Is Jusuf Nurkic worth the wait?

Coming out of last season, Jusuf Nurkic was the only shining light from a tumultuous season under Brian Shaw and then interim HC Melvin Hunt. He burst his way onto the seen with his shot-blocking and trash talking ability. My favourite memory of ‘Juka’ as he is commonly known by Nuggets fans, was when he blocked Marc Gasol and proceeded to talk trash to him straight after he did it, riling up Gasol.

This isn’t the only time Nurkic has thrown some words around, he also did it against Demarcus Cousins, which may make him crazy due to Cousin’s known anger and emotional issues, but to me showed how fearless he is. He’s not gonna be bullied by the best players in the league and due to his mountainous size at 7 feet and 280 pounds, it makes it hard for him to be intimidated.

Last season Nurkic put up 6.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game off just 17.8 minutes per game.

And from his performances this year you can tell, he has just never recovered

If we look at Nurkic’s numbers per 36 minutes, they are insane for a rookie. 14 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks, would be incredibly helpful numbers if he could stay on the court that long. Nurkic’s effectiveness on the court led to him being considered a dark horse rookie of the year contender which unfortunately he didn’t win, but still showed how good he was last season.

At the end of last season Nurkic required surgery  on his knee which would make him miss the first couple of games of this season. But Nurkic has had complications with not only the knee, but also his back, causing him to miss more games than expected and from his performances this year you can tell, he has just never recovered.

After 62 games this season Nurkic has only partaken in 19 of them, averaging 13 minutes a night. Now either due to injury or bad performance, Nurkic missed his 6th consecutive game against Brooklyn. When Nurkic has played, he’s looked incredibly rusty, he rushes his shot, throws poor passes and is usually tired after 3 minutes on the court. This could be put down to lack of conditioning due to his injury, but frankly I think it’s due to his attitude.

This sums up his year so far.

Nurkic has been the last out of the locker room at halftime a couple of times, then proceeds to chuck up some lazy shots before sitting down again. The same attitude he was giving to Marc Gasol and Demarcus Cousins last year, he’s now obviously giving to the coaching staff and they don’t like it. Malone recently challenged the Bosnian Beast to earn his minutes back and he hasn’t looked like he’s trying.

I like Nurkic, he’s an absolute beast in the paint, he can score, rebound and is a shot blocking machine. He also has a half-decent jump shot which when combined with the rest of his game, could one day make him the complete

package. How can you defend someone so big, who is quick enough and strong enough to go through you and score at the basket, or take a couple of steps back and rain jumpers?.

Yes, Nurkic is having a tough season, but its only his second season in the league. We have to remember that he moved here from Bosnia not long before his rookie season and combined with the fact he only picked up a basketball for the first time at the age of 14. Nurkic is still a completely raw talent and I think it would be naive for Denver to trade him away, because frankly this man is gonna be a star if he is given the opportunity. Don’t let Nurkic come back to bite you Denver, Nurkic is worth the wait.

“Joe Johnson shakes Jusuf Nurkic into next week” video obtained from bleacher report.