Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge might be shaking his head weeks after the Jazz agreed to a deal with the Charlotte Hornets. The trade has looked even more brilliant for Jeff Peterson and company after Jusuf Nurkic was recently criticized by Bosnia and Herzegovina men's national basketball team head coach Adis Beciragic for his lack of conditioning.
The veteran big man is currently carrying out his national duties, with Bosnia already neck deep in preparation for EuroBasket 2025. Unfortunately, the squad has looked atrocious in its tune-up bouts, which isn't a good sign, given that it is seeded in a group that consists of Spain, Italy, Greece, and Georgia in the quadrennial tournament.
Despite a solid showing from Nurkic and their double-digit loss against Montenegro, he was publicly berated by Beciragic for being "out of shape" and "barely" being able to run.
Hornets outsmarted a legendary executive
There was an argument that Nurkic could have been a serviceable big man for the Hornets this season before his contract expires in 2026. With his ability to bang bodies against the league's strongest fives, serve as a connector on offense, and space the floor, he definitely had a strong case to stay at least one more year with the Hive.
At worst, Nurk could have been a trade asset for Charlotte, who instead decided to cash in and turn it into a ball-handling and shot-creating help for LaMelo Ball.
However, Ainge had many heads scratching when he signed on to the idea that Utah should send the second-round pick to the Hornets. Some folks believe that Buzz City already got the better end of the stick by landing Collin Sexton, but the draft asset was the icing on the cake.
Nurkic's recent issue may have only exacerbated Ainge's woes. The center doesn't figure to play that much for the rebuilding Jazz, although the former NBA Executive of the Year awardee probably views him as trade bait. But the 30-year-old has some work to do to build up his value after drawing the ire of his national team's head coach.
Maybe Nurkic can turn things around not just in EuroBasket but also when the regular season begins. That would be easier said than done because of the tough competition Bosnia will face this summer, and the possibility that Utah would rather play its young guys than assign plenty of minutes to a vet who is presumably not a part of its future.
For now, though, it appears Charlotte was able to outmaneuver an executive who has developed a legendary reputation for his knack for fleecing other franchises. Hopefully, the Hornets, under Peterson's guidance, can continue pulling off savvy roster moves on their way out of the bottom of the Eastern Conference.