Why the Hornets keeping Jusuf Nurkic wouldn’t be as wild as it sounds

Jusuf Nurkic was so bad for the Phoenix Suns that the team benched him, and had to attach one of the few remaining first round picks they owned to get someone to take him.

That team happened to be the Charlotte Hornets, who were on the center market after dealing Mark Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers. Of course, the Williams deal was rescinded, and the Hornets were stuck with three legitimate starting caliber centers on the roster: Mark Williams, Jusuf Nurkic, and Moussa Diabate.

With the NBA offseason beginning today, fans have been speculating about what moves President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson will make to improve his team. Could he swing a big deal for a star? Or perhaps something smaller, like shuffling around draft capital? It's extremely uncertain, as the Peterson front office so far has been extremely tight lipped, with rumors rarely swirling about what the team will do.

Fans have speculated about one thing: there is no way they go into next season with all three centers, right? Well, let's break it down.

Dealing Mark Williams makes sense, as the team has already tried to move on from him. Moussa Diabate could move to the power forward position, and allow himself to get more opportunity with Williams and Nurkic around. It's unlikely the team deals Diabate, his age, talent, and contract are all positives for the Hornets.

So, Nurkic could be the odd man out. However:

Keeping Jusuf Nurkic is a must, but not in the way you might think.

When the Hornets first acquired Nurkic, I asked head coach Charles Lee about what he brings to the squad.

"Offensively, I think he has added a little bit of shooting to his game over the last couple of years, so that'll be a nice added bonus to our offense. He does such a great job, too, with his screens in general. I think he's gonna get (LaMelo) open, he's gonna get Nick (Smith Jr.), Miles (Bridges), and just down the line for our guards, and I look forward to him joining the group."

Lee seemed excited to be adding a center who could stretch the floor, which Nurkic struggled with at first. He missed his first eight threes, before finally knocking down one and going 1-3 in his fourth game with the squad. He added an 0-7 stretch over 13 days in March, and it was clear that he both was not accustomed to Lee's style of offense yet, and also was ice cold from three.

Towards the end of March to the end of the season in April, though, things picked up. After his 0-7 stretch, Jusuf shot 11-25 (44%) from deep, while adding 10.9 points and 6.1 rebounds. In his final eight games of the season, the Bosnian big man averaged 14 points a night, clearly getting comfortable in Lee's offense.

So, why should the Hornets keep him? It's simple: Nurkic's play got better and better as he became more comfortable with the Hornets. Along with the fact that he clearly has less pressure to perform at a high level, Nurkic can put up great numbers for the Hornets for the first half of next season, and then be dealt for a good return at the trade deadline.

With injuries to Tyrese Haliburton, Jayson Tatum, and countless others, the Eastern Conference is going to be wide open next season. Teams at the trade deadline will believe they are a piece or two away from being able to dethrone the Oklahoma City Thunder, and may pay a hefty price to acquire veterans to get them there.

Jusuf Nurkic could net the Hornets another solid draft pick or young player.

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