Suns center Jusuf Nurkic was unceremoniously benched.
He did not play in nine straight Suns games, all by decision of coach Mike Budenholzer. Before that, Budenholzer moved Nurkic to a reserve role after starting 23 games for the Suns this season. Phoenix now heads toward the trade deadline trying to find a new home for Nurkic in a trade (which will force the Suns to attach a first-round pick to Nurkic and his salary, which includes $19.4 million guaranteed next season).
Nurkic had been a solid starter in the league for nine seasons before Budenholzer benched him, and speaking with the Arizona Republic’s Duane RankinNurkic reflected on his situation and his relationship with his coach.
“We have no relationship,” Nurkic said. “So, that’s fine. For me, just be a pro and do my best. Work and stay ready for whatever might happen, but there’s no chaos or bringing that to this team. have a lot already. I try to be as professional as possible and hustle for something else.”
Budenhozer countered that the two men had had conversations and he spoke to Nurkic about the effort required to return to the rotation.
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Nurkic also said he expects to be with the team after the trade deadline because, with the Suns above the second fiscal apron (and focused on bringing Jimmy Butler to town), he doesn’t There will probably be no exchange to be made.
“Yeah, sure,” he said when asked if he thought he would be with the Suns after the trade deadline. “Because we are the Phoenix Suns and we are new (collective agreement) and we follow all the rules, it is not easy to be traded when you have passed the second tax apron. Even that, I cannot not control…
“That’s how it is,” Nurkic continued. “Life isn’t fair.”
That’s a bit dramatic for a guy making $18.1 million this season. While it’s easy to understand Nurkic’s frustration, he was a starter in the NBA for nine seasons and now watches games from the bench.
The Suns’ most-used lineup this season and ideal starting lineup heading into the year — Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Tyus Jones and Nurkic — have a painful -17.1 net rating.
Budenholzer not only stopped Nurkic and started Mason Plumlee, he moved Bradley Beal to the bench and put rookie Ryan Dunn in the starting lineup. This new starting five has a net rating of +27.5, albeit in a small sample size of less than 100 total minutes. The Suns too traded for center Nick Richards and the Athletics Five played well in his four games with the team. All the changes led to a 7-2 win over the Suns in the nine games Nurkic missed.
This record means that Budenholzer is not about to change Nurkic’s situation. The only thing that will happen is a trade that Nurkic doesn’t expect.