Nikola Jokic

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Seems like of Denver's two starting-caliber foreign-born centers, Nurkic is probably more obtainable. I think they see Jokic as their future. There's talk of the two playing together (with Jokic at the 4), but not likely IMO.

I don't know what it would take to get him, but I'm leery of making deals with the Nuggets, considering we've been fleeced twice now.
 
He wouldn't be available. He arguably played as well as Towns last year (not to say he's as talented as Towns, as I'd rather have Towns for the future--but Jokic isn't far behind).
 
It will take a lot to get him, and I doubt we have the pieces.

Lotta these Euro big men picked later in the draft are turning out pretty well.

Jokic looks good, Nurkic as well. This year, Zubac for LA looks like he can play as well as that French Draymond dude for Boston. Who's our international scout? He doesn't seem very good.
 
It will take a lot to get him, and I doubt we have the pieces.

Lotta these Euro big men picked later in the draft are turning out pretty well.

Jokic looks good, Nurkic as well. This year, Zubac for LA looks like he can play as well as that French Draymond dude for Boston. Who's our international scout? He doesn't seem very good.
It's odd because so many people keep telling me it takes bigs longer to develop.
 
It's actually interesting, the only two players I think we've drafted for ourselves from the Euros have been Kostas (traded for TRob) and Dani Diez (still overseas).

Neil doesn't seem to go the Euro route.
 
So, what about Nurkic?

Nurkic could be available, but I'm not sure how much value he'd have to Portland. He's a very good defensive big who's weak on offense. The Blazers just signed Ezeli, a substantially similar player in that respect. I actually think Plumlee is a better player than Nurkic.

To me, the Blazers (if they can't get an all-around stud, the type of player every team wants) most need a big man who can shoot as well as hold his own defensively.
 
It's actually interesting, the only two players I think we've drafted for ourselves from the Euros have been Kostas (traded for TRob) and Dani Diez (still overseas).

Neil doesn't seem to go the Euro route.
Neil also doesn't like to draft younger guys, that may have something to do with it. Other than that maybe having to buyout certain euros from their clubs, it's really all just a big hassle.
 
They won't give us Jokic unless we give them CJ so it's a no go. We don't need Nurkic when we have Ezeli.

They'll build around Jokic and Mudiay. I wonder how Jamal Murray does too.
 
It's odd because so many people keep telling me it takes bigs longer to develop.

Some do, some don't. One statistical outlier doesn't negate the overall trend.

Some also benefit from YEARS of playing professionally in Europe, with and against grown men, before joining the NBA. Jokic began playing professionally in Europe in 2012 and played full time on their senior league team staring in 2013. He may have been an NBA rookie, but he already had 3 years professional experience playing in Europe before coming to the NBA.

The Nuggets were VERY lucky he was willing to accept a VERY small contract to come play in the NBA. He could be making much more right now if he would have chosen to stay in Europe.

That's the problem with Euro stashes, the risk is twofold. One, that they will never develop into something special, and two, that if they do they will chose to stay in Europe where they can be closer to home and make more money (at least initially).

BNM
 
Some do, some don't. One statistical outlier doesn't negate the overall trend.

Some also benefit from YEARS of playing professionally in Europe, with and against grown men, before joining the NBA. Jokic began playing professionally in Europe in 2012 and played full time on their senior league team staring in 2013. He may have been an NBA rookie, but he already had 3 years professional experience playing in Europe before coming to the NBA.

The Nuggets were VERY lucky he was willing to accept a VERY small contract to come play in the NBA. He could be making much more right now if he would have chosen to stay in Europe.

That's the problem with Euro stashes, the risk is twofold. One, that they will never develop into something special, and two, that if they do they will chose to stay in Europe where they can be closer to home and make more money (at least initially).

BNM
Better than drafting another WABC
 
We didn't draft him. Waited until after he showed he could play before we picked him up.

Nope, but he has validated his draft position, proven he belongs in the NBA and I wanted him well before we traded for him.

Stereotypes are stoopid. Oden wasn't white. Neither was Sam Bowie. Should we assume all black American board centers will be injury prone busts? Fact is, there are a ton of big men that are drafted way too high in almost every draft. Some are white, some are black, some are American, some are European and some are even Asian these days. Big men are a risky proposition. They are higher risk and higher reward than other positions. They are also in shorter supply. So, for every success story, there are countless failures, independent of race or country of birth.

BNM
 
Nope, but he has validated his draft position, proven he belongs in the NBA and I wanted him well before we traded for him.

Stereotypes are stoopid. Oden wasn't white. Neither was Sam Bowie. Should we assume all black American board centers will be injury prone busts? Fact is, there are a ton of big men that are drafted way too high in almost every draft. Some are white, some are black, some are American, some are European and some are even Asian these days. Big men are a risky proposition. They are higher risk and higher reward than other positions. They are also in shorter supply. So, for every success story, there are countless failures, independent of race or country of birth.

BNM
Oden and Bowie both got hurt. Nothing about their actual play says bust.

Guys from Syarcuse and WABC both perform well below their draft position if taken early. Melo is a good player, but he hasn't won shit. Stereotypes are stupid, but usually somewhat accurate
 
Oden and Bowie both got hurt. Nothing about their actual play says bust.

Which is why I asked if we should assume all black American born centers are injury prone. Or maybe, centers in general, since that seems to correlate with us selecting them with high draft picks. At least Walton was able to win us a title before injuries did him in. But wait, he was a WABC. Guess we shouldn't have drafted him either.

BNM
 
Which is why I asked if we should assume all black American born centers are injury prone. Or maybe, centers in general, since that seems to correlate with us selecting them with high draft picks. At least Walton was able to win us a title before injuries did him in. But wait, he was a WABC. Guess we shouldn't have drafted him either.

BNM
True, the game certainly hasn't changed since Walton came into the league
 
He wouldn't be available. He arguably played as well as Towns last year (not to say he's as talented as Towns, as I'd rather have Towns for the future--but Jokic isn't far behind).
I'd argue that. Towns was unanimous for a reason, dude beasted last year. Jokic was moderately inconsistent.

Jokic is solid though, and this 3rd year could be a big one for him.
 
I'd argue that. Towns was unanimous for a reason, dude beasted last year. Jokic was moderately inconsistent.

Towns had a great year, but there are some reasons to think that Jokic was right there, too.

Jokic matched Towns in scoring efficiency, was close to him in terms of Rebound Rate (and, in terms of breakdown, was actually a bit better than him in terms of Offensive Rebound Rate, which is the tougher type of rebound to get), was much better than Towns in terms of Assist Rate and while Towns had the significantly better Block Rate, Jokic had the superior Steal Rate. Turnover Rate was about equal. Offense and Defense Rating suggest they had similar impacts also and Jokic actually had the greater Win Shares per 48.

Now, does all this mean that Jokic was just as good? No, a stream of advanced stats isn't conclusive. But I think Jokic, when he was on the floor, was pretty comparable to Towns. Towns racked up bigger numbers as he played more and had a larger Usage Rate (though Jokic's wasn't tiny, by any means)--and those things matter. It's not easy to play more quality minutes or to use more team possessions efficiently. I think Towns deserved Rookie of the Year. But I don't think there was a ton of separation between the two players.

And for those who like PER, Towns was 22.5, while Jokic was 21.5. Pretty close. I'd take Towns going forward, but I'd consider myself to have a likely franchise big man if I had Jokic.
 
Which is why I asked if we should assume all black American born centers are injury prone. Or maybe, centers in general, since that seems to correlate with us selecting them with high draft picks. At least Walton was able to win us a title before injuries did him in. But wait, he was a WABC. Guess we shouldn't have drafted him either.

BNM
We should assume all 7 feet high people are injury prone. It's a damn shame honestly.
 
We should assume all 7 feet high people are injury prone. It's a damn shame honestly.

Their large bodies are clearly subjected to greater stress than humans of average size. Combine that with being in a profession that is much more physically demanding than the typical desk job and injures are a huge risk and a cost of doing business.

But, they are more than adequately paid for their services. Some here consider Meyer Leonard a bust and a huge disappointment. Others consider him a bargain at $41 million over the next four years. Good work, if you can get it. How many other people have a guaranteed income of $41 million at the age of 24? If only I'd been 7" or 8" taller...

BNM
 

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