Jusuf Nurkic Is Out at Least Four Weeks With a Toe Tear and Jaxson Hayes Is Utah's Center for Now

Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic will miss at least four weeks with a partial plantar plate tear in the second toe of his right foot, NBA insider Chris Haynes reported Wednesday. The timeline wipes out the rest of Nurkic's preseason and, per KSL Sports, the first eight games of the regular season, with a re-evaluation expected before Utah's road game at Dallas on Friday, Nov. 6.

The injury had been building. Nurkic played 11 minutes in the Jazz's 109-97 preseason-opening win over Denver on Oct. 4, sat out the team's open practice with right foot soreness and missed Tuesday's rematch with the Nuggets. The Jazz open the regular season on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Memphis, a day after the league's Oct. 20 opening night, and play their home opener Oct. 23 against New Orleans.

Why this hits Utah's frontcourt plan

Nurkic was the most common projection to start at center for Will Hardy this season. He re-signed on a two-year deal this summer after Utah sent Walker Kessler to the Lakers in a sign-and-trade, which removed the team's longtime starting center. That left the center rotation as one of the open questions of camp, and now the front-runner is out until November.

It is also another lost stretch for a player who has had plenty of them. Nurkic appeared in 41 games last season after arriving from Charlotte in the trade that sent Collin Sexton to the Hornets, averaging 10.9 points and 10.4 rebounds with a career-best 4.8 assists. His season ended in late February when he underwent surgery for a badly deviated septum. A plantar plate tear is a ligament injury at the base of the toe, and the four-week window is a minimum, not a target.

Who starts at center

Utah answered that question for at least one night already. With Nurkic, Lauri Markkanen, Kyle Filipowski and Brice Sensabaugh all out on Tuesday, Hardy started Jaxson Hayes at center alongside Keyonte George, rookie Darryn Peterson, Ace Bailey and Jaren Jackson Jr.

Hayes is the natural replacement. Utah signed him to a two-year, $12 million deal with a team option on the second season in July, hours after the Kessler trade, as the traditional backup to Nurkic. He averaged 7.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 18.3 minutes for the Lakers last season. He is an athletic rim-runner and shot-blocker, not a hub, and he will not replicate Nurkic's passing.

The more interesting lever is Jackson. The 2023 Defensive Player of the Year has played center at times throughout his career, and Salt Lake beat coverage has pointed out that Hardy can slide him to the five if he wants more spacing. Jackson started next to Nurkic at power forward in the preseason opener. Lineups with Jackson at center and Markkanen at the four would be Utah's most skilled frontcourt, but they would also put more physical strain on a player whose health has been a recurring question.

Filipowski is the swing piece. He has missed both Denver games with a tight lower back. Once healthy, he gives Hardy a passing big who can play either frontcourt spot. Bamba, on a two-year deal that is only partially guaranteed, is the emergency option.

Fantasy fallout

Jaxson Hayes is the immediate beneficiary. In standard leagues he is a late-round flier or early-season pickup for blocks and field-goal percentage, not a must-add. His minutes ceiling depends on how often Hardy goes small, and his rebounding totals have never matched his size. In deeper leagues and in category formats that reward efficiency and blocks, he is worth a final-round pick in drafts held this week.

Jaren Jackson Jr. gains the most upside. If Hardy leans into Jackson at center for stretches, his rebound and block totals have room to rise. Drafters who were already targeting Jackson should not move him down because of this news. If anything, the Nurkic injury removes a body that was taking frontcourt rebounds.

Lauri Markkanen sat Tuesday with neck soreness, which bears watching, but a thinner center rotation does not hurt him. Smaller Utah lineups should keep his usage high.

Jusuf Nurkic drops to a late-round stash in deep leagues only. He was a borderline mid-round center when healthy because of his rebounding and assists, but with at least eight regular-season games missed and a history of extended absences, he does not belong on standard draft boards. If he goes undrafted, revisit him on waivers in early November.

Betting angle

Nurkic's absence matters more for Utah's defensive rebounding than for its point spread. Hayes and Jackson both bring more mobility as shot-blockers, but neither matches Nurkic's bulk on the glass. Opposing centers' rebounding props are the logical place to look for value against Utah until Nurkic returns. Opening night at Memphis puts Utah against a Grizzlies frontcourt that includes Zach Edey, a matchup where Utah's size disadvantage will show.

Verdexed's game-by-game call for the Jazz and the rest of the league will be on the NBA predictions page (/nba/predictions) once the regular season starts.

What's next

The Jazz have two preseason games left, against San Antonio on Monday, Oct. 12, and Phoenix on Friday, Oct. 16. Those games are the last chance to watch Hayes, Jackson and Filipowski in starter-level roles before rosters lock. Watch whether Hardy keeps Hayes with the first unit or experiments with Jackson at center, and whether Filipowski is cleared in time to play.

Nurkic's checkpoint is the week of Nov. 2. If the re-evaluation before the Dallas game goes well, he could be back in the second week of November. If it does not, Utah's center job belongs to Hayes and Jackson well into the month, and fantasy managers should treat any Nurkic return as a bonus rather than a plan.