A long year ago, in a city a few states away, Jusuf Nurkic flashed signs of holding down the center spot in Denver, en route to a 2014-15 All-Rookie Second Team selection.
The 7 ft., 280-lb big man used his burly body to bully his way into the lane, where he could use a hook shot or drop step to lay in easy buckets.
However, Nurkic fell out of rotation.
Part of his falling out was alleged pouting when things didn’t go his way; part of it was the emergence of Nikola Jokic as yet another basketball unicorn.