NBA Trade Rumors: 5 Teams That Should Trade For Jusuf Nurkic

4. Charlotte Hornets

There are few strategists as consistent or inventive as Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford. He’s facilitated the development of a number of high-quality players, including Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kemba Walker, and Marvin Williams.

The primary example of what Clifford can do to help Jusuf Nurkic take his game to the next level, however, is the incredible work he did with All-NBA center Al Jefferson.

Much like Jefferson, Nurkic is a bruising 7’0″ big man who can put his shoulder into a defender and finish at the rim. His post game isn’t as polished as Jefferson’s, but he’s shown the potential to be a high-quality post player.

With soft touch around the rim and good hands when coming off of the pick and roll, Nurkic has immediate value to a postseason-caliber team like Charlotte.

Nurkic does an excellent job of moving without the ball and ensuring that he’s in a position to be set up to score. That makes him the perfect complement to dynamic playmakers Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum.

If the Hornets are willing to give up a first-round draft pick to acquire Nurkic, he could be the player whom Clifford develops as his traditional big man of the future.