Jusuf Nurkic, Portland Trail Blazers agree to four-year, $70 million deal to return, rep says
Free agent center Jusuf Nurkic agreed to a four-year, $70 million deal to stay with Portland Trail BlazersKlutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday.
Trail Blazers are also re-signing Drew Eubanks on a one-year contract, his agent, James Dunleavy of Excel Basketball, told Wojnarowski.
Nurkic played 56 games last season for Portland, averaging 15.0 points and 11.1 rebounds per game, after ankle and wrist injuries limited him to 45 aggregate games the previous two seasons.
A 27-year-old Bosnian big man, Nurkic has been an integral part of the Trail Blazers’ repeat trips to the NBA knockouts since being transferred to Portland by Denver Nuggets in 2017.
Portland will now count on him to continue in that role as the team begins its transition into a new era thanks to the arrival of a promising young keeper. Anfernee Simonswho replaced? CJ McCollum as franchise logo Damian LillardTrail Blazers’ later mate.
Nurkic has struggled to stay on the pitch in recent seasons, but when healthy, he has become an extremely effective player. He has averaged 14.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1 steal and 1.3 blocks in 27.1 minutes per game since joining the Trail Blazers.
Eubanks, 25, averaged 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in 22 games for the Trail Blazers after joining the team in February – a spike in output from the 4.6 points and 3.8 rebounds he earned. He averaged 3½ seasons with San Antonio Spurs.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.
