The Phoenix Suns over two weeks ago made a move that many hoped for but did not expect to happen before this NBA season.

The Suns traded polarizing center Deandre Ayton to the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-team deal that also sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks. As part of the deal, Phoenix received a new starter at center Jusuf Nurkic, and guard Grayson Allen from the Bucks along with Nassir Little and Keon Johnson.

Ayton is younger than Nurkic (25 versus 29) and will average better numbers. But the Suns on media day said Nurkic is a better fit for a team that is looking to maximize its offensive firepower with stars Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.

“I think he's going to do great in Portland,” Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia said of Ayton. “…But for our team, Nurkic was a better fit for us. And we're trying to win a championship now, and what Nurkic can do on the court and what he'll do off the court and fit into our organization, he's a better fit for us.”

Nurkic has some injury concerns. He suffered a gruesome broken left leg during the 2018-19 season and has failed to play more than 56 games in a single season since.

But the Suns might not require Nurkic more than to do things he is fully capable of. Nurkic's defensive rating has fallen since his leg injury, but Phoenix will rely on him as a passer offensively and for his defensive rebounding, which he has rated above the 94th percentile for bigs in each of the last three seasons by Cleaning the Glass.

“As we compete to guard, we're going to force a lot of misses,” Vogel said. “And we got to board. If we're going to get out and be a running team, we need somebody that can dominate the defensive boards. And he's elite at that.”

Nurkic on Thursday against the Trail Blazers looked like the fit Ishbia and Vogel envisioned. Matched up against Ayton, Nurkic finished with 17 points in 21 minutes on 6-of-8 shooting with eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.

Nurkic threw an overhead pass to Durant for a transition dunk and also hit the Suns' star forward for a 3-pointer as a short roller. He also had two and-ones over Ayton and another on a putback layup that showed his energy.

“I know how to play and I feel I play right way and man, I enjoy it,” Nurkic told Arizona's Family 3TV postgame. “I have the most fun with the group of guys we have, and it's just a a blessing for me. But it's only beginning. We're going to just get better and better. I think the way we execute and compete, it's off the charts.”

Trade to Suns

Jusuf Nurkic caught some heat from Suns fans when he spoke against the team's trade for Beal in June. Nurkic posted on X the Suns' big three with Booker, Durant and Beal was “Brooklyn all over again,” pointing out how Durant played with stars James Harden and Kyrie Irving with the Nets.

Now, Nurkic is a teammate of those three. He seems pretty excited about it.

“I'm coming down the floor and Devin Booker has the ball and I'm running and see like, playing pick-and-roll with D-Book,” Nurkic recalled, “but in the other corner I got KD and then Bradley Beal. I'm saying, “God damn.”

The Suns' offense has already looked explosive. In their first preseason game Sunday against the Detroit Pistons, they had 46 first-quarter points and shot 17-of-20 from the field. Nurkic struggled with foul trouble but was a huge part of Phoenix's offensive prowess on Thursday, when it had 76 first-half points against Portland.

Phoenix does not have a true point guard and will rely on a multiple ball-handler attack in which it plays with pace. Nurkic has the ability to bring the ball down the floor and pass in situations that open up the big three and shooters on the team.

Booker even joked Nurkic is a point guard.

“He can be a secondary point guard too if a team traps me and he plays in that pocket,” Booker said.

Statistics

PPG: 13.3

RPG: 9.1

FG%: 51.9

3FG%: 36.1

APG: 2.9

BPG: 0.8

Strengths

The Suns are building an identity of physicality, which is important since they are not perceived to excel on defense.

Nurkic is a huge guy. He is listed at 290 pounds, which tied Houston Rockets center Boban Marjanovic for the heaviest player in the league last year.

Nurkic carries the weight well. He is not someone who will be a threat on the perimeter with his handle, but he's more than capable of using his footwork to create angles to open his teammates via his passing.

Ayton averaged better numbers last year than Nurkic and is more gifted physically and athletically. But Suns fans have seen in the first two games Nurkic is more willing to embrace contact on offense or defense.

As big as he is, Nurkic is also very adept in creating opportunities as a screener. According to BBall Index, Nurkic ranks above the 97th percentile in the NBA in screen assists per 75 possessions (97.0) and screening talent (98.4).

Nurkic's teammate stats from the website are more impressive. He ranked at least No. 61 in the NBA and above the 98.5 percentile in teammate rim shot creation, teammate 3-point pull up shot creation, teammate defensive positional versatility, teammate overall gravity, teammate ball screen navigation, teammate self-created shot making, teammate on-ball gravity, teammate rim shot making and teammate finishing talent.

Those skills fit in with this Suns team better. Ayton, in comparison, ranked above the 98.8 percentile in teammate overall gravity, teammate midrange shot creation, and teammate midrange pull up shot creation.

Nurkic also seems more willing to buy into his role. Ayton was perceived to be one of the more fragile players on the Suns' roster. Even though he labeled himself “Dominayton” and said he ran on Tesla battery, there were too many moments in the last playoff run when he did not assert himself when the team needed him to.

For the Suns to win a championship, they need a center who will buy into rebounding, be a good facilitator and teammate. Nurkic seems to meet most of those qualities.

Development

Nurkic was expected to compete with Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic for a starting center position early in his career. Nurkic has a somewhat similar playstyle with his passing ability and basketball IQ, which Durant complimented last week.

“Love his IQ for the game, physicality,” Durant said. “Somebody that's been around the league for a while, played in different systems as well. His IQ for the game is high. Going to get better by each rep…”

Unfortunately for Nurkic, his leg injury has stalled his defensive impact. His defensive rating was at 104.8 or lower in his first five NBA seasons, but it has regressed to 109.2, 11.8 and 114.3 in the last three seasons, according to Statmuse.

Nurkic was a potent shot-blocker and averaged 1.9, 1.4 and 1.4, respectively, from 2016-17 to 2018-19 in his time with the Trail Blazers. He averaged 0.6 and 0.8 blocks, respectively, in each of the last two years.

Nurkic's loss of athleticism will hurt him as a perimeter defender. Nurkic averaged 3.6 fouls per game last season, which would have been tied with the Memphis Grizzlies' Jaren Jackson Jr. if he reached the 58-game minimum threshold to qualify (Nurkic played in 52 games last season).

The Suns have forwards Chimezie Metu and Drew Eubanks as depth behind Nurkic. Neither are as big as him, though Eubanks has shown he is a physical screener and will embody what the Suns are looking for from their bigs.

Nonetheless, Nurkic is the Suns' best option at center. Phoenix has the potential to be the best offensive team in the NBA but is at a disadvantage compared to top contenders with rebounding. Vogel has said his team will focus on speed and length at wing to compensate for its lack of size, but it will need Nurkic to stay out of foul trouble to compete against Jokic, the Los Angeles Lakers' Anthony Davis and the Milwaukee Bucks' Brook Lopez, for example.

Expectations

The Suns do not need a lot from Nurkic, who has experience playing next to a superstar, Lillard, and another star with CJ McCollum. They need him to play to his strengths, which should flourish next to Booker, Durant and Beal.

Health is a concern for Nurkic, as it is with Booker, who has had hamstring issues, and Durant, who suffered a torn Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals and is yet to play more than 55 games in a season since.

But Vogel needs a center who is dominant on the glass, physical and plays well offensively. The Suns seem to have that with Nurkic, who is also very happy to be in Phoenix as one would assume from his social media posts.