Two Utah Jazz Veterans Interested in Staying Past This Season

The Utah Jazz have a pair of veterans on their roster who could be interested in a stay longer than just one season.

Those two veterans are Jusuf Nurkic and Kevin Love, who, according to Deseret News‘ NBA insider Sarah Todd, would be interested in an extended stay on the roster past this season after coming aboard last summer.

“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,” Todd wrote.

“That said, when it comes to Nurkić specifically, his play this season has been pretty remarkable considering what the narrative was coming into the year. He might have played himself into a bigger role with more money.”

Could Nurkic & Love Spend Another Season in Utah?

Both Love and Nurkic were brought into Utah earlier this offseason via their respective trade pathways. Love was added via the Jazz’s three-team deal with the Miami Heat involving John Collins, and Nurkic was brought in as part of the Collin Sexton swap with the Charlotte Hornets.

Initially, both were seen as a bit more of rental veterans who would have a brief stay up until this year’s trade deadline or for the rest of the season, without much thought going into either’s status as a long-term fit. For Love in particular, there were doubts he’d even be suiting up for a game in Utah as a potential buyout candidate.

But as the season has progressed, it’s begun to turn into a bit more of a strong fit between both veterans and their roles within Utah, to the point where both could be a part of the Jazz’s plans heading into next season. 

Love has been an extremely positive veteran voice in the locker room, and has been a serviceable backup big man in the games that he’s played in. Nurkic, who’s been vaulted into a much bigger role than he was suspected to have before the season, has been one of the many pleasant surprises of the Jazz’s season altogether, and a big reason as to why he wasn’t dealt at the deadline earlier this month.

Now, as Todd mentions, there’s a world that for Nurkic, he’s played his way into a larger contract from another team later this summer due to how well he’s performed during his debut season in Utah; filling in as a quality starting five in place of the injured Walker Kessler, and being a central hub for the team’s offense as a playmaker in the frontcourt.

But, if the price is right, it seems more than likely both the Jazz and Nurkic would have a mutual fit for a deal on next year’s roster, as both Will Hardy and Nurkic himself have been vocal about how well they like to have each other around.

It’s not only a testament to the environment Hardy and the rest of the Jazz staff have built heading into what should be a strong 2026-27 campaign, but also a nod to the success Utah’s front office put together this past offseason despite some initial doubt revolving around their trades around the edges to add guys like Love and Nurkic in the first place.