Kevin Love and Jusuf Nurkić want to stay in Utah. Should the Jazz keep them?

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

“Nurk and I have spoken about it at length, just how much we’ve enjoyed our time here” Love said. “We would be back here in an instant, trying to be great vets and help guys like Ace (Bailey), who’s 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.”

Nurkić and Love both didn’t know what to expect about their roles with the Jazz. They didn’t know what to expect from the fanbase, from the organization, from the other players on the roster, from head coach Will Hardy 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.

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.

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.

“Nurk and I have spoken about it at length, just how much we’ve enjoyed our time here. We would be back here in an instant, trying to be great vets and help guys like Ace (Bailey), who’s 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.”

Utah Jazz's Kevin Love

“All 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,” Love said. “Like whoever it is, they’ve been incredible.”

Nurkić 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’s not one to sugarcoat a situation.

Pretty immediately, he found mutual respect with Hardy and was impressed with the willingness to learn from the young players and also their talent.

Nurkić 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’s what he found with the Jazz. He had fun, and he wants more of that.

“It would be so easy to come back, and I want to come back,” he said. “I love everything about the state and the team. It was one of those things that you didn’t have expectations and it ended up like a beautiful thing. It’s almost like after the rain, you see the sun. That’s as close as I can explain. But also, free agency it’s a tricky thing.”

What would it cost?

When we’re talking about cost, it’s not just about what the Jazz would have to spend to retain the services of Love and Nurkić, but also what it would cost the team to keep them rather than finding other players and what it would cost both Love and Nurkić to stay, rather than go elsewhere.

Nurkić is absolutely right. Free agency is a fickle beast. There’s 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’d 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.

In the 2025-26 season, Nurkić 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.

But there’s 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 Nurkić security and keep him in a place that he likes with people that he likes.

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’s something that wouldn’t bother him.

There’s a good chance that the Jazz would want Love back in exactly that capacity — 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.

What would the Jazz gain?

Nurkić’s 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).

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.

He’s 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.

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’s value for this Jazz roster goes well beyond what happens on the court.

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.

Love was instrumental in guiding some of the Jazz’s young players this past season, notably Bailey and Keyonte George. Both players went to him regularly for advice and as a sounding board. He’s 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.

Having Nurkić and Love on the Jazz roster is not a long-term plan. Eventually, Love’s roster spot would be necessary for depth and it’s possible that the Jazz could find someone that is younger and has more future potential than what Nurkić could offer.

But in the short term, as the Jazz are building up from the basement of the league, it’s hard to imagine two players that could be more helpful.

Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkić, 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