New team wants to make a trade with the Utah Jazz
There’s a new trade rumor that I really haven’t heard. It’s something that I’ve thought about, but it involves the Utah Jazz and the Indiana Pacers. This comes from Ben Anderson at KSL on his Jazz Notes podcast. Ben Anderson talks about Walker Kesler and in the Indiana Pacers. Here’s what he has to say. I’ve heard the Indiana Pacers have inquired about Walker Kesler for a long time. A lot. That’s going back to the summer. They’ve lost Miles Turner before the injury and even after the injury. This is no one with the Jazz, but other people who have similar jobs to me have heard similar things. You can go listen to the podcast and listen to the whole thing, but it basically Ben Anderson basically lets us know that the Indiana Pacers have been asking about C. Walker Kesler for a long time before the injury obviously, but also after the injury, which is really interesting. This this Pacers team, like Ben Anderson says, they lose Miles Turner. They don’t really have that rotation center that they’d like to replace him with. And what’s interesting about this rumor is that it does make some sort of sense with Utah to to make some sort of move with Walker Kesler if they know that the negotiations this upcoming off season aren’t going to go well. They did not get a deal done with Walker Kesler, so he’s going into restricted free agency. And had the Utah Jazz really wanted to to get a deal done with Walker Kesler, the deal would be done. We know that Walker Kesler during preseason interviews said that he was frustrated that a deal didn’t get done. So, there’s some sort of friction there. We’re not getting the full story about what happened. And it’s interesting that Utah now has in their back pocket a team that’s interested in Walker Kesler. So, if Utah decides that things aren’t going well, they don’t want to pay Walker Kesler a huge amount if another team is going to give him the money, then they have a team they could make a trade with. And maybe because the Indiana Pacers are are talking to the Jazz post injury, and that means post contract negotiations, they might be willing to pay Walker Kesler. And that makes it even more interesting because what if the the Indiana Pacers are a team that says, “We’d like to overpay to get this guy on our team, right? That becomes a threat to this Utah Jazz team.” So, an interesting wrinkle to what’s going on with Kesler and Utah. The thing is is it does make things a little more interesting for the Pacers to try to trade for Walker Kesler to to be in the same situation the Utah Jazz are in. They would probably rather have his his rights keep him as a restricted free agent and then just pay him a certain amount and match those different offers. Now, I could be a little bit off on what they’re able to do there, but that makes sense in that scenario that they could have him on the team and be able to match offers having him as a restricted free agent and then just give him a contract. It makes a lot of sense for Indiana to make a trade for Walker Kesler and then give him a long-term contract if they really want him on the team. Now, obviously, it takes two sides to make a trade. Utah would have to want to do that and would be would have to be okay not resigning him. Utah holds all the leverage here and can just resign him. Even if the Indiana Pacers make a big-time offer to Kesler, Utah can just sign him, right? They don’t have to make a trade. They don’t have to let Walker Kesler walk. They can resign him. But like always with restricted free agency, it’s not even just about the money. other teams can give him like a 2-year op two-year contract with a player option, something like that, and Utah would have to match it. That was the problem with the Gordon Hayward contract back in the day. Utah decided not to give a contract to Gordon Hayward. He signed a contract with the Charlotte Hornets that was a three-year deal plus one. And then that we all know what happened after three years. Gordon Hayward leaves. So, same thing could happen here. Another team could do that same thing with Walker Kesler. It could go bad. There’s a lot of scenarios where this situation doesn’t go great for Utah if they don’t get a Well, they already didn’t. They didn’t get the contract signed. So, they’re already walking on thin ice a little bit. It makes a trade potential a little more possible. Now, what would the Pacers be willing to give the Jazz in a trade? Would they be willing to give their top pick in this upcoming draft? Maybe they are now dropping out of the top five. they might be willing to give that to Utah. My guess is if if there’s a situation where the the Pacers go to lottery, if they lose the lottery, they might be willing to trade that pick for to the Utah Jazz. Would Utah be willing to give Walker Kesler for a top 10 pick and matching salary, maybe like Jarus Walker or something like that. Maybe I would be interested in a top 10 pick, but we’ll see what the Utah Jazz want to do. We know that they plan on being competitive next year, so maybe they aren’t interested in just a top 10 pick. Personally, that’s what I would do because it’s there’s a lot of talent in this draft and you can find a lot of different guys in this draft to at least build on. They might not be as good as Walker Kesler if you’re getting someone at nine or 10, but you never know. You might find someone that really helps your team grow. Don’t forget Keante George was picked at 16. At the same time, Cody Williams was picked at 10. So, you never know. It’s it’s a risk in the draft. And that’s why some teams like the Pacers who want to be good next year with Hallebertton coming out, they might want just a more sure thing with their pick. They might be willing to do something like that with the Jazz. Let me know what would you do. Would you keep Kesler? Would you trade him? Would you risk restricted free agency? Let me know in the comments. I’ll talk to you next time.
Sign up for Prize Picks here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/HOOPSNERD
Use promo code: HOOPSNERD
The Utah Jazz are involved in some NBA trade rumors and this one involves Walker Kessler and the Indiana Pacers.
Subscribe to the Hoops Nerd channel for Utah Jazz News, Utah Jazz Post Game Shows, Utah Jazz Rumors, Utah Jazz Film Break Downs, and more!
My T-Shirt shop: https://www.teepublic.com/user/hansenjames
#utahjazz #basketball #nba