Before the February, 2017 trade that brought center Jusuf Nurkic to the Portland Trail Blazers, he was paired with Nikola Jokic in a big-man lineup long on height, short on experience together. With both seven-footers young and eager to play, the Nuggets had a decision to make: build the next version of the Twin Towers or move one of their bigs. When the Blazers came calling with Mason Plumlee, the Nuggets bit and the rest is history.
Now Nick Kosmider of The Athletic takes a longer look at that trade and all the details that went into it from Denver’s perspective (subscription required).