NBA Free Agency: Five contracts teams will regret giving out this offseason

5. Jusuf Nurkic: 4yrs, $70M (Portland Trail Blazers)

Shout out to Jusuf Nurkic for securing another bag! This deal will instantly prove disastrous for the Portland Trail Blazers. Despite suffering multiple leg and foot injuries and taking a huge step back on the defensive end, Portland thought it would be a good idea to bring back Nurkic on a hefty $70M contract.

Health is a significant concern for Big Nurk. One can speculate how much – if at all– the Trail Blazer’s blatant tanking played a part in him being shut down for the final 23 games of the 2022 season. But the fact remains that he missed 26 games last season, 35 the season prior, and all but eight games during the 2019-20 NBA season.

Free agent C Jusuf Nurkic has agreed on a new four-year, $70 million deal to stay with the Portland Trail Blazers, @KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/6vmHrdOZI3

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2022

While he’s a solid passer for a player his size, Nurkic is more of a traditional big that prefers to play in the post and clog the paint. Portland has tried to expand his game but to no avail. Last season he converted just 26.8 percent of his career-high 56 three-point attempts. Still, he averaged 15 points and 11.1 rebounds per game on 53.5 percent shooting. 

According to Second Spectrum tracking on NBA Advanced Stats, opponents made 69.2 percent of their attempts within five feet of the rim, with Nurkic as the primary defender, the worst of any center in the NBA that defended at least 200 such shots. By comparison, Mitchell Robinson, who just signed a four-year deal worth $60M, held opponents to just 53.6 percent shooting on their attempts within five feet of the hoop when he was the primary defender, ranking 11th among all players who defended at least 200 such shots. 

Although Nurkic may be a walking double-double when healthy, he doesn’t do enough on either end of the court to warrant nearly $20M AAV. This contract is a borderline albatross between the injury concerns, questionable fit on offense, and lack of impact on defense.

There’s still a chance that this contract doesn’t come back to haunt the Trail Blazers, but I’d bet the front office grows to regret this decision sooner than later.