and being a double-double threat every night he plays, but he is not really a factor defensively. He does not move as well anymore compared to other big men around the league and he is only averaging 0.7 blocks per game to begin the 2021-22 season, which is the lowest mark of Nurkic’s career right now.
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Fatigue is also a major problem connected with Jusuf Nurkic, which is one of the main reasons why they should look to trade him. He averaged just over 23 minutes per game last season and is right above that mark again this season, which is not favorable for Portland. They need guys that can play upwards of 30 minutes per game in their frontcourt, especially since they do not have Enes Kanter as a “security blanket” anymore.
Myles Turner can not only play more minutes per game than Nurkic, but he can easily average close to three blocks per game again and be an anchor for them on the defensive end of the court. Portland would be smart to pursue Turner at some point before the trade deadline this season.
