Pacers' Ivica Zubac Trade Looks Even Better After Lakers Acquire Walker Kessler
Pacers' Ivica Zubac Trade Looks Even Better After Lakers Acquire Walker Kessler
Indiana was heavily linked to Walker Kessler before the trade deadline, but acquiring Ivica Zubac instead may have been one of the franchise's smartest decisions.Alex Golden|
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Indiana PacersLos Angeles LakersUtah JazzLos Angeles ClippersOn Wednesday, July 1, 2026, the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a lucrative four-year, $130M deal with Utah Jazz big man Walker Kessler. Los Angeles and Utah have agreed to complete a sign-and-trade that will send Kessler to the Lakers for two unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, and two first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030.
This is a massive haul that the Lakers are paying to solidify the now and future of their center position, going after the best five man on the open market. Indiana was once rumored to have interest in the Jazz's big man during the NBA Trade Deadline period, but Utah reportedly declined the Pacers offer. This was the exact same offer that Indiana ended up sending the Los Angeles Clippers for Ivica Zubac.
While there are reasons to believe that trading for Kessler would have been the better move for Indiana, there is no denying that Indiana in retrospect made the right move in February. While Kessler is a solid young player with plenty of room to grow, he is making an average annual value of $32.5M. Indiana's big man, Ivica Zubac is making $20.3M this season, and $21.7M the folliwing season according to SpoTrac.com.
Being able to acquire a center that is just as good, or slightly even better for $11M less this season is a steal in itself, and it allowed the Pacers more financial flexibility to sign another free agent in the offseason.
If the Pacers had acquired Kessler at the trade deadline and agreed to the same exact deal the Lakers agreed to, Indiana would have been a first-apron team, and would not have been able to inked Kelly Oubre Jr. to the two-year, $17M contract they signed him to -- unless they elected to move off of Jarace Walker's $8.4M contract.
Nobody knew exactly how much Kessler would demand on the open market, and maybe the Lakers had to overpay to keep the Jazz from matching the offer, but for a Pacers team that is trying to win a championship next season, adding Zubac and Oubre Jr. for almost $4M less than what the Lakers will be paying Kessler in his first season was a no-brainer decision.
At the end of the day, the Pacers feel the best way to build a roster is with depth. By focusing in on acquiring a player at the Trade Deadline who fits perfectly into their budget, fills a hole on their roster, and has the skillset to elevate this team's ceiling, Indiana was not only able to address their starting center need, but their backup wing depth.
The Pacers front office of Kevin Pritchard, Chad Buchanan, and Ted Wu have done a terrific job of targeting the right players with the right skillset to ensure that this team is strong enough to compete in the improved Eastern Conference. There would have been other holes to fill had Indiana tied itself to an overpay for Walker Kessler, especially when it can get similar -- if not better-- production from Ivica Zubac for $11M less per season.
You can follow me on X @AlexGoldenNBA and listen to my daily podcast, Setting The Pace, wherever you get your podcasts.
Published 22 minutes ago
ALEX GOLDENI was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and I am the host and creator of Setting The Pace: A Pacers Podcast. I have been covering the team since 2015, and talking about them on the podcast since 2018. I have been a credentialed media member since 2023.
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Don’t forget San Diego’s July 4 fiasco — then vote the bums out
Don't forget SD's July 4 fiasco — then vote the bums out- US News
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Skip to main content OpinionDon’t forget San Diego’s July 4 fiasco — then vote the bums out
By CA Post Editorial Board Published July 1, 2026, 9:57 p.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The California Post on GoogleRipped from the headlines of the satirical Babylon Bee:
A DEI extravaganza to mark the 250th birthday of the USA!
Oh wait.
That’s not the Bee; it’s actually a thing: San Diego County plans an identity-politics spectacular this July 4.
Wanna go?
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The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted this year to align the county’s Independence Day event with “equity and racial justice” goals.
Per a social media post from the mayor of El Cajon, the three-hour program will feature: a “tribal intimate blessing welcoming to land”; a tribal invocation; the American and black national anthems; local tribal community stories; Latino community stories; Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community stories; LGBTQIA+ community stories; and black and African community stories.
Whew. It’s exhausting just to read about.
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But more to the point: all of this … on July 4 of America’s 250th year? What message does the county of San Diego mean to send?
Not one that elevates fun, family, unity, respect, gratitude and patriotism — traditional Independence Day fare.
Instead, the county stoops to woke pandering.
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Extolling favored groups on the nation’s birthday is e pluribus unum in reverse: ex uno, plura.
It’s divisive. It’s ill-timed. And it’s disrespectful to the nation, to its founding values and to the US Armed Forces who have fought and sometimes died to guard the rights the grievance crowd takes for granted.
In the very recent past, Americans of all stars and stripes could agree on some things, including the Fourth of July and its fun family patriotic fare.
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Remember the iconic jingle, “We love baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet?”
Those were days when Americans united around major holidays, around a shared heritage of freedom and around pride in a country that’s the freest in the world.
No longer.
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These days, the scolds can’t be satisfied, the socialists win elections from New York to Colorado (unthinkable not long ago) and divisive Fourth of July programs emerge in once-moderate places like San Diego County.
Increasingly, elected officials want to shove a thumb in the eye of the nation, its founding, its traditions and its glory.
Enough.
Note to the radicals who rush to tear America down on perhaps its most cherished holiday:
Stop being petulant about losing national elections.
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Love your country even if you don’t love its current leader.
Teach, respect and appreciate the values of 1776: liberty, individual rights, equality, limited government and the rule of law.
Ditch the woke bilge and restore the picnics, US flags and fireworks.
Restore e pluribus unum.
Skip the lecture series and let the people have fun.
And a bonus memo to San Diego County voters: Remember this farce next election.
Just maybe, in another grand American tradition, you’ll do this:
Throw the bums out.
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