NBA Rumors: Walker Kessler Seen as Unavailable 'in Any Realistic Trade Scenarios'

The Utah Jazz reportedly aren't eager to part with third-year center Walker Kessler ahead of the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline.

According to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, multiple teams have expressed interest in Kessler, including the Los Angeles Lakers, but the belief within the league is that Kessler is "not available in any realistic trade scenarios."

The 23-year-old Kessler was selected 22nd overall in the 2022 NBA draft out of Auburn, but he got traded just two weeks after the draft.

Utah acquired Kessler, four first-round picks and several other players in the blockbuster deal that sent star center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The 7-footer exceeded expectations as a rookie, averaging 9.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, while shooting 72.0 percent from the field, which earned him a third-place finish in Rookie of the Year voting.

Kessler's production dipped a bit last season to 8.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per contest, but he has bounced back in a big way thus far during the 2024-25 campaign.

In 27 games this season, Kessler is averaging a career-high 10.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.7 assists, plus he has made a remarkable 71.2 percent of his shot attempts.

Despite Kessler's strong play, the Jazz have the second-worst record in the Western Conference at 8-25, and they don't appear particularly close to contending for the playoffs.

While that could conceivably make them more open to trades leading up to the deadline, it stands to reason that they would much prefer to sell off veterans such as Jordan Clarkson, John Collins or Collin Sexton rather than arguably their best young player in Kessler.

With Kessler reportedly not available, the Lakers turned their attention to a different deal by acquiring forward Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Shake Milton from the Brooklyn Nets last week in exchange for guard D'Angelo Russell, forward Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks.

The move gives the Lakers more versatility around the core of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves, although they still lack a reliable big to complement Davis, which is a role Kessler undoubtedly could have filled.