The Denver Nuggets are rumored to be looking to trade Jusuf Nurkic before this season's trade deadline and the Philadelphia 76ers have emerged as a potential trade partner.

Nurkic, 22, has turned from the Nuggets' starting center into a backup big man as head coach Mike Malone decided to replace him with Nikola Jokic. During the team's past seven games, Nurkic has only played three games and 22 minutes in total. It has sparked rumors that Denver could be shopping him at the moment as the team is said to be looking to acquire more veteran players who are playoffs-ready.

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As expected, the 7-foot Bosnian big man is unhappy about his current status with the Nuggets but had vowed to stay professional about the whole situation.

"For sure, it's tough," said Nurkic, via ESPN. "I'm 22 years old. I'm not here to sit on the bench. I'm here to play basketball. And it's a tough decision for me, from a starting spot and 20 minutes to four straight (games of not playing). You control what you control, and I let my agent do the rest of the stuff."

"(But) I'm going to do what I can do; come here, work every day hard and be professional like I should be," he added.

Nurkic, who can become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2018 if he fails to sign an extension this coming offseason, has averaged 9.8 points and 7.3 rebounds during his tenure at the starting center spot in the Nuggets' first 25 games this season.

Fansided reported that one of the top trade destinations for Nurkic could be the Sixers, a team who is also looking to trade one of their young big men.

The report suggested that Nerlens Noel could be sent to Denver in exchange for Nurkic. Noel is said to be the defensive center or power forward that the Nuggets could pair with Jokic up front while Nurkic can serve as a more reliable option at backup center for Joel Embiid, who is still playing in restricted minutes.

TagsNBA Trade Rumors, NBA Trade Rumors 2017, Jusuf Nurkic, Denver Nuggets, philadelphia 76ers