Jusuf Nurkic bravely defends Jazz teammates in the worst way possible

What has gone unnoticed about Jusuf Nurkic is how much he has embraced being a part of the Utah Jazz from Day 1. Even better, he’s done what he can as Utah’s de facto center with Walker Kessler out for the season. And even better-is is how loyal he is to his teammates. He recently expressed his loyalty to his teammates, but it came at the cost of mocking anyone else.

After the Jazz’s impressive win over the Memphis Grizzlies, some fans endlessly debated with former Jazz reporter Tony Jones about the team’s best long-term direction. When someone suggested that Utah is in better hands when it comes to a prospect than Keyonte George, Lauri Markkanen and Ace Bailey, Nurkic responded.

Kudos to Nurkic for making it clear how much he embraces his Jazz teammates by standing up for them here. It’s clear that he won’t tolerate nasty stories about them and that he will speak up if it ever comes up, but doing it this way is not the right way to handle it.

Look, not to be a bummer, and it’s not that this isn’t funny, but most of all it’s mean. There’s no reason to bash someone like that when their biggest crime is simply disagreeing with where the Jazz are apparently going.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and as unpleasant as it may be, it is not right to react this way.

It’s still wrong for fans to pretend they can see into the future

Even though he didn’t say this literally, if you can get past Nurkic’s joke, what he’s saying is that the Jazz have every reason to see what they have with who’s on their team right now. That point of view is actually quite valid, whether fans like it or not.

The bottom line is that no one knows what the future holds. We don’t know if the top picks are better than what the Jazz have now, just like we don’t know the ceiling of the Jazz’s top three players when they all reach their peak.

In a perfect world, the Jazz could add a top prospect to their developing core, and that should still be a factor no matter how the season goes. It’s possible it will be in a month or so, but Jazz fans should enjoy the ride.

The bottom line is that no one knows what the future holds, and until the Jazz’s future becomes final this season, there’s no reason to lose our heads. Yet.