The first big trade of the NBA season was announced today as Portland traded Mason Plumlee and a 2018 second round pick for Denver’s Jusuf Nurkic and a 2017 first round pick, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
Sources on @TheVertical: Portland sends Denver center Mason Plumlee and '18 2nd-round pick for Jusuf Nurkic and '17 first-rounder (via Griz)
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 12, 2017
Plumelee is a restricted free agent this season, and with the market becoming inflated, Portland was hesitant to sign him to a long term deal next season. For Denver, Nurkic has played well, however Nikola Jokic began to capture his minutes with his strong play which left Nurkic expendable.
For Denver, this is a bit of an odd move to give up a first round pick for Mason Plumlee in a draft that is so rich with talent. Plumlee is essentially a backup center at this stage in his career, which makes throwing in a 1st rounder very peculiar.
As for Portland, this trade gives them a young quality center and three first round picks in 2017 in one of the deepest drafts in years. Portland needs to continue to trim the payroll, and having three first round picks gives them many options for packaging trades before the deadline or during the off-season.
The simple fact that Portland acquired a first round pick (Memphis’ pick) for Mason Plumlee, makes them the winner of this trade. Jusuf Nurkic, is a young player that has shown flashes of brilliance this season with his passing and shooting, and will only continue to improve. The Blazers will have Nurkic under contract for $2 million per year until 2018, which will gives them time to evaluate before offering big dollars. The Nuggets on the other hand, will have to decide on whether or not to match high salary offers for Plumlee this off-season.