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Tim MacMahon: The Jazz are determined to keep Walker Kessler. Now, there is a gulf between the Jazz front office and Walker Kessler's camp in terms of his value. The Jazz have put it off on the table for five years and roughly $140 million. Walker Kessler's representation believes his value is significantly higher than that. There were discussions with the Indiana Pacers before they traded for Zubac about trading for Kessler, giving up two first-round picks and signing him to a deal that would have been north of that. The Jazz have also been very firm: They want a five-year deal, they want a five-year commitment. Kessler is a restricted free agent. The Jazz would have the right to match any offer that he received in restricted free agency, and they're using that leverage. These are tense negotiations.
The Pacers are looking to trade for a pick somewhere in the 30s early in the second round, according to league sources. Indiana's top selection, of course, had to be conveyed to the LA Clippers as a condition of the Ivica Zubac trade after it fell to No. 5 in the lottery.
Tony East: You may have seen some pictures of Jenny Boucek and Jim Boylen with Ivica Zubac overseas. Zubac is on the Croatia squad for the upcoming FIBA World Cup 2027 qualifying window. They play Italy in a friendly on June 24, the competition starts in early July.
Tragedy struck a bachelorette party hosted by Tyrese Haliburton's fiancée, Jade Jones, in St. Barts earlier this month when one of her friends died ... TMZ Sports has learned. Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ Sports ... 26 year old Makenzi Kern passed away unexpectedly from health complications ... and the family does not suspect that foul play, drugs, or alcohol contributed to her death.
Several celebrity Knicks fans were in attendance to watch the team win the championship, including Spike Lee. After the game, Lee's former adversary, Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller, took to Instagram to congratulate Lee on the team's championship. “This may shock MANY, but I have to give my Brotha @officialspikelee his flowers, he’s been around for the Good-Bad-Ugly.. Congrats Spike.. ” wrote Miller.
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The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder open as co-favorites to win the 2027 NBA Finals at +250, followed by the Boston Celtics at +550. The New York Knicks, despite winning the championship on Saturday, have the fourth best odds at +700. The next block of teams have significantly longer odds beginning with the Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets at +2800, and the Minnesota Timbewolves, Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers at +3000.
External trade interest in New Orleans' Trey Murphy III remains intense, league sources say. Yet I was told this week that the inquiries have all been of an inbound nature. League sources say that the Pelicans have not offered Murphy anywhere and that this is the first time their new front office regime headed by Joe Dumars has been truly willing to field offers for Murphy. As one team interested in Murphy put it to me this week: "They want a lot." Two teams known to have expressed interest in the 25-year-old sharpshooter, I'm told, are Detroit and Indiana.
Starks said that during the 2023-24 season, Knicks owner James Dolan began reserving 14 courtside baseline seats for former players. The act started to get attention on TV during the 2025 Eastern Conference finals when the Knicks played the Indiana Pacers, and former Knicks such as Starks, Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Allan Houston, Stephon Marbury and others were seen cheering enthusiastically.
As much as the idea of Thunder splurging for Giannis to counter Wemby might make sense on paper, league sources with knowledge of the Thunder's thinking continue to dismiss them as a legitimate Giannis Antetokounmpo suitor. The Thunder obviously have the draft capital and an abundance of talented young players to get Milwaukee's attention, but it's wise in times like these to consider Sam Presti's history. Presti is hardly known for paying exorbitant trade costs to bolster his roster ... let alone for an older newcomer like Antetokounmpo would be at 31. You'll recall that Paul George was 27 — smack dab in the middle of his prime — when the Thunder acquired PG-13 from the Pacers without even sacrificing a draft pick in a swap that sent Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo to Indiana.
“Reaction appears to be very positive. I’ve heard from a lot of my media colleagues. Right now, there’s a lot of opinions and theories out there about the team,” Agness said. “Therefore, reporting — from inside and outside the organization — is critical. What’s happening in the industry just this week, including several major publications making job cuts, is not lost on me either. This is not Agness’s first brush with credential revocation from Pacers Sports & Entertainment, which owns both the Pacers and the Fever. His credentials with the Pacers have been barred since 2024, when he was accused of parking in the media lot without permission during the 2024 All-Star Game, a charge he denies. “Before then, I was approached and embarrassed in front of other media and local PR people in the media room,” Agness told FOS. “Since then, I’ve handled it privately and continued to cover the team. I’ve asked countless times to have a conversation so that we can gain understanding and enjoy a fresh start. But those messages are not returned.”
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The Indiana Fever have revoked the credential of longtime Indiana Pacers and Fever beat reporter Scott Agness, he shared on his own Fieldhouse Files website. According to Agness, the Fever notified him via email on May 21 that he would be barred from accessing team events because of a social media report they claim spread “inaccurate and unsubstantiated” information regarding Caitlin Clark’s health status for the season.
This situation also comes against the backdrop of my relationship with the Pacers. Before the start of the 2023-24 season, my access to the team inexplicably shifted overnight — after being the only one to cover every training camp practice — from daily access to weekends only. Then, following NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, those restrictions increased to no access and I was taken off the email distribution list because I parked in the media lot “without the appropriate passes or clearance.” That’s just not true.
I do not have a clear explanation, but I believe that they do not appreciate my existing personal and professional relationships that I’ve built from being at The Fieldhouse for more than 20 years. One concern raised involved me catching up with a member of the support staff several hours before Game 1 of the NBA Finals. When I was informed that I needed to leave the court area, I did so immediately. Another involved having a conversation with a longtime member of building security in the corner where the team enters the floor. It was several hours before the game, no players or coaches were present, and the area was not restricted to team personnel; fans walk on one side of the tunnel at games.
However, that has now affected my standing with NBA PR as well. I would have been the only Indianapolis media member in Los Angeles last February to cover Pascal Siakam’s fourth All-Star appearance, but that credential request was declined for the first time. The same thing happened last month for the NBA Draft Lottery, despite my radio partner, 107.5 The Fan (the flagship station of the team), wanting to include my coverage in its Monday morning program.