NBA Trade Rumors: Predicting where the top 20 deadline candidates will land

17. Jusuf Nurkic, Portland Trail Blazers

If the Portland Trail Blazers are going to make a move up the Western Conference standings during the second half of the season, it’s pretty clear that they’re going to need to make some sort of move at the NBA trade deadline.

Of course, the problem is that they don’t have much wiggle room. If they are going to make a big move, they would likely need to trade Jusuf Nurkic. Even though he’s accomplished, and has been a consistent big man for the Blazers throughout his career, I think his time in Portland is close to over.

He’s not the player he used to be and it’s probably time for the Blazers to move on. That said, the idea of trading him is easier than actually pulling it off. I’m not really sure there are many teams around the league that are going to be open to acquiring Nurkic without a significant asset stapled to his contract. I don’t think the Blazers are able to find a deal for him at the deadline.

Prediction: He is not traded at the deadline.