Lakers Can't Overpay in Potential Walker Kessler Trade With Jazz Amid NBA Rumors

The Los Angeles Lakers have a glaring hole at center and an obvious affinity for Utah Jazz big man Walker Kessler.

For all of the names connected to L.A.'s search for size during the 2025 NBA offseason, Kessler's might be mentioned the most.

And that feels perhaps even more significant when trade talks for the 7-footer reportedly "haven't gotten into the serious stages" yet, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune.

It's almost as if the Lakers, whom general manager Rob Pelinka vowed will "be very diligent" and "very detailed" with this search, can't help but continually daydream about the possibility of Kessler manning the middle.

The fascination makes sense, too—for the most part.

If L.A. keeps Austin Reaves alongside Luka Dončić, it will need all of the paint protection it can get. Kessler has been impressively reliable in cleaning up mistakes behind Utah's generous backcourt.

He became a full-time starter for the first time this past season and immediately posted top-five averages in rebounds (12.2, fifth) and blocks (2.4, second). He also absolutely wrecked his matchups' shooting rates, shaving 5.0 points off their normal field-goal percentage and a whopping 10.7 points on attempts within six feet of the basket, per NBA.com.

He also shot better than 65 percent from the field, as he has during every season so far. When it comes to interior play, he checks most of the boxes the Lakers could want.

Get him away from the basket, though, and he loses a lot of his utility. He has no shooting range (career 53.7 free-throw percentage) and can get exposed in space on perimeter switches.

The Lakers might be OK with that. Having someone who seals the paint on one end and is capable of converting lob passes on the other might be good enough.

They just can't afford to go overboard when the return is, again, good enough. He is a piece of the puzzle, not a centerpiece, and that's an issue when history suggests Jazz CEO Danny Ainge will seek out a centerpiece-level return.

L.A. would, admittedly, have trouble even matching that price. The Lakers have one first-round pick to trade. Packaging that with Dalton Knecht and a future first-round swap probably isn't getting a deal done.

So, then what? Risk more of the future by letting go of additional swaps? Add Reaves to the offer in a Kessler-plus-something swap? Or send Reaves to a third team who has additional picks to route toward Salt Lake City?

That sounds like an awful lot of work for a rim-runner, even one of Kessler's caliber. Especially for a team that has more holes than just the center spot. Remember, L.A. still needs to beef up its perimeter defense, too, and it could stand to generally upgrade its depth.

Kessler would help the Lakers next season—and ideally plenty more beyond it. If there's a reasonable way to get him, they have to explore it from all angles.

But if his price is unreasonably (or even impossibly) high, then it's probably time to ditch this dream and explore other offseason avenues toward finding a center and upgrading the roster in other areas.