It’s been a while since the idea of a Walker Kessler trade was mooted. To be completely honest, that was only a thing because of how often the Los Angeles Lakers were brought up as a Kessler destination. Even if he likes it there, the Jazz wouldn’t want to send him to LA. One Kessler candidate that has some appeal to the Jazz as a trade partner is the Indiana Pacers.
First, let’s provide some background context. In recent weeks, the Pacers have emerged as a team with legitimate interest in Kessler, twice in fact. Okay, he’s a restricted free agent, so there’s no way the Pacers can pry him away from the Jazz, right? Well, but something also came up.
Nearly a month ago, it was revealed that the Jazz and Kessler are at odds over what his price tag should be next summer (which was reaffirmed in that second Pacers-Jazz report). Perhaps the most viable way for the Pacers to get their hands on him is to acquire him before he ends up in restricted free agency.
But the Jazz obviously don’t cough up Kessler for nothing. Needless to say, he’s a different breed than Collin Sexton and John Collins.
How the Jazz & Pacers could work out a trade
While salary matching would obviously come into play, the two parties could trade this off with each other, which is something people should be aware of.
Pacers get: Kessler
Jazz get: 2026 top-3 protected first-round pick, unprotected 2028 first-round pick
Despite the Pacers having multiple trade exceptions, they have a hard cap at the first tax deferral, meaning they can’t use it. However, matching a salary for Kessler shouldn’t be difficult as he makes just under $5 million.
Let’s confront the elephant in the room. The Pacers are so terrible that it’s not even up for debate who is better between them and the Jazz right now. The Pacers are very clearly worse, as they won’t have Tyrese Haliburton all season and are losing Myles Turner to Milwaukee.
So a trade like this would come with a huge amount of risk, as Utah would be betting that Indiana would be bad, but not quite bad enough to be in the top three. They could end up with a high lottery pick because of their issues for Kessler, while also counting on Haliburton not being back to normal until 2028 as Achilles tendons are still delicate injuries.
This could also be a good thing in case the Jazz do indeed lose their pick to the Thunder in 2026. A trade like this allows them to safely try to win more games and still get a high lottery pick. Of course, this all depends on whether the team believes parting ways with the young center is the best way to go.
Look, if the Jazz believe Kessler is the center of the future and intend to give him a raise this summer, then scenarios aren’t even worth discussing. However, there is way too much smoke to not leave this on the table for too long.
The Pacers’ interest in Kessler seems as legitimate as the Jazz’s uncertainty about him long-term. If Indiana is serious about getting him, Utah could offer them a chance to get him and pay him in the long run, but that front office certainly wouldn’t make it easy.
Honestly, this feels like a trade that both of these teams’ fan bases would definitely say no to, and while the two sides might disagree on this exact trade, there is a scenario where they would lose one, right?
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