Since being traded from the Denver Nuggets to the Portland Trail Blazers midway through last season, center Jusuf Nurkic has made a name for himself.

At 7-feet and 280 pounds, Nurkic is not only a gargantuan physical specimen around the rim, but he has also been productive as a member of the Blazers organization.

After averaging 8.0 points and 5.8 rebounds over 17.9 minutes per contest over 45 games for the Nuggets last year, he made the most of an increased role in Portland, averaging a double-double of 15.2 points and 10.4 boards in 29.2 minutes per game over 20 contests down the stretch.

A better opportunity and a change in scenery was just what the doctor ordered for Nurkic.

“I needed a change of scenery. Both sides needed it,” Nurkic recently told Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated. “I’m thankful Denver let me go where I wanted to go. If I was doing all the bad things that people said, the Nuggets wouldn’t have traded me where I wanted to go, and they probably would have gotten a way better deal than they got.” 

Heading into Monday night's game, he posted 14.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 27.4 minutes over the team's first 16 games of the season and has established himself as a menace on both ends of the court for opposing big men.

Although Nurkic and the Blazers didn't reach an agreement on a rookie scale extension before the October deadline, the Bosnian center and his camp believe that he has a long-term future in Portland.

“I feel like the Blazers are very happy with Jusuf and Jusuf is very happy there,” his agent Aylton Tesch told Golliver. “We had some [extension] talks, but we decided to play it out this year and engage in talks again in July. He has already proven that he can help the team. There is a fit for Jusuf in Portland and he’s looking to stay there long-term.”

Although Nurkic has not nearly been as consistent so far this season as he was in the final stretch of last year, he is still a valuable asset alongside co-stars Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Set to become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2018, Portland will have the opportunity to match any offer that is extended his way. Given the lucrative salaries that are already on the books for next year, the team will have to decide whether or not to go over the luxury tax threshold in order to keep him in town.

If paying the luxury tax is not organizational option, a salary dump of other players may occur, or the team could elect to trade him away at some point during the season in the hopes of receiving compensation for the borderline max-deal talent.