The Wizards have shockingly become Jusuf Nurkic’s favorite trade favorite amid the Suns’ chaos

The Phoenix Suns desperate for answers on how to get their team out of the rut they’ve been in for the past few weeks. And one such remedy they have come up with is that demote Jusuf Nurkić to the benchgiving rotation spots to center Mason Plumlee and rookie Os Ighodaro. It got so bad for Nurkic in a Suns uniform that he was powerless — the coach’s decision during their 123-115 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night.

This rotation decision by the Suns shows that the team may be willing to move on from Nurkic via trade. And to that end, it looks like there’s a surprise team in the mix for a potential trade for the Bosnian big man. According to official sportsbook Bovada, Washington Wizardsof all teams, are favorites to trade for Nurkic, with odds of +300.

Rounding out Nurkic’s top five trade suitors are the Miami Heat (+400), Houston Rockets (+400), Detroit Pistons (+400) and Brooklyn Nets (+700). The Heat, Rockets and Pistons could benefit from Nurkic as additional frontcourt depth, while the Nets could be a salary-shedding spot, similar to the Wizards.

The a complicating factor in any Nurkic trade to the Suns is the fact that he will earn $19.4 million next season on top of the $18.1 million cap hit he has for this campaign. It doesn’t help at all for the Suns that he’s no longer part of the rotation. Regardless, there could very well be an opportunity to buy lower for other teams in this space, provided, of course, they don’t rely on Nurkic to do too much.

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The downfall of Jusuf Nurkic with the Suns

Entering the 2023-24 season, the Suns were in dire need of depth; their shallow roster, however, was exposed in a second-round playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets. Then they decided it was best to turn Deandre Ayton, one of their prized possessions, depth pieces in Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen.

Nurkic, however, is not the player he once was. There are times when he can pad the stats pretty well, but his mobility is in decline and there are times when he makes a bunch of stupid decisions on the field. The Suns have clearly spoiled the 30-year-old center; that pretty much said they’d rather start Mason Plumlee over him.