The Jusuf Nurkic experience has been a lot better than many anticipated for the Utah Jazz. Not only has he taken his role as Walker Kessler's fill-in and run with it, but he's carved out his niche as a high-post facilitator and elite rebounder for them. Whether it's enough to keep him around could very well be determined by what the Jazz do between now and March 1, aka, the NBA buyout deadline.
It sounds ridiculous that the Jazz would even think about waiving Nurkic, but keep in mind that they are pulling out all the stops - including supposedly unethical ones - to tank, and part of those stops is benching Nurkic either for the fourth quarter or the entire game.
Utah is entitled to make whatever decisions they want, but in a contract year in which players like Nurkic would love to showcase themselves for their next deal, he's okay with that?
Nurkic has gone out of his way to show how much he's loved his time in Utah, which is rare, all things considered, but in his early 30s, one would think he would want to prove himself as much as he can. He probably won't get as big a deal as he has in the past, but he has shown he still has the skills of an NBA rotation big.
Him getting benched in the name of tanking gets in the way of his next deal, but there doesn't seem to be any intel indicating any displeasure over it. However, if Utah really plans to go all out, it would seem to be in everyone's best interest that Nurkic play somewhere else where he would get legitimate playing time.
Unless, of course, both the Jazz and Nurkic already have an understanding of what will go down this summer.
It sounds like Jazz & Nurkic want to stay together
The Deseret News' Sarah Todd noted that it sounds like after all that's happened, there's a mutual desire from both sides for Nurkic to remain in Utah.
"I have it on good authority that both Nurkić and Love have enjoyed their time enough to consider making their stays in Utah a little more permanent.
"...The market will probably make this decision. But Nurkić has been pretty public about his feelings for Jazz head coach Will Hardy, his respect for the organization and how much he’s been pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. It could be really good for the Jazz to keep him and they might be able to find a deal that would keep everyone happy," Todd wrote.
The Jazz's open cap room took a hit when they acquired Jaren Jackson Jr. Further complicating Nurkic staying long-term is Walker Kessler's restricted free agency. However, if the Jazz can work it out, it would be a home run.
JJJ can cover for Nurkic's defensive inadequacies while Nurkic can cover up JJJ's shoddy rebounding. Simply adding Nurkic for depth purposes can go a long way in keeping the Jazz's loaded frontcourt healthy.
If the plan isn't to waive Nurkic and keep him around for the long haul, Jazz fans should be all for it, but we'll get a better idea of what their plans are on March 1.