Walker Kessler is unhappy with the Jazz‘s handling of his restricted free agency so far, reports Sam Amick of The Athletic.

According to Amick, the Jazz have been leveraging their right of first refusal as a way to minimize Kessler’s market. That has led the former first-round pick to “strongly consider” the possibility of playing for another team in the future after he was already frustrated by the way his rookie scale extension talks went last offseason, league sources tell The Athletic.

Utah can make the 24-year-old center a restricted free agent if the team issues him a $7.1MM qualifying offer, which is essentially a one-year contract with an implied no-trade clause. Accepting that QO would make Kessler an unrestricted free agent in 2027.

That’s one possible outcome, with the others being re-signing with the Jazz; signing an offer sheet with a rival team, which Utah could match; or a potential sign-and-trade agreement.

League sources tell Amick that Kessler has long desired to be a long-term fixture in Utah, but he has been “extremely disappointed” by his early RFA discussions with the Jazz.

As Amick notes, there’s also long been an expectation that retaining Kessler would be a priority for the Jazz. There’s no indication that still isn’t the case, yet the team also seems to want bring him back on a contract as small as possible.

Despite playing just five games in 2025/26 due to a season-ending shoulder injury, which required surgery, Kessler is highly coveted around the league, according to Amick, with the Lakers, Hawks, Wizards, Raptors and Knicks among the teams that have previously tried to trade for the 7’2″ big man.

The Pacers pursued Kessler ahead of the February trade deadline before turning their attention to Ivica Zubac, Amick reports. The significant haul Indiana sent Los Angeles in that deal illustrates how Kessler might be valued on the open market, says Amick.