The Jazz would be fools to let these 2 veteran big men walk this summer

The Utah Jazz season is finally over. Thank heavens. The Jazz's tank is also finally over. Thank heavens... again? Regardless of the proper phrasing, now the Jazz must turn to the offseason. First will be the draft, where Utah will (hopefully) get a lottery pick, but then it will be free agency.

The biggest priority will be Walker Kessler for obvious reasons. He will hit restricted free agency, and all indications are that this will not be an easy process. Kessler is simultaneously a player Utah can't afford to throw away, but he's also someone who won't have much of a market because there isn't that much available money.

But then, there's Jusuf Nurkic and Kevin Love. Two Jazz additions that no one paid much heed to when it was announced that Utah had traded for them, but once the season was in the books, it feels like the Jazz letting them walk would be a mistake.

Nurkic filled in admirably for the injured Kessler, as, despite his reputation for being an aging center, he proved he still is one of the NBA's better rebounders and an underrated passer as a big man. He can't do what he used to, but he proved enough to convince the Jazz that he's good enough to be around for a legitimate playoff run.

Nurkic also won over the fanbase with how often he'd show love to his teammates and his immediate embrace of Utah. Love pretty much did the same thing, even if he doesn't have nearly as much juice left as Nurkic.

But he was still just as much of a veteran leader in that locker room. He embraced being a mentor for the Jazz's young talent like Ace Bailey and didn't fare too badly when Utah called his name, though they only did it when they were undermanned.

Building a winner requires having the right players in the locker room on top of the right talent. There have been plenty of teams with enough talent to win a title, but not the culture, and that's what killed their title chances.

It's debatable as to whether Donovan Mitchell's and Rudy Gobert's tense relationship was what stopped those Jazz teams from winning a title, but it certainly didn't help. For that same reason, keeping high-character vets like Nurkic and Love is a must for Utah.

Both Nurkic & Love sound like they want to be Jazzmen next season

During their end of season press conferences, it sounded like returning to Utah is an option for both Love and Nurkic. Love made it sound like that's what he wants, and while there's no telling if he speaks for Nurkic, he also made it clear the Bosnian center would also like to come back if given the chance.

Nurkic himself took to his X account, where it sounded like he wasn't shutting the door on a return, but also simultaneously sounded like he wasn't exactly guaranteeing that he would stick around.

His exit press conference also sounded like he was open to returning, but it didn't sound like it was 100% happening this offseason.

Nurkic is entitled to make whatever decision he likes. The truth is that he proved himself to be better than many expected, and he might not have as a big a role in Utah if he were to stay than he would if he played for someone else.

He will be playing behind Kessler, Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Kyle Filipowski next season. He would get to play for a winner, but he wouldn't get to play that much.

While it's in best interest to keep Nurkic and Love, both are entitled to seek out the best option. The Jazz should do everything in their power to convince them that staying put is precisely that.