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Shumpert tries to get into Blazers locker room to confront Nurkic

"I'm not going to worry about it," Nurkic said of the 28-year-old Shumpert. "He's going into retirement soon. I'm not going to worry about a guy who's going into retirement soon."
Credit: Ezra Shaw
Iman Shumpert of the Sacramento Kings reacts after making a shot against the Portland Trail Blazers at Golden 1 Center on January 14, 2019 in Sacramento, California.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Jusuf Nurkic is a beast. A Bosnian one at that, and someone who has won over the hearts of Rip City since his arrival in February 2017. The 7-footer has been mostly productive and always entertaining, and he found a way to enhance the latter despite the Blazers' 115-107 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. 

Following the loss, in which Nurk recorded six points (3-of-7), 11 rebounds, five assists and a block, tempers flared as players were exiting the floor. Iman Shumpert was the focal point.

Oh my. We are almost one year to the day removed from a bizarre locker-room confrontation involving Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers. This is obviously unfortunate news for the NBA. The league, which has been through some bad boy eras before and isn’t looking to go back any time soon, wants the attention on the court and not its behind-the-scenes confrontations. 

A Kings staffer — as crazy as this sounds for anyone who has followed the KANGZ in recent years — did the right thing.

Unfortunately for Shumpert, the Kings, and the NBA, this man has officially gone viral, courtesy of Shump’s reported target.

When asked about the drama, Nurkic responded by questioning Shumpert's future in the league.

"I'm not going to worry about it," he said. "He's going into retirement soon. I'm not going to worry about a guy who's going into retirement soon."

Nurk Fever?

SAVAGE. SYNDROME. 

Jusuf Nurkic just took a body, and it wasn’t pretty. Shumpert, who to his credit has a championship ring to his name, is mostly known for his days on bad New York Knicks teams and failing to live up to the "one man’s trash, another man’s treasure" meme JR Smith himself shared with the world after joining LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The worst part about it? Nurk might not be wrong. Shumpert’s current 9.4 points per game is a career high, but when the inevitable happens and he’s off the Kings’ roster (so Sacramento can build a team with the collective career arc of De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley), what comes next? Is he a veteran-enough presence to be a positive influence on another young locker room? Is he talented enough to land a spot on a contender as the 11th man?

Shumpert is 19 days older than Damian Lillard. Let that sink in. We’re not talking about Vince Carter or Dirk Nowitzki. Nurkic told a 28-year-old his days in the NBA are numbered. 

Bosnian Beast? The 24-year-old is a stone-cold savage. And Rip City is here for it.

Shumpert did apologize to fans after the game, and then promptly blamed everyone else for turning it into a "story."

Oregon Sports News is a KGW News partner.

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