Blazers trade Mason Plumlee to Nuggets for Jusuf Nurkic, first-round pick

The Portland Trail Blazers have dealt center Mason Plumlee and a 2018 second round pick to the Denver Nuggets for center Jusuf Nurkic and a 2017 first round pick, two people familiar with the deal confirmed to Paste BN Sports's Jeff Zillgitt.

They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly until the deal is official.

The move leaves the Trail Blazers with three first-round picks in the upcoming 2017 draft, and it gives the Nuggets another viable big man to pair with second-leading scorer Nikola Jokic in the frontcourt.

Plumlee was averaging 11.1 points and 8 rebounds per game, while Nurkic was averaging 8 points nearly 6 rebounds per game in 18 minutes per game.

The NBA's trade deadline is Feb. 23rd.

It's an interesting swap given that both teams are battling for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. The Nuggets (24-30) sit a game up on the Trail Blazers (23-31) for the No. 8 seed.