{"id":15316,"date":"2018-07-06T22:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-07-07T02:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnba.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=15316"},"modified":"2018-07-07T00:05:34","modified_gmt":"2018-07-07T04:05:34","slug":"jusuf-nurkic-agrees-re-sign-blazers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2018\/07\/06\/jusuf-nurkic-agrees-re-sign-blazers\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Jusuf Nurkic Agrees to Re-Sign With Portland Trail Blazers"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a contract reportedly worth $53 million over 4 years, seven-foot Bosnian center Jusuf Nurkic<\/a><\/strong> has re-signed a new deal with the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a>. Nurkic was a restricted free agent heading into this free agency. <\/span><\/p>\n

Shams Charania of Yahoo broke the news Friday night:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/1015432982302199808<\/p>\n

Jusuf Nurkic Re-Signs With Portland Trail Blazers<\/b><\/span><\/h1>\n

Nurkic\u2019s contract will see him playing through to the end of the 2021-22 season, with a partial guarantee in the final season.<\/p>\n

Nurkic\u2019s career hit a peak at the end of the 2016\/17 season, when he moved to the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> at the trade deadline and played a more-than-significant role towards the team eventually reaching the playoffs. However, his play was far more erratic in the 2017\/18 season. Although he averaged a decent 14.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game over 79 games, there were certain chinks in his armor. <\/span><\/p>\n

For starters, there were certain nights where he seemed to switch off and fall apart, and was simply a non-factor in deciding the course of the game. His defense was sporadic at times, and he was unable to handle the elite Anthony Davis<\/strong><\/a> from pulling apart the Trail Blazers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, there were some nights when Nurkic seemed unstoppable. The duo of the Bosnian and Damian Lillard<\/a><\/strong> formed one of the most potent pick-and-roll pairs in the league, where a barreling-to-the-rim Nurkic was able to score points at will on the opposition. Looking ahead, he seems primed for a starting center role. He will certainly add to Portland\u2019s offense with his pick-and-roll ability, as well as his work in the post. The 23-year-old still has his best years ahead of him, and now is the time for him to grow into the NBA player he wants to be.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Trail Blazers will need Nurkic to be on top of his game in order to help his team contend for home-court advantage in the 2018\/2019 season. The 23-year-old is going into his fifth NBA season, after being drafted by the Denver Nuggets in the 2014 NBA Draft.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>