Utah
Utah Jazz Have ‘Discussed’ Walker Kessler Trade With Knicks
It seems Utah Jazz could be in the market to move one of their young pieces in a trade, and could have even had some conversations about a deal earlier this summer.
According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, the Jazz have “discussed” a trade revolving around 23-year-old center Walker Kessler with the New York Knicks, with the young big man potentially not part of Utah’s “long-term plan”:
“Per multiple sources, Utah has discussed Walker Kessler previously in trade, including a stalled conversation with the New York Knicks. He doesn’t seem part of the team’s long-term plan.”
– Eric Picnus, Bleacher Report
Kessler, who was once named a Rookie of the Year finalist his first year in the league, is coming off of a bumpy sophomore campaign in Utah that was riddled with injury and inconsistency, which has seemingly led to the Jazz poking around to see what they could get on the trade market for him.
The Knicks have been longing for a center ahead of the next NBA season amid their recent departure of Isaiah Hartenstein to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and with Kessler’s prospects looking shaky in Utah, a phone call or two may have been made to try and get his services aboard.
Kessler’s 2023-24 campaign consisted of 64 games where he averaged 8.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks– numbers that look eerily similar to his first year in Salt Lake City. The Auburn product didn’t make his anticipated second-year jump as many had hoped, yet a strong third year with the Jazz could help cement his status on the roster for the foreseeable future.
While talks have stalled around Kessler and the Knicks, the Jazz big man could be entering a make-or-break year for his staying power on the roster. The negotiation window for an extension will open for him next summer, so we likely need to see a bounce-back campaign to help him secure that second contract in Utah.
Continue to keep an eye on Walker Kessler, as he looks to be one of the most intriguing pieces on the Jazz roster across the 2024-25 NBA season.
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SALT LAKE CITY — A California man in Utah, as part of his duties with the National Guard, is accused of trying to solicit sex from a young teenager.
Joshua Ruben Rodriguez, 29, of Fresno, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with attempted rape of a child, a first-degree felony, and enticement of a minor, a second-degree felony.
The investigation began when an agent with the Utah State Bureau of Investigation posed as a 13-year-old girl on a “popular social media site … in an attempt to locate and apprehend adults attempting to have sexual contact with children,” according to charging documents.
On April 16, Rodriguez sent the agent a message — believing he was talking to a teen girl — that stated, “I’ll be direct with you, I would like to get to know you and (have sex with) your mind into a daze to where you feel like a woman,” according to charging documents.
When the “girl” asked if he had a problem with her age, Rodriguez replied, “I don’t have a problem with your age,” the charges state.
The agent told Rodriguez to meet at an apartment complex in Salt Lake County where the girl lived, claiming her mother would be gone. When Rodriguez arrived, he was taken into custody, the charges state.
“(Rodriguez) does not have ties to Utah. He is a resident of Fresno, California. (He) was in town as part of his military service with the California National Guard,” prosecutors stated in charging documents while requesting he be held without bail pending trial.
ST. GEORGE, Utah (KUTV) — One person was hospitalized at the St. George Regional Hospital after a car rolled and caught fire just south of the Utah-Arizona border.
The Beaver Dam and Littlefield Fire Department in Arizona said its crews responded to the crash near the Black Rock Road exit – roughly two miles south of the state border – on Sunday night.
Upon arrival, crews put out the car fire and found the driver had left the scene. A single occupant, who was able to get out of the car on their own, was transported to the hospital by a Beaver Dam ambulance.
MORE | Crashes
Their condition has not been publicly released.
Details on what led to the crash and the condition of the driver were not immediately available.
The Beaver Dam and Littlefield Fire Department said law enforcement investigated the scene.
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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz missed out on the NBA Playoffs, but still scored a big win thanks to a coin flip.
In Monday’s tiebreaker coin flip to determine who had the fourth-worst record in the league last season, the Jazz came out winners over the Sacramento Kings, who had the same 22-60 record.
Had the Jazz lost the coin flip, they would have been fifth in NBA Draft Lottery odds. Only the worst four teams are guaranteed to remain within the top eight of the lottery.
If Utah had fallen to fifth, there would have been the chance they could have dropped out of the top 8 teams in the lottery, and owed the draft pick to Oklahoma City, which was top-8 protected in a previous trade.
The Jazz now have an 11.5 percent chance to win the first overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, which is scheduled for Sunday, May 10.
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