It's hard to believe that there was ever a time when Jusuf Nurkić played over Nikola Jokić on the Denver Nuggets. The team acquired the draft rights to Nurkić in 2014, the same year that they drafted Jokić in the second round. Jokić didn't make his NBA debut until the following season (2015-16), and it wasn't until the 2016-17 season that Mike Malone benched Nurkić in favor of Jokić.
Nearly nine years have passed since then, and Jokić has won three NBA MVP awards, an NBA Finals MVP award, and a championship. Nurkić did well in Portland for a few seasons after the February 2017 trade, but over the past couple of years, he has struggled. He wasn't happy with his demotion in Denver, but it worked in the Nuggets' favor, that's for sure.
Two years ago, the Trail Blazers sent Nurkić to the Suns in the trade for Deandre Ayton. He spent a season and a half in Phoenix before he was traded to the Hornets before the 2025 deadline. The Suns attached a first-round pick to Nurkić in the deal, acquiring Cody Martin, Vasa Micic, and a 2026 second-round pick in return.
Nurkić spent half a season in Charlotte before the Hornets traded him to the Jazz this offseason in a deal for Collin Sexton.
Jusuf Nurkić's NBA career is on a downward spiral
The 31-year-old is entering the final season of a four-year, $70 million deal he signed with Portland in 2022. His contract is what made it difficult for the Suns to trade him. Nurkić will make $19.4 million this season before hitting free agency next summer.
Utah's decision to trade Sexton and a second-round pick to Charlotte for Nurkić was puzzling because, like Nurkić, Sexton is on an expiring deal, but he'll make shy of $19 million next season. Unlike Nurkić, who won't start in Utah, Sexton could be a starter for the Hornets. Sexton is the more valuable player, yet it is the Jazz who sent a draft asset in their part of the deal.
Last month, Bosnia's EuroBasket coach called Nurkić out, saying he was "out of shape" and could "barely run." The big man has done himself no favors this summer.
It's not looking good for the former Nuggets center. Nurkić could be out of the NBA next summer when his contract expires. He already looks unplayable.
To think that there was once a time when Denver thought that it was getting its center of the future when it drafted Nurkić, not knowing that the player who would change the organization would come in the second round.