The Portland Trail Blazers keep putting the pieces to try to compete for something big in the NBA next season. After Damian Lillard expressed his loyalty to the franchise, they started looking for options to create a solid team that could give Dame the right help to compete for a championship.
In recent days, Lillard made the Blazers a candidate to land Kevin Durant amid the Kyrie Irving drama, but it doesn’t look like that will be possible, knowing the type of return the Nets are looking for KD. Meanwhile, they are focused on creating the right team for Lillard and keeping the pieces that helped him reach the playoffs in prior years.
That’s how we land here, with Jusuf Nurkic securing the bag on a four-year deal with the Blazers. The Bosnian player has been a key figure for the Blazers, and his relationship with Lillard couldn’t be better. At some point, many believed he would be shipped somewhere else, but that’s not happening.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that the Blazers have re-signed Nurkic on a $70 million contract for the next four years.
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
After trading for Jerami Grant, securing the services of Anfernee Simmons, and adding a couple of pieces, the Blazers have now re-signed Nurkic on a long-term deal. This next season will be crucial for the Blazers. They know it’s time to put Dame in a winning position, and if they can’t, Lillard might be asking to be traded next year or even sooner.
