By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic is expected to be benched by the Phoenix Suns.
According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, the 30-year-old center and Bradley Beal will be removed from the starting lineup, effective immediately.
Ryan Dunn and Mason Plumlee are projected as the replacements for the team coached by Mike Budenholzer.
Sources: In midst of 4-game losing streak and tension in locker room, Phoenix expected to make drastic change by removing Bradley Beal, Jusuf Nurkic from starting lineup beginning Monday at Philadelphia. #haynesbriefs pic.twitter.com/utz0FNLppB
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) January 6, 2025
Over the last two years, Nurkic has been a starter through all of his 103 appearances with the Suns, including 23 games of the ongoing Regular Season with 8.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest. Combined with earlier spells as a player of the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets, he started in 501 of his 582 features in the NBA. However, a different approach is considered amid a four-game losing streak.
The Bosnian center was selected with the 16th overall pick of the 2014 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls and subsequently traded to the Nuggets. After teaming up with Nikola Jokic and steadily falling out of favor with the Serbian superstar emerging as the franchise player, he was traded to the Blazers during the 2016-17 Regular Season. Before the 2023-24 campaign, he was traded to the Suns.
Down to 15-18, Budenholzer’s side is 1.5 games outside the Play-In seeds of the Western Conference and 3.5 games away from a direct ticket to the Playoffs. Completing a three-game road trip, up next are the Philadelphia 76ers in Wells Fargo Center on Monday and the Charlotte Hornets in Spectrum Center on Tuesday.
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