Lowe: Nurkic is taking qualifying offer

[illmatic99]

As Kuzma says, "first domino."

 

[e_blazer]

And this is why I'm glad you're not GM.

Favors and Davis are basically polar opposites.

One exemplifies toughness and the other is soft as Charmin.

You forgot to add, “but not as useful. “

 

[Rastapopoulos]

 

[Reep]

Sounds like they will try and make a reasonable offer to him now, but if he doesn't take it then we do this again next year.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Sounds like they will try and make a reasonable offer to him now, but if he doesn't take it then we do this again next year.

Jokic's contract gonna be a problem in determining "what's reasonable."

 

[Driew]

Jokic's contract gonna be a problem in determining "what's reasonable."

I'd be okay letting nurk walk if he wants jokic money.

 

[KeepOnRollin]

I'd be okay letting nurk walk if he wants jokic money.

MAX money? Sure. Let him walk in that case but another team has to give him MAX. We have right to match. No team is giving him MAX this off-season. We are going to get Nurkic for a bargain because of the climate around the NBA right now.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I'd be okay letting nurk walk if he wants jokic money.

I'd be okay letting Jokic walk if he wants Jokic money. His contract is bigger than Dame's.

BNM

 

[illmatic99]

Jokic's contract gonna be a problem in determining "what's reasonable."

Jokic is a borderline top 10 player. He put up a season averaging 19/11/6 from the Center position with a 25 PER, while shooting nearly 40% from 3 on nearly 4 attempts a game. And he's only 22. He's criminally underrated in general NBA circles.

Nurk... isn't. Think he realizes this.

 

[Reep]

Jokic's contract gonna be a problem in determining "what's reasonable."

Maybe up front, but I will assume Nurk gets no big offers this year as an RFA and by next year he will see what reality is. I like him at a reasonable price, but he isn't irreplaceable and I'm not totally convinced the Blazers wouldn't be better off developing Collins at C.

 

[Reep]

Jokic is a borderline top 10 player. He put up a season averaging 19/11/6 from the Center position with a 25 PER, while shooting nearly 40% from 3 on nearly 4 attempts a game. And he's only 22. He's criminally underrated in general NBA circles.

Nurk... isn't. Think he realizes this.

Jokic is borderline top ten on one end of the court and using only offensive metrics. Last year his defensive FG% inside of 10 feet was 63%! Just for reference Collins was 45% and Nurkic was 52%. MEYERS LEONARD WAS 58%!!!

God bless Denver, but there is no way I give a guy with that kind of defense that much money.

 

[BrianFromWA]

To piggyback on @Reep 's post, Nokic guarding anyone inside 10 feet turned them into Clint Capela or DeAndre Jordan at the rim.

 

[Reep]

To piggyback on @Reep 's post, Nokic guarding anyone inside 10 feet turned them into Clint Capela or DeAndre Jordan at the rim.

We complain about the defensive limitations of our starting guards, but they have nothing on Jokic. I can't help but wonder if the Jokic contract will be looked at as one of the worst of all times a few years from now.

 

[BrianFromWA]

We complain about the defensive limitations of our starting guards, but they have nothing on Jokic. I can't help but wonder if the Jokic contract will be looked at as one of the worst of all times a few years from now.

Honestly, I don't have a huge problem paying guys coming off rookie deals. Look at Dame and CJ. They make 5M less than Paul Millsap. It's the 10+ year max players (LBJ, Curry, Durant) that are scary salaries.

 

[Jade Falcon]

Jokic is a borderline top 10 player. He put up a season averaging 19/11/6 from the Center position with a 25 PER, while shooting nearly 40% from 3 on nearly 4 attempts a game. And he's only 22. He's criminally underrated in general NBA circles.

Nurk... isn't. Think he realizes this.

I'm sure he does. But....as we all know, Nurk does things that Joker simply doesn't do. Like play Defense. And as much as we bicker at times about how "soft" Nurk is, he's a hell of a lot more physical than Jokic. This is evident by the fact that Nurk beats the shit out of Jokic every time they play one-another.

I don't want Nurk for Jokic's money....but I also don't want non-existent Defense at the rim. Which is what's going to happen if we let him walk.

I remember the very first game he played in a Blazer uniform, our Defense was night-and-day compared to the games previous. When he was on the court, our defensive ratings as a team were +17. When he was on the bench..... -42.

I really wish Nurk would develop a 3-point game. And for God's sake, please.....can we get a Big Man coach? Please, Olshey....for once in your miserable existence, give us a Big Man coach!

 

[Sarni]

We complain about the defensive limitations of our starting guards, but they have nothing on Jokic. I can't help but wonder if the Jokic contract will be looked at as one of the worst of all times a few years from now.

Not a chance. He will likely always be a defensive liability but his offensive skill set will not disappear and he’s getting paid for what he contributes there.

He isn’t the easiest player to build around but if you surround him with good perimeter defenders and a defensively power forward, you can build a great team with him as the central point.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I really wish Nurk would develop a 3-point game. And for God's sake, please.....can we get a Big Man coach? Please, Olshey....for once in your miserable existence, give us a Big Man coach!

I would like a Big Man's Coach, but not if Nurk is spending half his time 24 feet from the basket.

 

[HailBlazers]

I would like a Big Man's Coach, but not if Nurk is spending half his time 24 feet from the basket.

What he needs to focus on is that elbow or top of the key jumper a la Marc Gasol. That and his post game of course.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Jokic is a borderline top 10 player. He put up a season averaging 19/11/6 from the Center position with a 25 PER, while shooting nearly 40% from 3 on nearly 4 attempts a game. And he's only 22. He's criminally underrated in general NBA circles.

Nurk... isn't. Think he realizes this.

I disagree about Jokic being borderline top 10. He's a stat monster, but as mentioned, his defense is laughable. He hasn't led his team anywhere but back to the lottery, and his advanced stats regressed in his third year, compared to his second year. He's a unique talent, but I think opposing defenses are starting to figure him out. Not saying he's not good, just questioning if he's worth a $137 million max contract in today's guard/wing dominated game - especially given his defensive deficiencies.

BNM

 

[BBert]

I disagree about Jokic being borderline top 10. He's a stat monster, but as mentioned, his defense is laughable. He hasn't led his team anywhere but back to the lottery, and his advanced stats regressed in his third year, compared to his second year. He's a unique talent, but I think opposing defenses are starting to figure him out. Not saying he's not good, just questioning if he's worth a $137 million max contract in today's guard/wing dominated game - especially given his defensive deficiencies.

BNM

And once again a team overpays and provides leverage to other players (i.e. Nurk) to demand the same contract. You just can't protect owners from themselves.

 

[BigGameDamian]

 

[Wizard Mentor]

I don't expressing contracts just in raw numbers (5 yr/$164.5 mil)
Jokic is making, what, 33% of the current salary cap per year? That's a lot, almost
as bad as Blake Griffin (5 yr/$171 mil), 34.2% of team salary cap per year.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I don't expressing contracts just in raw numbers (5 yr/$164.5 mil)
Jokic is making, what, 33% of the current salary cap per year? That's a lot, almost
as bad as Blake Griffin (5 yr/$171 mil), 34.2% of team salary cap per year.

You've got a couple digits transposed there, Jokic's contract will be $146.5 million over 5 years. As a player with 0 - 6 years of NBA experience, his starting salary is limited to 25% of the salary cap.

BNM

 

[Wizard Mentor]

You've got a couple digits transposed there, Jokic's contract will be $146.5 million over 5 years. As a player with 0 - 6 years of NBA experience, his starting salary is limited to 25% of the salary cap.

BNM

My guess though, is that it's 20% annual raises, and the salary cap doesn't go up nearly 20% each year.

 

[LayneStaley]

Collins practicing against Nurk has a lot to do with his development

I think Davis has more to do with Collins development, that’s why he must stay imo....plus he’s one of the few Blazers who shows toughness on a consistent basis.

 

[illmatic99]

And once again a team overpays and provides leverage to other players (Nurk) to demand the same contract. You just can't protect owners from themselves.

It's apples to oranges when you're comparing Jokic to Nurkic. I don't get this argument. Even his agent won't try to equate them, not sure why you guys are

 

[Wizard Mentor]

It's apples to oranges when you're comparing Jokic to Nurkic. I don't get this argument. Even his agent won't try to equate them, not sure why you guys are

Nurkic might was the point.

 

[riverman]

Nurk is better than folks are crediting him and at his age..still getting better....Jokic is like K Love was with the Wolves

 

[tykendo]

Maybe up front, but I will assume Nurk gets no big offers this year as an RFA and by next year he will see what reality is. I like him at a reasonable price, but he isn't irreplaceable and I'm not totally convinced the Blazers wouldn't be better off developing Collins at C.

Collins is not a center, he has a small frame build. I think LaMarcus Aldridge's build is going to be his best case.

 

[Reep]

It's apples to oranges when you're comparing Jokic to Nurkic. I don't get this argument. Even his agent won't try to equate them, not sure why you guys are

I don't think anyone is saying the players are comparable, just that Nurkic might see Jokic's contract as realistic for him. I would argue it isn't realistic for Jokic, let alone Nurkic. Like it or not, the market determines the value. Blazers will likely pay Nurkic more than his market value just to keep the peace. I just hope it isn't way over the market value.

I think Nurk's current value is in the mid teens. But, when you look at the attached salaries for other centers (wow) you could argue it should be around $20m/year. The problem is that most of these were signed when teams had more money.

1
Al Horford
CENTER $28,928,709
2
Hassan Whiteside
CENTER $25,434,263
3
Andre Drummond
CENTER $25,434,263
4
Joel Embiid
CENTER $25,250,000
5
Steven Adams
CENTER $24,157,303
6
DeAndre Jordan
CENTER $24,119,025
7
Marc Gasol
CENTER $24,119,025
8
Kevin Love
CENTER $24,119,025
9
Dwight Howard
CENTER $23,819,725
10
Rudy Gobert
CENTER $22,741,573
11
Enes Kanter
CENTER $18,622,513
12
Joakim Noah
CENTER $18,530,000
13
Tristan Thompson
CENTER $17,469,565
14
Bismack Biyombo
CENTER $17,000,000
15
Jonas Valanciunas
CENTER $16,539,326
16
Timofey Mozgov
CENTER $16,000,000
17
Ian Mahinmi
CENTER $15,944,154
18
Gorgui Dieng
CENTER $15,170,787
19
Robin Lopez
CENTER $14,357,750