<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/utah-jazz/eurobasket-news-jazz-jusuf-nurkic-reacts-giannis-antetokounmpo-dnp');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jazz’ Jusuf Nurkic gets real on Giannis Antetokounmpo absence in Bosnia’s EuroBasket win');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Jazz-and-Bosnia-center-Jusuf-Nurkic.jpg"><figcaption>Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Jazz’ Jusuf Nurkic gets real on Giannis Antetokounmpo absence in Bosnia’s EuroBasket win</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-02T08:49:40-07:00">September 2nd, 8:49am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-02T08:50:58-07:00">September 2nd, 8:50am</time><address><a>Yasmin Edañol</a>Yasmin D.G. Edañol is a PhD candidate in Chemistry at the University of the Philippines Diliman, with a background in scientific research and publishing. He brings a data-driven perspective to sports storytelling as an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints, with a focus on the NBA. Whether it's breaking down a clutch play or a stat line, he believes every great moment has a deeper layer waiting to be uncovered.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic spoke after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks/eurobasket-news-why-bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-dnp-greece-loss">Bosnia’s EuroBasket win over Greece</a> and made it clear that Giannis Antetokounmpo’s absence didn’t change much. The Jazz center <a href="https://x.com/Tsaltas46/status/1962886766601424986" rel="noopener">explained</a> that Bosnia approached the game with the same mindset on both ends of the floor. The Greece-Bosnia EuroBasket matchup was always going to demand discipline, with or without Giannis.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Asked Jusuf Nurkic if Giannis' absence changed the game plan for Bosnia. "It didn't change a lot. We had the same attachment on offense or defense. Regardless of who gonna play there, you have to have the same discipline. "<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroBasket?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroBasket</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GREBIH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GREBIH</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/athletiko_gr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@athletiko_gr</a> <a href="https://t.co/gdpnKDylEk">pic.twitter.com/gdpnKDylEk</a></p><p>— Christos Tsaltas (@Tsaltas46) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tsaltas46/status/1962886766601424986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Asked if the game plan shifted, Nurkic gave a simple response. “It didn’t change a lot,” he said. “We had the same attachment on offense or defense. Regardless of who gonna play there, you have to have the same discipline.” Bosnia stuck to its structure and executed.</p><p>Jusuf Nurkic anchored the paint and used his size to set the tone on both ends. As a result, Greece struggled to find its usual inside presence without Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, Nurkic made it clear that Bosnia never underestimated them. “You still have to respect the opponent,” he said. “One guy doesn’t change everything.”</p><p>Meanwhile, earlier in the tournament, Nurkic talked about the challenge of stopping Giannis. He said the key was to “build the wall” in transition and force him into tougher shots. Even though Giannis didn’t play, Bosnia still applied the same defensive principles to keep Greece out of rhythm.</p><p>Off the court, there had been some tension within the Bosnia camp. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/utah-jazz/jazzs-jusuf-nurkic-blasted-bosnias-eurobasket-coach">Head coach Adis Beciragic recently criticized Nurkic’s fitness</a>, saying he “was out of shape and could barely run” after a 15-point performance in a loss to Montenegro. Because of this, the comments sparked discussion around Bosnia’s preparation, but Nurkic responded with leadership on the floor.</p><p>In the end, for Bosnia, the win was about discipline and focus. They stuck to the plan and trusted the system, no matter who lined up against them. Ultimately, Nurkic’s steady presence continues to guide the team as they push deeper into EuroBasket.</p><p>Can Bosnia keep this momentum going and make a deeper EuroBasket run?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jazz’ Jusuf Nurkic gets real on Giannis Antetokounmpo absence in Bosnia’s EuroBasket win

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/utah-jazz/jazzs-jusuf-nurkic-blasted-bosnias-eurobasket-coach');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jazz’s Jusuf Nurkic blasted by Bosnia’s EuroBasket coach for being ‘out of shape’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jusuf-Nurkic-lays-it-up.jpg"><figcaption>Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h1>Jazz’s Jusuf Nurkic blasted by Bosnia’s EuroBasket coach for being ‘out of shape’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-11T10:56:16-07:00">August 11th, 10:56am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-11T10:56:16-07:00">August 11th, 10:56am</time><address><a>Rishav Bhat</a>Rishav is a seasoned NBA and sports journalist and editor with over seven years of experience working for reputed organizations. A novelist first and foremost, he has written three fiction books. His high threshold of knowledge combined with his writing skills gives him the ability to write uniquely insightful pieces across basketball, soccer, cricket, lawn tennis, eSports, and a variety of other sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Utah Jazz’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/utah-jazz/utah-jazzs-perfect-move-in-2025-nba-offseason">Jusuf Nurkic has joined a slew of NBA stars who are representing their nations at EuroBasket 2025.</a> Alongside the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic, Nurkic leads a Bosnia and Herzegovina roster that has suffered defeats in all three of their preparatory games.</p><p>And things seem to be getting even worse, with head coach Adis Beciragic taking aim at his NBA star after a 102-90 loss against Montenegro. </p><p>“(Jusuf) Nurkic is out of shape and can barely run,” Beciragic said of the Utah Jazz big man despite the 30-year-old scoring 15 points in the loss. Nurkic was not the only one the head coach has issues with, as he went on to reveal that even Xavier Castaneda is <a href="https://basketnews.com/news-229221-bosnia-coach-calls-out-jusuf-nurkic-over-poor-shape.html" rel="noopener">yet to regain fitness</a>, per BasketNews.</p><p>The latest defeat follows a 126-89 thrashing by Serbia in a closed-door friendly and back-to-back losses against China earlier this summer. Beciragic stressed that the team’s preparation has been far from acceptable, pointing to missed opportunities such as the 18 missed free throws versus Serbia. </p><p>Bosnia is set to be part of a difficult EuroBasket group which includes the likes of Spain, Italy, and Georgia. However, both Nurkic and the Unicaja star have multiple opportunities to get back in the coach’s good books.</p><p>Bosnia and Herzegovina face Great Britain and Belgium in Ostend on August 16 and 17, followed by two more matchups with Belgium on August 23 and 24. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/hornets-news-charlotte-acquires-collin-sexton-jazz-jusuf-nurkic">Nurkic has joined the team after an unsettled year in the NBA</a> that saw him average 8.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 51 games for the Charlotte Hornets and the Utah Jazz, combined.</p><p>The 30-year-old has also been linked to an exit from the Jazz, with Brian Windhorst recently reporting that the franchise sees him as an expiring contract and are instead focussed on developing younger stars. Hence, a strong EuroBasket campaign will only do good to his NBA future as well.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jazz’s Jusuf Nurkic blasted by Bosnia’s EuroBasket coach for being ‘out of shape’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/nba-stories/grading-hornets-jazz-trade-collin-sexton-jusuf-nurkic');   ga('set', 'title', 'Grading Hornets-Jazz trade involving Collin Sexton, Jusuf Nurkic');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Grading-Hornets-Jazz-trade-involving-Collin-Sexton-Jusuf-Nurkic.jpg"></figure><h1>Grading Hornets-Jazz trade involving Collin Sexton, Jusuf Nurkic</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-29T20:42:39-07:00">June 29th, 8:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-29T20:42:39-07:00">June 29th, 8:42pm</time><address><a>Kris Pursiainen</a>Kris Pursiainen is an Associate Editor for all sports based in the NJ/NYC area. Kris brings several years of experience reporting on and writing about professional teams to the table. With experience all over the country as a New York Knicks, New York Jets, New York Mets, Super Bowl LVIII, and Big East beat reporter, Kris has been breaking news and reporting on the NBA, NFL, MLB, and college basketball landscapes for years. Kris is a proud graduate of Fordham University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Charlotte Hornets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/hornets-news-charlotte-acquires-collin-sexton-jazz-jusuf-nurkic">Utah Jazz traded veteran guard Collin Sexton</a> to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. The Jazz, who included a second-round pick in the 2030 NBA Draft, received veteran center Jusuf Nurkic in return.</p><p>Both Sexton and Nurkic are entering contract years. Making the money work was easy, with both set to make around $19 million next year.</p><p>It had been rumored that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/orlando-magic/magic-rumors-insider-orlando-jordan-poole-collin-sexton-trades">Sexton would be available in trades</a> this offseason. Utah drafted guards Keyonte George and Brice Sensabaugh in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft. The next year, they selected guard Isaiah Collier in the first round. On Wednesday, they drafted guard Walter Clayton Jr., the fourth first-round pick they’ve used on a guard in three drafts.</p><p>As more of their young talent approaches paydays, more experienced players like Jordan Clarkson and Sexton become natural choices for the ‘chopping block.’ What type of moves could the Jazz make that involve one or two of these guards and set their core up for success?</p><p>They opted to send Sexton to the Eastern Conference for a big man. The Jazz only had incoming fourth-year center Walker Kessler and Kyle Filipowski, fresh off his rookie campaign, at center. Both players represent a balance of now and later, already able to impact winning basketball but with room to grow. Nurkic, an 11-year NBA veteran, could help both reach their potential.</p><p>The Hornets <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/charlotte-hornets/draft-grade-hornets-new-rookie-kon-knueppel">drafted 6’7″ guard Kon Knueppel</a> with the fourth pick in Wednesday night’s draft. He joined guards LaMelo Ball and recent first-round draft pick Nick Smith Jr. on the roster, making Sexton the fourth under contract next season with 24-year-old guard Tre Mann entering restricted free agency. Was this the best the Hornets could have done to replace him? Was trading Nurkic days after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-phoenix-trades-for-mark-williams-drafts-khaman-maluach-moments-apart">trading Mark Williams</a> the right move?</p><h2><b>Hornets get smaller, score big in Nurkic-Sexton swap</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Collin-Sexton-Jusuf-Nurkic-Jazz-Hornets.jpg"><figcaption>Jeffrey Swinger-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>A 26-year-old guard, after the second-straight season in which he was excellent on offense, being traded <i>away</i> is a tough sell. Sexton averaged 18.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game while making 48% of his field goals this past year. He led the Jazz in scoring for the second-straight year.</p><p>Sexton turned the ball over 2.5 times on average. But his 40.6% conversion rate on his 4.3 3-point attempts per game was a career-best.</p><p>The advanced analytics on Sexton’s past two seasons indicate his offensive impact is legitimate. His Estimated Offensive Plus-Minus rating of +1.5 represented greater offensive impact than 87% of NBA players that year. His +3.0 mark in the 2023-24 season was in the 95th percentile of <a href="https://dunksandthrees.com/player/1629012" rel="noopener">that season’s O-EPM ratings</a>, per Dunks and Threes.</p><p>At face value, parting ways with Nurkic is a tough but potentially necessary sacrifice to acquire a player like Sexton. His high-octane offensive capabilities could both complement Ball’s playmaking well and help the team maintain its offense when Ball sits. Receiving a second-round draft selection several years down the road tilts this trade enough in the Hornets’ direction to consider it a ‘success’ for them on-paper.</p><p>Sexton and Ball may struggle on defense, especially without a defensive anchor of a big supporting them. The Hornets traded both Nurkic and Williams, the two centers they had on their roster, within days of each other. This makes the team’s need for a center dire. Nurkic, who just had the <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/2732#tab-defense_rebounding" rel="noopener">highest defensive-rebounding percentage</a> of his career last year, could have been more valuable to the Hornets than other teams.</p><p>Center play, however, has typically been the most easily replaceable position in the modern era. The Hornets bet on the center play they can acquire in free agency, coupled with incoming fourth-year small-ball center Moussa Diabate, being enough for next year.</p><p><b>Hornets trade grade</b><b>: A-</b></p><p>Sexton will need a new deal after his opening campaign with Charlotte. Locking in a 27-year-old Sexton for ‘the prime years’ of his career is worth giving up a steady hand in Nurkic for a team like the Hornets, searching for perennial playoff appearances.</p><h2><b>Jazz add rebounding, experience via veteran Jusuf Nurkic</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Jusuf-Nurkic-Jazz-Hornets-trade.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Nurkic played 51 games last season between his time with the Hornets and the Phoenix Suns. His <a href="https://dunksandthrees.com/player/203994/historical" rel="noopener">81st percentile Defensive-EPM</a> of +0.8 is indicative of a ‘still got it’ factor with regard to his ability to anchor a defense. His +2.5 rating on that end of the court from the season before was better than 95% of the NBA last year.</p><p>Availability is beginning to come into question with Nurkic, though. Some were part of the trade process and not representative of his health, but he missed 33 games total last season. He played 76 the year before, a nice figure, which unfortunately stands out as an outlier.</p><p>Nurkic played just 52 games in 2023 and 56 in 2022. That’s after he played a combined 45 in the two years before, 2019-21, because of troubles with leg injuries. When he’s on the court, though, his value is clear. He rebounded 31.8% of opposing team’s misses when he was on defense, a career-best rate. That was in the 99th percentile among all NBA players in the 2025 season.</p><p>From 2019 to 2024, Nurkic’s O-EPM had been in the 69th percentile or better – except for 2021, a 59th percentile output. Last season, his -1.9 O-EPM rating was in the 31st percentile that year. Especially after <i>trading</i> Sexton, the Jazz don’t have a playmaker on the level of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, or LaMelo Ball yet. Will they be able to scheme an offense that facilitates a bounce back season?</p><p><b>Jazz trade grade: C-</b></p><p>Head coach Will Hardy prioritizes the optimization of his talent. Will the team’s young guards have developed enough to allow the addition of Nurkic to pay dividends? Or will the Bosnian big man’s contributions be unfortunately overlooked as the team’s offense has a Sexton-sized hole in it?</p><p>Whether or not Nurkic is a key contributor in Utah, it feels like they could have gotten more for Sexton. Was being so set on trading him even the right way to handle his pending free agency? If the team is interested in starting to win some games, the dynamo scoring guard now on the Hornets may have been able to help.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Grading Hornets-Jazz trade involving Collin Sexton, Jusuf Nurkic

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/nba-stories/hornets-news-charlotte-acquires-collin-sexton-jazz-jusuf-nurkic');   ga('set', 'title', 'Hornets acquire Collin Sexton from Jazz for Jusuf Nurkic');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Collin-Sexton.jpg"><figcaption>Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Hornets acquire Collin Sexton from Jazz for Jusuf Nurkic</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-29T12:27:05-07:00">June 29th, 12:27pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-29T12:53:05-07:00">June 29th, 12:53pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor and College Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Charlotte Hornets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/jazz-news-ace-bailey-officially-lands-summer-league">Utah Jazz cleared up some space in their crowded backcourt</a> on Sunday, and the Charlotte Hornets were the primary beneficiary. Just a day before free agency opens up, the Jazz sent guard Collin Sexton to the Hornets <a href="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1939403635428835822" rel="noopener">in exchange for center</a> Jusuf Nurkic, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.</p><p>The Hornets will also get a second-round pick in 2030 as a part of the deal.</p><p>On paper, this deal makes sense for a Jazz team that has a lot of young guards on the roster, all of whom will want minutes. Keyonte George has been a big part of the Utah rotation over the last two years, and Isaiah Collier showed plenty of promise as a rookie in 2024-25. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/jazz-news-utah-trades-up-with-wizards-to-land-florida-hero-walter-clayton-jr">Jazz also just drafted Florida star Walter Clayton Jr.</a> in the first round of the NBA Draft, and this deal frees up minutes for him as a rookie as well.</p><p>On the Hornets side, Charlotte gets out of a bad, expiring deal in Nurkic that the Jazz can afford to pay out this season. The Hornets also get an explosive guard in Sexton who can light up the stat sheet as a secondary scorer, potentially coming off the bench for them.</p><p>The downside for the Hornets in this trade is that they lose yet another big man after trading Mark Williams to the Phoenix Suns on draft night. They did draft Creighton star Ryan Kalkbrenner early in the second round, and he is now the only true center on the roster heading into next season.</p><p>Sexton has been in the purgatory of Utah over the last few seasons, but he has still been able to out up solid numbers for a team that hasn’t been all that competitive. In 2024-25, the Alabama product scored 18.4 points per game while shooting better than 40% from 3-point range, so he will add some much-needed scoring punch to this Hornets roster.</p><p>Nurkic played in a reduced role last season after being traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Hornets, but he can still be a quality player in spot minutes on the offensive end.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Hornets acquire Collin Sexton from Jazz for Jusuf Nurkic

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/why-anfernee-simons-magic-blazers-trade-could-happen');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Magic-Blazers Anfernee Simons trade could happen after Jusuf Nurkic’s suggestion');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Why-Magic-Blazers-Anfernee-Simons-trade-could-happen-after-Jusuf-Nurkics-suggestion-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Magic-Blazers Anfernee Simons trade could happen after Jusuf Nurkic’s suggestion</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-13T11:15:52-08:00">February 13th, 11:15am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-13T11:15:52-08:00">February 13th, 11:15am</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic have made only a few trades with one another through the years, the last coming in 2016 when <a href="https://www.nba.com/magic/news/magic-trade-shabazz-napier-trail-blazers" rel="noopener">Shabazz Napier was traded</a> from Orlando to Portland for cash. Could the Blazers and Magic come together to pull off a much larger trade during the offseason that would involve 25-year-old guard Anfernee Simons?</p><p>Ever since the Trail Blazers traded Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2023, this organization has been rebuilding and charting a path for their future. While doing so, Simons has stepped up to take on the role of leading the team in scoring.</p><p>Although he is still under contract for one more season, the Blazers are going to be forced to make a decision on the former first-round pick, especially with Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe emerging.</p><p>One of the big questions ahead of the 2025 NBA trade deadline surrounded the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/are-bucks-serious-jimmy-butler-trade-deadline-suitor-siegels-scoop">Trail Blazers and whether or not they would make a big change</a>. It turned out that the Blazers held off on making any moves despite rumors involving Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams III, Jerami Grant, and Simons. The Magic, despite being linked to Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson, also didn’t make any roster changes.</p><p>It may not be a coincidence that Portland and Orlando held off on making moves at the trade deadline.</p><p>What happens after the All-Star break will obviously dictate what these two franchises’ immediate futures look like. Whereas the Magic are fighting for a playoff spot in the East, the Blazers have quietly been inching closer to the Western Conference play-in region.</p><p>Looking ahead to the offseason, both organizations are going to be wanting to find ways to improve. The Magic need another scoring weapon next to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, while the Blazers need to continue building their long-term potential.</p><p>That is why a Simons trade is worth discussing, and it’s something that new Charlotte Hornets center Jusuf Nurkic recently speculated about. Although Nurkic is no longer a member of the Blazers, he is still friends with Simons. After losing 102-86 to the Magic in his Hornets debut, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/magic-news-jusuf-nurkic-subtly-suggests-anfernee-simons-trade-for-orlando">Nurkic talked about Orlando’s future</a>, hinting that they should target Simons without directly tampering.</p><p>“I think they are a really good young team and they are doing a really good job. They have a really good coaching staff, but I think they are missing one player,” Nurkic said, via Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel. “I can’t name it, but that’s my little fella from Portland, but I love my Portland people … but I think they are waiting and missing one player to be a really good team.”</p><p>This has been a main topic of discussion for the Magic throughout the 2024-25 season, especially with injuries piling up. Simons’ dynamic scoring and playmaking abilities in the backcourt would be beneficial for a young, rising team like the Magic in the East, and he would fit their current timeline in terms of his age.</p><p>Perhaps the most important factor to consider ahead of the offseason is that the Blazers don’t have a clear sense of direction right now and will be forced to fill the rest of the league in on their plans for Simons.</p><h2><b>Anfernee Simons, Trail Blazers’ future</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Blazers-Anfernee-Simons.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Blazers made it very clear to teams inquiring about their talents ahead of the trade deadline that they wouldn’t be sellers just for the sake of making a deal. If the right trade came their way, general manager Joe Cronin and this front office would consider it, but players like Williams, Grant, and Simons weren’t available for a small price.</p><p>Will this be the case when the 2024-25 season concludes and the Blazers are forced to evaluate everything again in the offseason when they will likely hold another lottery selection?</p><p>Simons will be turning 26 right before the 2025 NBA Draft, and he has one more year left on his contract valued at $27.6 million before he becomes an unrestricted free agent following the 2025-26 season. There is no better time than this upcoming summer for the Blazers to capitalize on Simons’ value in trade talks if they truly don’t envision him being their franchise player.</p><p>No player likes to lose in the NBA, and Simons is no different. He has made it clear that he wants to be a part of a winning organization, but Simons has also stated that he hopes this could happen in Portland. Even so, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6034414/2025/01/03/anfernee-simons-trail-blazers-chauncey-billups-nba/" rel="noopener">young guard has yet to ask for a trade</a>, and he doesn’t plan on doing so.</p><p>“There’s only a few players who can go in there and make (demands). I don’t think that’s my job. My job is to go out and play. If it’s something that serious, I would let my agent take care of it,” Simons told The Athletic in January. “Obviously, I want things to be better. But you can’t control some of that stuff. I have to come in and be professional and be myself every day. This can be a tough situation if you let it be a tough situation.</p><p>“Obviously, not winning as much as you would like the last couple of years, it can get on you mentally.”</p><p>With the way money has changed in the NBA and due to the cap figures consistently increasing, it’s not hard to believe that Simons could hold value in the $30 million to $35 million annual average value range on his next contract. After all, he’s yet to reach the prime years of his career and doesn’t have any major injury concerns.</p><p>Simons will likely compare himself to the likes of Desmond Bane ($39 million AAV), Jalen Green ($35 million), Immanuel Quickley ($32.5 million), and Jordan Poole ($32 million) as benchmarks to try and maximize his value on a new contract.</p><p>Plenty of teams are projected to have cap space in 2026 when Simons is set to hit free agency, which is why Portland will have a major decision to make about possibly extending their guard in the offseason. There has always been a level of trade rumors surrounding Simons, and that noise will only grow by the time the summer comes around due to the Blazers’ uncertain future.</p><h2><b>The missing piece next to Wagner, Banchero?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Paolo-Banchero-and-Franz-Wagner-1.jpg"><figcaption>Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Anfernee Simons is from Florida and grew up in the Orlando area. He first attended high school in Orlando before transferring to Montverde Academy and ultimately ending up at IMG Academy.</p><p>Aside from having obvious ties to the city of Orlando, Simons fits in perfectly with what the Magic will be seeking in the offseason.</p><p>Whether they make the playoffs and potentially go on a run or not, the Magic will need more scoring help. Simons has been one of the more consistent backcourt scorers in the league over the last few seasons, and his three-point shooting is what makes him an intriguing target for Orlando, who rank at the bottom of the league in perimeter shooting.</p><p>A backcourt duo of Simons and Jalen Suggs would be the secondary production the Magic need next to Banchero and Wagner to become a true threat in the Eastern Conference.</p><p>The big questions here are whether the Magic would want to pay Simons as a long-term building block to their success and if they will have interest in this trade.</p><p>Well, the idea of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/magic-news-why-orlando-must-push-for-anfernee-simons-trade-with-blazers">Simons being linked to Orlando isn’t new</a>. The chatter among league circles regarding Simons always seems to revert to talking about the Magic. That was true again before this season’s trade deadline. Even though the Blazers never had serious conversations about trading him this season, <a href="https://x.com/MikeAScotto/status/1889896689865203936" rel="noopener">Simons came up in plenty of chatter</a>, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.</p><p>It truly doesn’t seem like there is a better fit for the Magic than a young scoring guard who is from Orlando and can take a lot of pressure off Banchero and Wagner to do everything on offense for this team.</p><p>More importantly, the Magic have what is needed to pull off this trade.</p><p>The early projections for the 2025-26 season have the first apron threshold increasing from $178.1 million to roughly $195.9 million. The second apron threshold is set to increase by approximately $19 million as well. Should these projections hold, the Magic will be a team that benefits from the increasing cap figures since they will have close to $200 million allocated to 15 players still under contract.</p><p>Of course, Gary Harris’ $7.5 million team option will be a key talking point to free up money, as will the team options of Cory Joseph and Caleb Houstan. To trade for Simons, the Magic will need to sacrifice value to Portland and do their best to try and match salaries.</p><p>As a result, a hypothetical package of Cole Anthony, Jett Howard, and Harris’ expiring salary with future first-round draft picks could possibly get a deal done. There is always the idea of including Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in discussions as well since he will be making $21.6 million.</p><p>The point is that the Magic have a clear path to presenting the Blazers with a legitimate trade package for Simons if they want to pursue him in the offseason. Better yet, Orlando can do so while keeping their core group of Banchero, Wagner, Suggs, and Wendell Carter Jr. intact.</p><p>Regardless of how this season finishes for the Blazers and Magic, these are two organizations that will be active in trade conversations during the offseason. With Simons’ future in Portland hanging in the balance, now could be the perfect time for Orlando to land a hometown kid who can drastically improve their chances of finding postseason success.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Magic-Blazers Anfernee Simons trade could happen after Jusuf Nurkic’s suggestion

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/magic-news-jusuf-nurkic-subtly-suggests-anfernee-simons-trade-for-orlando');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jusuf Nurkic subtly suggests Anfernee Simons trade for Magic');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Magic-news-Jusuf-Nurkic-subtly-suggests-Anfernee-Simons-trade-for-Orlando.jpg"></figure><h1>Jusuf Nurkic subtly suggests Anfernee Simons trade for Magic</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-12T21:31:38-08:00">February 12th, 9:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-12T21:31:38-08:00">February 12th, 9:31pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Wednesday night, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-news-jusuf-nurkic-makes-eye-opening-admission-during-charlotte-debut">Jusuf Nurkic made his debut for the Charlotte Hornets</a> following his move from the Phoenix Suns prior to the trade deadline. Nurkic put up nine points and eight rebounds in only 16 minutes of play in what ended up being a 102-86 loss for Charlotte against the Orlando Magic. After the game, the Bosnian Beast had some high praise for the Magic, although he singled out a former teammate of his as a potential missing piece for the young, up-and-coming squad.</p><p>Speaking to reporters following the Hornets’ loss, Nurkic <a href="https://x.com/therealbeede/status/1889877498328121696" rel="noopener">subtly suggested</a> that the Magic trade for his former Portland Trail Blazers teammate Anfernee Simons so they could reach the next level in their contending timeline.</p><p>“I think they are a really good young team and they are doing a really good job. They have a really good coaching staff, but I think they are missing one player. I can’t name it, but that’s my little fella from Portland, but I love my Portland people … but I think they are waiting and missing one player to be a really good team,” Nurkic said, per Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.</p><p>The Magic have fallen off the East standings in recent weeks even with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner returning to action. Offense continues to be a sore spot for Orlando, as they don’t exactly have the best crew of floor-spacers.</p><p>Simons, on paper, looks like a good fit alongside Jalen Suggs in the backcourt. But with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope holding it down for the Magic at the two, it’s not quite clear what concession Orlando will make in the event that they trade for Simons for some additional scoring punch.</p><h2><b>Anfernee Simons and the Blazers are starting to figure it out, which might make a Magic trade difficult</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Blazers-center-Jusuf-Nurkic-27-talks-to-guard-Anfernee-Simons.jpg"></figure><p>Over the past month or so, a switch seems to have been flipped for the Blazers. They may be in the middle of a three-game losing streak at present, but prior to that, they have been playing some competitive basketball, with Anfernee Simons playing a central role in this rise.</p><p>Nevertheless, with the trade deadline having come and gone, the earliest the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ranking-best-anfernee-simons-trade-destinations-blazers">Magic can explore a trade for Simons is the offseason</a>. Perhaps a trade package centered around Cole Anthony, Gary Harris, and Jett Howard could get a deal done, although there aren’t any concrete indications at the moment that this is something Orlando would want to explore.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jusuf Nurkic subtly suggests Anfernee Simons trade for Magic

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/hornets-news-jusuf-nurkic-makes-eye-opening-admission-during-charlotte-debut');   ga('set', 'title', 'Hornets’ Jusuf Nurkic makes eye-opening admission during Charlotte debut');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Jusuf-Nurkic-makes-eye-opening-admission-during-Charlotte-debut.jpg"></figure><h1>Hornets’ Jusuf Nurkic makes eye-opening admission during Charlotte debut</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-12T21:02:29-08:00">February 12th, 9:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-12T21:02:42-08:00">February 12th, 9:02pm</time><address><a>Dylan Fine</a>Dylan Fine focuses on the NFL and NCAA Football for ClutchPoints, in addition to working on the meme team. Dylan is a graduate of Georgetown University and has covered various topics ranging from local politics in the DMV region with DC Voter For Animals to live sporting events in the Long Island and Rochester areas with The Southampton Press and Pickin’Splinters. When he isn't working, he's usually running in preparation for the next annual Turkey Trot.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Charlotte Hornets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Hornets center Jusuf Nurkic made an eye-opening admission during his first game with Charlotte. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-jusuf-nurkic-cody-martin-led-trade-hornets">Phoenix Suns dealt their former starting center</a> right before the trade deadline. Nurkic ultimately made his debut with the Hornets in their 102-86 loss against the Orlando Magic. The Bosnian big man put up nine points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes of action.</p><p>Nurkic’s relationship with his old franchise consequently deteriorated throughout this season. While the 30-year-old has experienced a dip in production, the Suns as a whole have been underwhelming with and without him on the floor. In a midgame interview, Nurkic gave a remark that <a href="https://x.com/HornetsReddit/status/1889845052945379830" rel="noopener">can definitely be interpreted</a> as a shot at his former team.</p><p>“As a player, you want to feel wanted. As a human being, I want to feel respected. I think I find it so far here, so far good. I love these guys. They’re competing their ass off.”</p><h2><b>Jusuf Nurkic’s statement is a positive reflection on the Hornets as an organization</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Hornets-Jusuf-Nurki.jpg"><figcaption>Mike Watters-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Charlotte has long been criticized as being dysfunctional throughout the years, but Nurkic’s comments indicate that this franchise is starting to grow a culture around some energetic young players. Charles Lee is the new head coach of the Hornets after two championship-winning stints as an assistant coach. While Charlotte is 13-39 right now, this team has shown signs throughout the year.</p><p>One player who has particularly shown growth is starting point guard LaMelo Ball. The former All-Star has been at his career-high in scoring at 27.3 points per game. Unfortunately, the Hornets have had trouble building chemistry with their young core due to injuries. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-news-brandon-miller-miss-remainder-of-season-wrist-surgery">Brandon Miller is out for the season</a> after undergoing wrist surgery. Ball has also suffered some health setbacks during this year, leaving the Hornets very thin on the bench.</p><p>However, the most significant piece of news hanging over this franchise right now has been the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-mark-williams-dalton-knecht-trade-shockingly-rescinded">rescinding of the Mark Williams trade</a>. Charlotte made the bold move of dealing its talented young center for a haul from the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the deal was struck down due to Williams failing a physical. Charles Lee’s team will be returning its starting center, needing to dowse any animosity Williams feels about the franchise that just tried to trade him.</p><p>Bringing in a veteran presence like Jusuf Nurkic will ultimately go a long way toward continuing to build this positive culture in Charlotte. Based on what the center said, this franchise is heading in the right direction. However, the Hornets must improve significantly to contend for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Nurkic can be a part of this rebuild if he continues to show the kind of approach he did tonight.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Hornets’ Jusuf Nurkic makes eye-opening admission during Charlotte debut

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/hornets-news-jusuf-nurkics-playing-status-vs-magic-gets-pivotal-update');   ga('set', 'title', 'Hornets center Jusuf Nurkic’s playing status vs. Magic gets pivotal update');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Jusuf-Nurkics-playing-status-vs-Magic-gets-pivotal-update.jpg"></figure><h1>Hornets center Jusuf Nurkic’s playing status vs. Magic gets pivotal update</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-11T18:04:53-08:00">February 11th, 6:04pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-11T18:04:53-08:00">February 11th, 6:04pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Charlotte Hornets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-grade-suns-jusuf-nurkic-cody-martin-trade">Charlotte Hornets were one of the most active teams leading up to the trade deadline</a>. One of the moves they pulled off was to facilitate a salary dump for Jusuf Nurkic from the Phoenix Suns, acquiring a 2026 first-round pick in the process. Now, Nurkic is not expected to play a huge role whatsoever for the Hornets after being cast out of the rotation in the Valley. But at the very least, it looks as though he’ll be back to suiting up in no time.</p><p>According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, Nurkic will be <a href="https://x.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1889483006114668911" rel="noopener">making his debut</a> for the Hornets on Wednesday night when they take on the Orlando Magic. The 30-year-old center will reportedly be on a minutes restriction, which is understandable, considering that he hasn’t played a single minute of NBA action since the seventh of January in a game that coincidentally was up against the Hornets.</p><p>It’s not quite clear what role Nurkic will be playing for the Hornets moving forward. The team seems to be interested in assessing what they have in Moussa Diabate, a rebounding machine who hustles his heart out in every minute he spends on the hardwood. Diabate’s contract was recently converted from a two-way deal to a three-year contract, a testament to the belief the organization has in the 23-year-old big.</p><p>Diabate, however, is questionable to play against the Magic after suffering an eye injury, which could pave the way for more minutes for Nurkic even though he might be on a minutes restriction. At the very least, Nurkic should soak up some backup minutes over another veteran in Taj Gibson as the Hornets try to revive his trade value and perhaps flip him for some assets in the near future.</p><h2><b>Can Jusuf Nurkic beat the washed allegations with the Hornets?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Jusuf-Nurkic-2.jpg"><figcaption>© Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>When the Suns acquired Jusuf Nurkic in a package for Deandre Ayton back in 2023, Phoenix saw him as someone who could anchor their defense and act as a bit of a playmaking hub at the high post. Nurkic, however, has been one of the most turnover-prone bigs in the game, and it’s not like he has made up for it with his impact in other areas.</p><p>When the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-mike-budenholzer-blunt-response-jusuf-nurkic-benching">Suns benched him for Mason Plumlee</a>, of all people, earlier this season, it became clear that Nurkic was no longer the player he once was even at age 30. But perhaps there could be a career revival of sorts awaiting him on a lackluster Hornets team.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Hornets center Jusuf Nurkic’s playing status vs. Magic gets pivotal update

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/jusuf-nurkic-to-make-hornets-debut-vs-nets-following-suns-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jusuf Nurkic to make Hornets debut vs. Nets following Suns trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Jusuf-Nurkics-immediate-reaction-to-Charlotte-Suns-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Jusuf Nurkic to make Hornets debut vs. Nets following Suns trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-10T11:42:06-08:00">February 10th, 11:42am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-10T11:45:40-08:00">February 10th, 11:45am</time><address><a>Erik Slater</a>Erik Slater is the credentialed Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He's a graduate of Lehigh University and the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, as well as a Lehigh Football and Syracuse Football alum.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Brooklyn Nets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jusuf Nurkic will make his Charlotte Hornets debut on Monday vs. the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. The veteran center <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-news-jusuf-nurkic-immediate-reaction-charlotte-suns-trade">joined the team last week alongside a first-round pick in a trade</a> that sent Cody Martin, Vasilije Micic and a 2026 second-round pick to the Phoenix Suns.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-jusuf-nurkic-cody-martin-led-trade-hornets">Nurkic hasn’t played since Jan. 7</a> after the Suns removed him from their rotation. The trade ended a disappointing Phoenix tenure for the Bosnian seven-footer. He joined the team alongside Grayson Allen before the 2023-24 season in a three-team deal that sent former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton to the Portland Trail Blazers.</p><p>Nurkic averaged 8.6 points and 9.2 rebounds on 45.4 percent shooting over 25 appearances this season before the Suns benched him.</p><h2>Jusuf Nurkic to make Hornets debut vs. Nets</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Draymond-Green-23-defends-against-Phoenix-Suns-center-Jusuf-Nurkic-20.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>He enters the mix for a Charlotte team that has severely underwhelmed this season. The Hornets hold the NBA’s fourth-worst record at 13-37. They’ve lost six of their last seven games following a 4-3 stretch midway through January.</p><p>Nurkic will join a Hornets center rotation that includes Mark Williams, Moussa Diabate and Taj Gibson. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/inside-failed-lakers-hornets-trade-mark-williams">Williams has yet to rejoin the team</a> after the trade sending him to the Los Angeles Lakers was rescinded on Saturday. The 23-year-old, who has appeared in 85 total games over his first three seasons, reportedly failed his Lakers physical.</p><p>Meanwhile, Charlotte converted Diabate from a two-way contract to a three-year, standard deal on Sunday. The No. 43 pick in the 2022 draft has averaged 4.7 points and 7.0 rebounds on 60.0 percent shooting in 18.7 minutes per game over 43 appearances this season.</p><p>Nurkic will compete for minutes as he attempts to rebuild his value during the latter stage of his career. The 30-year-old <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/15368/jusuf-nurkic" rel="noopener">is under contract for $19.4 million next season</a> and will be an unrestricted free agent during the 2026 offseason.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jusuf Nurkic to make Hornets debut vs. Nets following Suns trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/are-hornets-jusuf-nurkic-dalton-knecht-playing-vs-spurs-following-trades');   ga('set', 'title', 'Are Hornets’ Jusuf Nurkic, Dalton Knecht playing vs. Spurs following trades?');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Hornets-news-Are-Jusuf-Nurkic-Dalton-Knecht-playing-vs.-Spurs-following-trades.jpg"></figure><h1>Are Hornets’ Jusuf Nurkic, Dalton Knecht playing vs. Spurs following trades?</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-07T10:46:23-08:00">February 7th, 10:46am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-07T10:49:22-08:00">February 7th, 10:49am</time><address><a>Erik Slater</a>Erik Slater is the credentialed Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He's a graduate of Lehigh University and the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, as well as a Lehigh Football and Syracuse Football alum.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Charlotte Hornets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/spurs-vs-hornets-prediction-odds-pick-spread-2-7-2025">Charlotte Hornets will host the San Antonio Spurs</a> on Friday at Spectrum Center. Jusuf Nurkic and Dalton Knecht <a href="https://ak-static.cms.nba.com/referee/injury/Injury-Report_2025-02-07_12PM.pdf" rel="noopener">are both questionable</a> for Charlotte after joining the team in separate trades from the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers.</p><p>Here’s everything we know about Nurkic and Knecht’s playing statuses vs. the Spurs.</p><p><i><b>*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV <a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/nba/?irad=356361&amp;irmp=492408" rel="noopener sponsored">(Get Access | Save $30)</a>*</b></i></p><h2>Jusuf Nurkic, Dalton Knecht playing status vs. Spurs</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Draymond-Green-23-defends-against-Phoenix-Suns-center-Jusuf-Nurkic-20.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-news-jusuf-nurkic-immediate-reaction-charlotte-suns-trade">Hornets acquired Nurkic and a 2026 first-round pick from the Suns</a> for Cody Martin, Vasilije Micic and a 2026 second-round pick. Nurkic hasn’t played since Jan. 7 after Phoenix removed him from its rotation. The trade ends a disappointing tenure for the seven-footer. Phoenix acquired him before the 2023-24 season alongside Grayson Allen in a three-team deal that sent former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton to the Portland Trail Blazers.</p><p>Nurkic averaged 8.6 points and 9.2 rebounds on 45.4 percent shooting in 23.7 minutes per game over 25 appearances this season. He will replace Mark Williams, who the Hornets traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Knecht, at starting center.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-mark-williams-dalton-knecht-hornets-trade">Charlotte acquired Knecht alongside Cam Reddish</a>, a first-round pick and a first-round pick swap for Williams. The No. 17 pick in this year’s draft showed promise early this season, averaging 9.4 points per game on 47/36/83 shooting splits in 20.7 minutes per game over 48 appearances. However, the Lakers had a gaping hole at center after parting with Anthony Davis in Sunday’s blockbuster Luka Doncic trade.</p><p>Knecht should see a feature role for Charlotte in coming seasons alongside fellow former first-round picks LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.</p><p>The Hornets are firmly in the tank race for Cooper Flagg two-thirds of the way through the season. After losing eight of their last nine games, they sit fourth in the draft lottery standings, a half-game behind the Utah Jazz for third and 1.5 behind the New Orleans Pelicans for second.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Are Hornets’ Jusuf Nurkic, Dalton Knecht playing vs. Spurs following trades?

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/jusuf-nurkic-net-worth');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jusuf Nurkic’s net worth in 2025');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Jusuf-Nurkics-net-worth-in-2025.jpg"></figure><h1>Jusuf Nurkic’s net worth in 2025</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-06T14:40:11-08:00">February 6th, 2:40pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-06T14:44:26-08:00">February 6th, 2:44pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/spencersee10" rel="facebook">Spencer See</a>Spencer See is a part-time writer at ClutchPoints focusing on the NBA, evergreen content and celebrity lifestyle. He is also a lifelong fan of LeBron James. In his free time, he either goes fishing or watches basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Charlotte Hornets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jusuf Nurkic’s net worth in 2025 is $4 million. Nurkic is the new center for the Charlotte Hornets after the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-jusuf-nurkic-cody-martin-led-trade-hornets">Hornets traded Cody Martin for Nurkic</a> and a 2026 first-round draft pick. He is an All-Rookie Second Team player. Here is a closer look at Jusuf Nurkic’s net worth in 2025.</p><h2><b>What is Jusuf Nurkic’s net worth in 2025?: $4 million (estimate)</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Jusuf-Nurkics-net-worth-in-2024-2.jpg"></figure><p>Jusuf Nurkic’s net worth in 2025 <a href="https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/771300-jusuf-nurkic-net-worth" rel="noopener">is $4 million</a>. This is according to outlets such as HotNewHipHop.</p><p>Jusuf Nurkic was born on Aug. 23, 1994, in Živinice, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As early as a teenager, Nurkic already decided to pursue a career in basketball. He played for youth teams of European basketball clubs such as KK Zlatorog Laško, KK Olimpija, and KK Cedevita Junior.</p><p>According to <a href="https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/?pcode=004053&amp;seasoncode=JT11" rel="noopener">sources</a>, Nukic participated in the Nike International Junior Tournament after being loaned to KK Olimpija. The Bosnian big man averaged 18.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.</p><h2><b>Jusuf Nurkic’s early professional basketball career with Cedevita Zagreb</b></h2><p>According to <a href="https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/jusuf-nurkic/profile/004053/" rel="noopener">sources</a>, Nurkic signed his first professional contract by agreeing to a two-year deal with Cedevita Zagreb. In the 2012-13 season, Nurkic averaged only 1.8 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.5 rebounds per game while shooting 63% from the field overall.</p><p>A season later, Nurkic returned to the team for the EuroCup. Nurkic improved his numbers to 8.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 59% from the field overall. Later in the season, Cedevita Zagreb loaned Nurkic to KK Zadar.</p><h2><b>Jusuf Nurkic is drafted by the Bulls, traded to the Nuggets</b></h2><p>After Nurkic’s impressive stint in Croatia, the 7-foot center officially declared for the 2014 NBA Draft. On draft night, the Chicago Bulls selected Nurkic in the first round with the 16th-overall pick.</p><p>However, on the same night, the Bulls traded Nurkic to the Denver Nuggets with Gary Harris and a first-round draft pick in exchange for Doug McDermott and Anthony Randolph. Shortly after, Nurkic signed a two-year rookie deal <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/phoenix-suns/jusuf-nurkic-15368/transactions/" rel="noopener">worth $3.6 million</a> with the Nuggets, according to Spotrac.</p><p>In his rookie season, Nurkic averaged 6.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 45% from the field overall. For his production, Nurkic was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.</p><p>A season later, Nurkic slightly bumped his numbers to 8.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 42% from the field.</p><h2><b>Jusuf Nurkic is traded to the Trail Blazers</b></h2><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">We love you, <a href="https://twitter.com/bosnianbeast27?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bosnianbeast27</a> ❤ <a href="https://t.co/x7JRRtsR7I">pic.twitter.com/x7JRRtsR7I</a></p><p>— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1110405397410516992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2019</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Midway through the 2016-17 season, the Nuggets traded Nurkic to the Portland Trail Blazers along with a first-round draft pick for Mason Plumlee and a second-round draft pick. For the rest of the 2016-17 season, Nurkic averaged 15.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 51% from the field.</p><p>In the 2017-18 season, Nurkic played his first full season with the squad. He averaged 14.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.4 rejections per game as the team’s starting center.</p><p>After a solid season with the team, the Blazers rewarded Nurkic with a four-year contract extension worth $48 million, according to a <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/report-trail-blazers-re-sign-jusuf-nurkic-to-four-year-48-million-contract" rel="noopener">report</a> by NBC Sports. With a fresh deal in place, Nurkic had another solid season with Portland. He put up 15.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per outing.</p><p>Unfortunately, in a 148-144 overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets, a fractured leg cut Nurkic’s season short, and he missed the final nine games of the season and all of the playoffs.</p><p>Nurkic didn’t return until the 2019-2020 season. In eight games, the Bosnian Beast averaged 17.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game.</p><p>But despite his return, Nurkic continued to be bothered by injuries during the final stretch of his Blazers stint. He suffered a series of injuries, including a fractured wrist, that <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/trail-blazers-jusuf-nurkic-fractures-right-wrist" rel="noopener">sidelined him for eight weeks</a> and plantar fasciitis, which prematurely <a href="https://www.nba.com/blazers/trail-blazers-injury-updates" rel="noopener">ended his 2021-22 season</a>.</p><p>Despite an injury-riddled season, the Blazers signed Nurkic to a four-year contract extension worth $70 million, <a href="https://theathletic.com/4169843/2022/07/01/trail-blazers-jusuf-nurkic-agree-to-4-year-70-million-deal/" rel="noopener">according to reports</a>. In his final season with the Blazers, Nurkic put up 13.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 52% from the floor.</p><h2><b>Jusuf Nurkic is traded to the Suns</b></h2><p>In a three-team blockbuster trade headlined by Damian Lillard and DeAndre Ayton, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-deandre-ayton-trade-jusuf-nurkic-blazers-damian-lillard-bucks">Blazers traded Nurkic</a> to the Phoenix Suns. Nurkic produced 10.9 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 52% from the field overall in the 2023-24 season as the Suns’ starting center.</p><p>In his second season in Phoenix, Nurkic averaged just 8.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks per game before the Suns traded him to Charlotte.</p><p>Nevertheless, were you at all stunned by Jusuf Nurkic’s net worth in 2025?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jusuf Nurkic’s net worth in 2025

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/hornets-grade-suns-jusuf-nurkic-cody-martin-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Grading Suns-Hornets Jusuf Nurkic, Cody Martin trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Grading-Suns-Hornets-Jusuf-Nurkic-Cody-Martin-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Grading Suns-Hornets Jusuf Nurkic, Cody Martin trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-06T12:42:09-08:00">February 6th, 12:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-06T12:54:35-08:00">February 6th, 12:54pm</time><address><a>Jerry Donatien</a>Jerry Donatien has worked for ClutchPoints since 2018. He is currently the company's Charlotte Hornets reporter, and he also does voiceovers on different sports stories. He worked the NBA All-Star weekend in 2019 and 2023, the NCAA woman's tournament, and he interned with Beasley Media group.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Charlotte Hornets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Charlotte Hornets <a href="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1887567753298559006" rel="noopener">acquired center</a> Jusuf Nurkic and a 2026 first-round pick from the Phoenix Suns for Cody Martin, Vasa Micic and a 2026 second-round pick, per Shams Charania. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-jusuf-nurkic-cody-martin-led-trade-hornets">Hornets have been active at the deadline</a>, moving Mark Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers the day before. The Hornets now have a starting-caliber center for the next year.</p><h2><b>Hornets trade grade: A</b></h2><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grading-mark-williams-dalton-knecht-trade-between-lakers-hornets">Hornets needed another body at the center</a> spot. Although absorbing his contract is a little inconvenient since Charlotte will have to pay him a little over $37 million for the remainder of this year and next. Yet, getting that first-round pick is their reward for taking on that contract. The Suns’ pick for 2026 could be valuable. Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal’s names are being involved in trade talks, and they could be going into next season, too.</p><p>Nurkic could also play well in Charlotte. After losing his starting spot to Mason Plumlee, he could have some newfound life with an opportunity to play again. It’s possible he can play his way out of Charlotte if he plays well. Producing and putting up numbers on the Hornets could lead to another move for him in the summertime or early next season. This was a trade for the betterment of their future.</p><h2><b>Suns trade grade: B+</b></h2><p>The Suns didn’t do a bad job at all. Getting two more rotational pieces helps their depth for the present. The most important part is that they placed themselves beneath the second apron, freeing up some cash for them to have some extra wiggle room heading into free agency. Both Martin and Micic will be off the books after the 2026 season as well. There’s a lot of time before we get there, but it sets them up nicely for another impact player.</p><p>Adding in depth is what the Suns wanted to do after they entrapped themselves in this big three with Durant, Beal, and Devin Booker. So getting some extra wing depth and a backup point guard could help them as they get closer to the postseason. Phoenix is currently in the Play-In spot at the moment, but there is enough season left for them to crawl back up the Western Conference standings.</p><h2><b>Jeff Peterson is winning at the deadline, </b>low-key</h2><p>The Hornets general manager, Jeff Peterson, has gained yet another draft asset, adding to his treasure trove of 24-plus for the next six years. In his first full year on the job, he’s gearing up for the NBA Draft and free agency more than anything. Winning is always the goal, but after the injuries to LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller ensued, Peterson called an audible that seems to be working pretty well at the moment.</p><p>Moving on from PJ Washington, Terry Rozier, Nick Richards, Mark Williams, Cody Martin, and Vasa Micic, has gained him plenty of picks moving forward. Those can be flipped for young players of course, but as trade pieces to possibly accelerate the rebuilding process of the team for another player in the future.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Grading Suns-Hornets Jusuf Nurkic, Cody Martin trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/hornets-news-jusuf-nurkic-immediate-reaction-charlotte-suns-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jusuf Nurkic’s immediate reaction to Hornets-Suns trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Jusuf-Nurkics-immediate-reaction-to-Charlotte-Suns-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Jusuf Nurkic’s immediate reaction to Hornets-Suns trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-06T12:18:39-08:00">February 6th, 12:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-06T12:19:51-08:00">February 6th, 12:19pm</time><address><a>Jaren Kawada</a>Jaren Kawada is a former full-time sports bettor and is now a NFL, College Football and Betting Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. Kawada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but now resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, after graduating from Butler University with a B.A. in sports media. Aside from football, Kawada is an avid combat sports and basketball bettor.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Charlotte Hornets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jusuf Nurkic is happy to be a part of the Charlotte Hornets. As the result of an unsuccessful tenure, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-jusuf-nurkic-cody-martin-led-trade-hornets">Phoenix Suns dealt Nurkic</a> to the Hornets at the 2025 NBA trade deadline.</p><p>Reacting to the trade, Nurkic <a href="https://x.com/bosnianbeast27/status/1887583571080323357" rel="noopener">tweeted a trio of emojis</a>: two honeybees and one purple circle. The Bosnian did not release an official statement with his reaction but showed clear signs of excitement with the move.</p><p>Truthfully, Nurkic is likely glad just to hear he was traded at the deadline. He began the year as the Suns’ starting center but was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-shocking-bradley-beal-jusuf-nurkic-moves-amid-dry-spell">benched for Mason Plumlee</a> in early January. The Suns announced they would bench Nurkic at the same time they did Bradley Beal.</p><p>However, while Beal transitioned well into a sixth-man role, Nurkic was pushed entirely out of the rotation. Head coach Mike Budenholzer played Nurkic off the bench for a few games before turning to rookie Oso Ighodaro as Plumlee’s backup while the high-paid veteran’s game log racked up DNP-CDs. Since his benching, Nurkic became the Suns’ top trade candidate.</p><p>With the trade to the Hornets, Nurkic is gifted with a new start. One day before acquiring Nurkic, Charlotte <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-mark-williams-dalton-knecht-hornets-trade">dealt Mark Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers</a>, giving him an opportunity to return to a starting role.</p><p>Despite a down year in 2024-2025, Nurkic is still averaging 12.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 blocks per game in his career. He will arrive in Charlotte still just 30 years old with two years left on his contract.</p><h2><b>Updated Hornets roster following Jusuf Nurkic trade</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Jusuf-Nurkic.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Following their second major trade, the Hornets exit the trade deadline with almost an entirely new lineup. The team still revolves around LaMelo Ball but replaced Mark Williams and Cody Martin with Nurkic and Dalton Knecht. Charlotte also received Cam Reddish from the Lakers.</p><p>Once finalized, Knecht and Nurkic will likely slot into the starting lineup with Ball and Miles Bridges. Either Josh Green or Nick Smith Jr. will round out the first five. Rising star Brandon Miller would traditionally be in the lineup but will <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-news-brandon-miller-miss-remainder-of-season-wrist-surgery">miss the remainder of the season</a> after undergoing wrist surgery.</p><p>While bolstering the team’s offensive weaponry, the recent transactions temporarily hurt the Hornets’ bench. Martin was Charlotte’s sixth man for most of his career. Veteran forward Josh Okogie, another key piece off the bench, is out for the time being with a hamstring injury. Moussa Diabate, Seth Curry, Vasilije Micic, Tidjane Salaun and KJ Simpson make up the remainder of the second unit.</p><p>Nurkic and Knecht will join the Hornets as they limp ahead of the All-Star break with a 12-36 record. Their playoff hopes are all but dead, but their long-term outlook gives fans a reason to exercise patience for just a bit longer.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jusuf Nurkic’s immediate reaction to Hornets-Suns trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-jusuf-nurkic-cody-martin-led-trade-hornets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns make Jusuf Nurkic, Cody Martin-led trade with Hornets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Phoenix-makes-Jusuf-Nurkic-Cody-Martin-led-trade-with-Hornets.jpg"></figure><h1>Suns make Jusuf Nurkic, Cody Martin-led trade with Hornets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-06T10:30:48-08:00">February 6th, 10:30am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-06T10:49:19-08:00">February 6th, 10:49am</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Jusuf Nurkic era with the Phoenix Suns is <a href="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1887567753298559006" rel="noopener">officially over</a>, as they’ve traded him and a 2026 1st round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for a package involving Cody Martin, according to ESPN insider, Shams Charania. After months of Nurkic being involved in trade rumors, the Suns have finally sent him to a new spot.</p><p>The past two months of the season have been rough. For example, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-jusuf-nurkic-claims-no-relationship-with-mike-budenholzer">Nurkic claimed that he and Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer had no relationship</a>. While the latter refuted the claim, it showed that he wasn’t receiving any playing time. That, combined with Phoenix trading for Nick Richards, didn’t help his case.</p><p>This trade had been in the works for a little while. ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel mentioned that Martin was <a href="https://x.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/1887542634643923001" rel="noopener">a name to keep tabs on</a> before the deadline. Now, he’ll have a new home and have a chance to contribute to a struggling Suns team. The former Hornets forward brings a defensive versatility, and sheer size to the lineup.</p><p>After Phoenix traded away Josh Okogie as part of the Richards deal, they needed some more size. Plus, with Kevin Durant and Ryan Dunn both being injured, they need more bodies.</p><h2><b>Suns trading Jusuf Nurkic for Cody Martin is a win</b></h2><p>The center rotation had a logjam, to say the least. With Richards, Mason Plumlee, and Oso Ighodaro, it left no room for Nurkic. Although he was the starting center, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-shocking-bradley-beal-jusuf-nurkic-moves-amid-dry-spell">Suns benched Nurkic</a> at the beginning of the New Year. Since then, they haven’t looked back. Subsequently, that’s when the team traded for Richards.</p><p>The multi-positional defender and scorer makes a big difference in today’s NBA. There are no more legit positions. A guy like Martin can bring the hustle points off the bench. With a team full of stars, they need that extra juice and to see teammates sacrificing themselves.</p><p>Plus, he’s been <a href="https://motociclismo.pt/en/cody-martin-the-hornets-versatile-ace-at-the-heart-of-a-high-tension-nba-trade-saga-with-lakers-nuggets-and-bucks-on-the-prowl/" rel="noopener">dubbed as the ‘ace’</a> of the Hornets through his time there. He’s spent his entire career with the team before being traded to Phoenix. Fans, and the organization know him as a hard working player. His efforts will be appreciated by the Suns fans, who will have a sigh of relief.</p><p>This trade doesn’t mean that Phoenix is automatically in title contention. However, there might be some more camaraderie in the locker room after Nurkic’s departure. Although he’s been a pro, his time with the Suns was clearly over. Now, the team has some more financial flexibility with Martin’s contract.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns make Jusuf Nurkic, Cody Martin-led trade with Hornets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/sources-suns-hawks-bogdan-bogdanovic-jusuf-nurkic-nba-trade-deadline');   ga('set', 'title', 'Sources: Suns targeting Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic as part of Jusuf Nurkic trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Suns-targeting-Hawks-Bogdan-Bogdanovic-as-part-of-Jusuf-Nurkic-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Sources: Suns targeting Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic as part of Jusuf Nurkic trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-30T09:43:52-08:00">January 30th, 9:43am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-30T09:44:55-08:00">January 30th, 9:44am</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Hawks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Phoenix Suns have been active on the trade market leading up to the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline. While the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/are-bucks-serious-jimmy-butler-trade-deadline-suitor-siegels-scoop">spotlight in Phoenix has been cast on Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler</a> for weeks, a new twist in the Suns’ trade plans involves center Jusuf Nurkic. More specifically, Atlanta Hawks sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanovic has emerged as a target for the Suns ahead of the trade deadline, league sources told ClutchPoints.</p><p>Owner Mat Ishbia and general manager James Jones have been aggressively searching the market for key upgrades to improve their championship outlook. The goal is to surround Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal with as many win-now pieces as possible, which is why the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-trade-2031-draft-pick-jazz-3-firsts">Phoenix struck a deal with the Utah Jazz recently</a>, trading away their 2031 first-round pick for three additional first-round picks in 2025, 2027, and 2029.</p><p>In doing so, the Suns opened up the ability to utilize each of the next several drafts, possibly even attaching draft capital to Nurkic’s contract in a trade this season. Phoenix has been actively <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-intel-jimmy-butler-bradley-beal-jusuf-nurkic-trade-talks-pistons-raptors-nuggets-clippers-knicks/" rel="noopener">exploring options to move Nurkic</a> with one of these newly acquired first-round picks, something Michael Scotto of HoopsHype was first to report on Tuesday.</p><h2><b>What’s up with Bogdan Bogdanovic this season?</b></h2><p>Bogdanovic, 32, has long been a respected veteran in the league and has made his mark as a valuable three-point shooter.</p><p>After beginning his NBA career with the Sacramento Kings, Bogdanovic has spent each of the last four seasons with the Hawks, averaging 15.7 points per game and shooting 39.1 percent from three-point range. This season, Bogdanovic is averaging just 10.0 points per game and shooting 30.1 percent from distance, both being career lows for the Serbian guard.</p><p>Injuries have contributed to Bogdanovic’s struggles this year. Aside from suffering a hamstring injury that forced him to miss a chunk of games at the very start of the season, the veteran shooting guard has since been dealing with ongoing knee issues. He is in the second season of a four-year, $68 million contract and is guaranteed $16 million for the 2025-26 season before owning a team option worth $16 million for the 2026-27 season.</p><p>The Suns have a clear need for more off-ball talents, specifically shooting threats outside of Grayson Allen on the perimeter. This is one of the main reasons why Bogdanovic is viewed as a potential buy-low option for Phoenix, sources said.</p><h2><b>Hawks’ trade strategy</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Bogdan-Bogdanovic.jpg"><figcaption>Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>As for the Hawks, their strategy for the remainder of the 2024-25 season has shifted with recent news of emerging star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-jalen-johnson-to-miss-rest-of-season-with-shoulder-injury">Jalen Johnson suffering a season-ending labrum tear</a> in his left shoulder. With Johnson out and the team owning a 22-25 record, Atlanta is prepared to remain below the tax line and become soft sellers at the NBA trade deadline to acquire draft assets.</p><p>Along with making Bogdanovic available, veteran center Clint Capela is another player the Hawks want to field offers for, sources said. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-clint-capela-trade-rumors-lakers-knicks">Capela has been made available in Atlanta</a> since last season’s trade deadline. At this time, he has generated very little interest thanks to making $22.2 million in the final year of his contract with about $2 million in built-in incentives.</p><p>The Hawks have decided not to play Bogdanovic over their last two games, and he is now listed as “not with team” and out on their injury report. Capela will miss his second straight game on Thursday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to what is being labeled as back spasms. A decision to elevate Onyeka Okongwu into the starting lineup over Capela has only sparked even more trade speculation surrounding the veteran big man in Atlanta.</p><h2><b>A possible third team involved? </b></h2><p>Whether or not the Suns and Hawks can find common ground on a deal that would send Bogdanovic to Phoenix revolves around where Nurkic could potentially end up. It isn’t expected that the Hawks would be taking on Nurkic’s contract, which would make this scenario involve at least one more team.</p><p>The Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons, and Toronto Raptors are all organizations that have signaled to rival teams that they are willing to take on contracts for draft capital at the trade deadline.</p><p>The Suns, who are currently 24-22 this season, are scheduled to play four road games before the NBA trade deadline, starting with the Golden State Warriors on Friday night.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
6.3	9.3	2.3	-	1.7

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
6.3	9.3	2.3	-	1.7

Jusuf Nurkić news

Jusuf
Nurkić news