Will new wrinkle be eventual boost for LaMelo Ball? How Jusuf Nurkic can aid Hornets’ star
Recognizing a familiar face that settled down in the Pacific Northwest for the better part of a decade, the appreciative gesture was a virtual certainty.
Still, when Jusuf Nurkic checked into the game midway into the opening quarter Saturday night for his latest outing as a member of the Charlotte Hornets, receiving a decent round of applause despite playing for the visitors, he soaked up the sequence internally.
“It’s nothing like coming to the place that’s like a second home, felt wanted as an NBA player,” Nurkic said following the Hornets’ 141-88 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. “I had great moments here. I love these people here, they love me and it’s a two-way street. I feel even outside of the arena, it’s a great relationship.”
In a sense, that also describes Nurkic’s growing bond with his new employer.
As Mark Williams slowly works himself back into form following the rescinding of the trade with the Los Angeles Lakers, Nurkic is settling into his role as the main reserve center behind Williams and ahead of Moussa Diabate in the rotational pecking order.
After registering three straight DNP-Coach’s decisions on the heels of the deal landing the Bosnian and a 2026 first-round pick from Phoenix in exchange for Cody Martin, Vasa Micic and a 2026 second-round selection, Nurkic has logged action in the Hornets’ past four outings. He’s ramped up his conditioning levels due to falling out of the rotation under Suns coach Mike Budenholzer, a move that sidelined him from Jan. 9 until getting sent to the Hornets.
Albeit slightly, Nurkic can finally breathe since the chaos of the NBA trade deadline madness is behind him, allowing him to better focus.
“I’ve been around in the league and it’s always a challenge to kind of change a team in the middle of the season,” Nurkic said, “from that point and how fast things kind of go. Nothing but good experience for me trying to help this young team and I think we have a really good talented roster. We just need to be healthy and I’m really looking forward to building this.”
Beyond his veteran presence, Nurkic brings a flurry of things to the Hornets. His passing skills are on display anytime he’s on the floor and he has a knack for being in the right spot near the glass to efficiently collect caroms.
Digging deeper, Nurkic could also benefit the Hornets in another big way: forming a solid tandem with Hornets’ star guard LaMelo Ball. A larger sample size is still needed to properly gauge the duo’s potential effectiveness. But small sightings crop up here and there, signaling the potential future possibilities.
Against the Trail Blazers, there was one play late in the first half when Nurkic found Ball with a nifty bounce pass on a give-and-go, leading to the Ball getting fouled and heading to the free throw line. It’s a snippet of what the Hornets hope to see more of when the duo of Nurkic and Ball are together, a pairing that could evoke occasional memories of Nurkic and Damian Lillard teaming up.
“I think he is probably going to benefit the most from me coming here,” Nurkic said. “Kind of similar to me when I got to Dame and the Blazers, same type of energy and plays. He’s probably not going to have to take any bad shots no more because of my screening, passing ability can help him, just on the court. So, I’m just looking forward to building that. It will take some time probably for us to kind of connect, but basketball, at the end of the day you just go out there and hoop.”
Ball is excited about the potential connection, pointing to Nurkic’s history alongside Lillard.
“He just frees up a lot of people,” Ball said. “He played with Dame, he knows how to play with good guards and he just knows what to do on the floor.”
Which, in turn, should eventually benefit Ball.
Particularly if Charles Lee deploys Nurkic strategically to maximize his strengths.
“I think that he helps our whole team because of his size and because of his experience and just understanding where to be on the court,” the coach said. “But I think for Melo, especially, he sets such great screens. There’s a screen assist almost on every play. He’s creating an advantage. And it’s one of the absolutes that we have for our team. We want to create advantages.
“I think he does that for Melo by setting great screens. But then also he’s so dynamic in what he can do. He can roll and he can even roll to finish for himself or get fouled. And he’s also really good at passing. So, if he rolls and the defense collapses, now he’s taking it back out, now he’s got the second action with Melo maybe even deeper on the floor, too. He pops (out) a little bit (for a jumper) and guys have a little bit of fear there.”
Nurkic’s responsibilities with his new team extend past that, though. He’s another person Lee can look to besides Taj Gibson and Seth Curry for veteran knowledge, using his voice to ensure messages are fully understood and heeded during rough outings like what occurred against Portland.
“It’s not even about being vocal,” Nurkic said. “Of course, you’ve got to talk to them, but you’ve got to show them, too, that you care. It doesn’t matter what the first half or first quarter or second quarter is. Obviously, bad plays and turnovers are going to happen. We just have to minimize that. I think we sometimes stick with what happened with the last play or happened with the last quarter.
“As a young dude, you have a tendency to do that. You can be stuck on one play or what happened on a possession, if you get a foul or turnovers. So, just get out of that zone and think the next play I can get a stop a few stops here and there, and get back in the game. You’ve got to from one possession to possession.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
