{"id":626647,"date":"2026-05-06T10:19:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T10:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/626647\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T10:19:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T10:19:13","slug":"should-the-utah-jazz-re-sign-jusuf-nurkic-and-kevin-love-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/626647\/","title":{"rendered":"Should the Utah Jazz re-sign Jusuf Nurki\u0107 and Kevin Love? \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Utah Jazz embark on the 2026-27 season, they\u2019re going to be turning the page<\/a> in their rebuilding story and actually trying to win as many games as possible for the first time in four years.<\/p>\n

The goal all along, throughout these tanking years, was to get to this point \u2014 a point where the Jazz have a solid, young and promising core that is ready to start moving upward. Ultimately the goal is to build a title contender, and this is the starting point in the upward climb toward that.<\/p>\n

Those are the reasons that players like Kevin Love and Jusuf Nurki\u0107 are incredibly valuable to a team like the Jazz. Both are free agents this summer and the Jazz will have to decide if it is worth paying them to be a part of the next iteration of the Jazz.<\/p>\n

If all of this is about winning, and creating a situation where sustained success is possible, then keeping Love and Nurki\u0107 on the roster should be a no-brainer.<\/p>\n

They want to be here<\/p>\n

When all the rest of the NBA world and everyone on the outside wants to poke fun at or turn their nose up at Utah, it\u2019s impossible not to appreciate two seasoned NBA veterans that publicly proclaim their love and appreciation for the Jazz, for Salt Lake City, and for the state overall.<\/p>\n

Both Love and Nurki\u0107 have made it easy for the Jazz and the fans to know where they stand. Even with free agency and uncertainty looming \u2014 a situation where many other NBA players are often vague and non-committal \u2014 the two veterans have been very clear in their desire to return to the Jazz.<\/p>\n

\u201cNurk and I have spoken about it at length, just how much we\u2019ve enjoyed our time here\u201d Love said. \u201cWe would be back here in an instant, trying to be great vets and help guys like Ace (Bailey), who\u2019s 19, guys in their first contracts, guys kind of in the middle of their career, all the way through those who are ready to turn their page and really make an impact in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nurki\u0107 and Love both didn\u2019t know what to expect about their roles with the Jazz. They didn\u2019t know what to expect from the fanbase, from the organization, from the other players on the roster, from head coach Will Hardy<\/a> or from the front office and ownership. But at every step of the way, they were surprised by how invested everyone was and how much joy they found in their short time with the Jazz.<\/p>\n

Love, who was with the Miami Heat before joining the Jazz, believed that he was going to retire and finish out his career with the Heat. The brutal nature of the business, not for the first time, blindsided him when he was traded to the Jazz last summer.<\/p>\n

He said that from the moment he arrived in Utah, Ryan Smith, Austin Ainge, Justin Zanik and Hardy all made him feel welcomed and appreciated. And that continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cNurk and I have spoken about it at length, just how much we\u2019ve enjoyed our time here. We would be back here in an instant, trying to be great vets and help guys like Ace (Bailey), who\u2019s 19, guys in their first contracts, guys kind of in the middle of their career, all the way through those who are ready to turn their page and really make an impact in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Utah Jazz’s Kevin Love<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the way down to our equipment managers, the people that clean the building, or security that welcomes us into the arena, our bus drivers, the people that work at the airport,\u201d Love said. \u201cLike whoever it is, they\u2019ve been incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nurki\u0107 has not been subtle or quiet in the past when he has not enjoyed working with certain coaches or being in certain NBA cities. He has made his feelings known and he\u2019s not one to sugarcoat a situation.<\/p>\n

Pretty immediately, he found mutual respect with Hardy and was impressed with the willingness to learn from the young players and also their talent.<\/p>\n

Nurki\u0107 mentioned that sometimes professional athletes lose a little bit of their humanity and they forget that sports are supposed to be fun and that playing with joy is the best way to find success. That\u2019s what he found with the Jazz. He had fun, and he wants more of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be so easy to come back, and I want to come back,\u201d he said. \u201cI love everything about the state and the team. It was one of those things that you didn\u2019t have expectations and it ended up like a beautiful thing. It\u2019s almost like after the rain, you see the sun. That\u2019s as close as I can explain. But also, free agency it\u2019s a tricky thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Utah \ud83c\udfd4\ufe0f\ud83c\udfb7, from the bottom of my \u2764\ufe0f, thank you for all the love and support you gave me every single night. It meant the world to me \ud83d\udc99<\/p>\n

You welcomed me as a player, put everything aside and gave me a real chance to show you who I am as a person. I\u2019ll never forget that.<\/p>\n

Big\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/VfmbgHyXi5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jusuf Nurki\u0107 \ud83c\udde7\ud83c\udde6 (@bosnianbeast27) April 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

What would it cost?<\/p>\n

When we\u2019re talking about cost, it\u2019s not just about what the Jazz would have to spend to retain the services of Love and Nurki\u0107, but also what it would cost the team to keep them rather than finding other players and what it would cost both Love and Nurki\u0107 to stay, rather than go elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Nurki\u0107 is absolutely right. Free agency is a fickle beast. There\u2019s part of him that wants to be a part of it, that wants to see what other teams might be willing to pay him, how long of a contract he\u2019d be able to garner, and if he could get a spot on a team that would give him a chance at winning a title. At 31, those are the kinds of things he has to weigh.<\/p>\n

In the 2025-26 season, Nurki\u0107 was on the final year of a four-year $80 million deal, making $19.3 million. Because of the success he had with the Jazz this past year, he might get some traction in the free agent market. It would likely cost the Jazz around the same amount to keep him on the roster.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s also a chance that he would be willing to take a bit of a discount for longevity. If the Jazz offered him a three-year deal on a smaller number, it would give Nurki\u0107 security and keep him in a place that he likes with people that he likes. <\/p>\n

Love is less likely to be a money issue for the Jazz because he would likely be willing to come back on a veteran minimum deal. He said that if he is coming back as a mentor only and not even getting minutes on the court, that\u2019s something that wouldn\u2019t bother him.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a good chance that the Jazz would want Love back in exactly that capacity \u2014 playing only when injury or special circumstances required it. But the Jazz have to weigh the cost of using a roster spot and spending the money to keep Love in that role.<\/p>\n

What would the Jazz gain?<\/p>\n

Nurki\u0107\u2019s value is easiest to see. He provides a savvy, backup center with tons of experience in different situations playing with different players who can also help to teach Walker Kessler (assuming the Jazz re-sign him).<\/p>\n

He showed that even at 31, he is capable of being versatile, stretching the floor, posting up, letting the offense run through him and he had the stats to back up all of that.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also a fiercely loyal player who stands up for his teammates and has an edge to him but is also caring and willing to help and offer advice. Personality-wise, he fits into a spot that no one else on the roster does.<\/p>\n

Love, if back on the Jazz roster, would not be padding out the stat sheet or even playing enough minutes for his on-court performance to matter all that much. But Love\u2019s value for this Jazz roster goes well beyond what happens on the court.<\/p>\n

His credibility as a future Hall-of-Famer, as an NBA champion who has seen all sides of the business and everything that goes into the successes and failures of the NBA holds massive value to all of the decision makers, but more importantly to the other players on the team.<\/p>\n

Love was instrumental in guiding some of the Jazz\u2019s young players this past season, notably Bailey and Keyonte George. Both players went to him regularly for advice and as a sounding board. He\u2019s also someone who is incredibly vocal and what he says really matters to the other players on the roster because of the credibility of his career.<\/p>\n

Having Nurki\u0107 and Love on the Jazz roster is not a long-term plan. Eventually, Love\u2019s roster spot would be necessary for depth and it\u2019s possible that the Jazz could find someone that is younger and has more future potential than what Nurki\u0107 could offer.<\/p>\n

But in the short term, as the Jazz are building up from the basement of the league, it\u2019s hard to imagine two players that could be more helpful.<\/p>\n

\"\"Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurki\u0107, left, and forward Kevin Love, right, laugh on the bench during a game against the Dallas Mavericks at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News