Portland Trail Blazers: Trade Target – Myles Turner (IND)
The Portland Trail Blazers are a mess right now and they have done all the wrong things to try and appease Damian Lillard, who does want to remain in Portland, but wants to win immediately. They may not have many chances anymore to make Lillard happy, which is why they need to go all-in and target a guy like Myles Turner this season.
Portland has been searching for ways to add more talent to their roster in order to appease their All-Star in Lillard, but they are still missing something. Turner could be that piece they are currently missing and fix a lot of their problems not only in their frontcourt, but defensively as well.
With Jusuf Nurkic in the final year of his contract and the Portland Trail Blazers looking to add more overall talent to their roster, it is not crazy to believe that the Bosnian center could be on the move in the near future. He is beloved by the fan base and good friends with Lillard, but his upside is limited compared to that of Myles Turner.
Nurkic is only two years older than Turner, but Portland runs the risk of losing him next offseason since he will be an unrestricted free agent. Myles Turner would also be a massive defensive upgrade for this Blazers team in the frontcourt.
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Now in his 7th season in the league, Turner is not only one of the league’s best shot-blockers, but he has led the league in blocked shots two of the last three seasons.
Only making $17.5M both this season and next year, Myles Turner is an affordable option for a luxury tax paying team like the Portland Trail Blazers and he can instantly help make them better defensively, which is where they have struggled greatly through the years.
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.
Over the years, Myles Turner has turned himself into a legit Defensive Player of the Year candidate and for a team that currently ranks 15th in the league in defensive rating, he could immediately make them a Top-10 defensive team in the NBA.
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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.
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.
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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.
