Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic made headlines on Wednesday as the previously injured big man participated in a full-contact practice and half-court 5-on-5 with his team. But while his return to the court appears to be as close as ever, it’s unlikely that the Blazers starting big man is back on the court before February.
According to someone who spoke to the USA TODAY Sports Media Group on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter, Nurkic will be out until after the All-Star break. Nurkic suffered a gruesome broken leg injury in which he fractured his fibula and tibia, on March 25, 2019, and the Blazers are currently in the midst of a difficult season at 19-26, two games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for 8th place in the Western Conference.
The Blazers remain purposefully vague about his potential return, but it’s evident now that it won’t be anytime before everyone heads to Chicago for All-Star Weekend.
Nurkic signed with Klutch Sports and Rich Paul prior to the season to be his new representation.
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