NBA Free Agency: 5 Best Centers Available in 2018

#4 Jusuf Nurkic

Utah Jazz v Portland Trail Blazers

Ever since earning a move to the Portland Trail Blazers midway through the 2016-17 season, Nurkic has proven himself as one of the better centers in the league. Through the course of this 2017-18 season, the Bosnian averaged 14.3 points, 9 rebounds and was the anchor of one of the best defenses in the Association.

While his offensive production was too streaky to be considered anything close to reliable, the Nurk has always been a good defender and is able to handle switches out onto the perimeter in a respectable fashion. He is a traditional center in the truest sense of the word, but the only question mark about his play is his ineffectiveness from the post region (he ranked in the 21st percentile among scorers from the post-up situation, which is not ideal).

If only Nurkic was able to demonstrate the consistency required of a true max contract guy, he would be higher up the list. He will, however, be a free agent target for a number of teams which are looking for young centers yet to reach their ceiling (Nurkic is only 23 and has a lot of room for growth).