Report proves Jazz fooled everyone with heavily-criticized move

Following the report that the Utah Jazz had swapped Collin Sexton for Jusuf Nurkic, the universal reaction from the Jazz fanbase was, "WHAT?!" Nurkic had an unimpressive stint in Phoenix, which didn't get much better in Charlotte. However, in Utah, he's flipped the script.

Not only has the move looked smarter in hindsight, but Nurkic has played well enough to make Jazz history.

Temporarily taking Walker Kessler's spot as the team's starting center has helped, but landmarks like these show that Nurkic is far from finished. Pending any surprises, Kessler will be back and take his starting spot next season, but that doesn't mean Nurkic is going anywhere.

Nurkic is an unrestricted free agent after this season, and he may want a starting job next year. Regardless of what he wants, The Deseret News' Sarah Todd confirmed that they believe Nurkic should remain with the Jazz's quartet of talent past this season.

"There seems to be a group of four that the Jazz brass feels particularly great about moving forward — Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, and Walker Kessler, and there is increasing belief that Nurkić and Mykhailiuk could be valuable as supporters to that group of four beyond this season," Todd wrote.

Nurkic would be one of the better backup big men should he return to a fully healthy Jazz team next season. He has shown he still has post-game, has a nose for the boards, and can make some pretty impressive passes. Asking him to be a rim protector is stretching it, but Utah has figured out how to get the most out of him when many thought it was over for him.

The feeling is mutual from Nurkic, but what will the price be?

Nurkic confirmed a few days ago that he would like to re-sign with the Jazz this offseason, though he seems pretty open-minded to anything. Like anyone in his shoes, he would likely prefer a starting job, and that will be harder to pass up if a team offers him both that and an offer richer than Utah.

The Jazz's two offseason priorities will be to use their cap space on a game-changer and re-sign Kessler. In a perfect world, they'd have all of that and re-sign Nurkic. Because they will put those plans ahead of Nurkic, the question will whether Nurkic will be willing to wait until they focus on him or sign somewhere that can give him the role and money he wants.

Regardless of the outcome, many were still laughing at the Jazz for acquiring Nurkic from the Hornets a few months ago. And now, Nurkic has played well enough to both make all the naysayers eat their words while making it pretty clear he's someone that Utah knows that they need to keep.