New NBA Rumors on Lakers' Walker Kessler Interest, Jazz's Stance on Matching Potential Contract

Walker Kessler's fit on a Los Angeles Lakers team with Luka Dončić running the offense makes perfect sense, but the Utah Jazz aren't going to allow their young center go easily.

Per NBA insiders Jake Fischer and Marc Stein, Kessler is "widely presumed" to be the No. 1 target in free agency for the Lakers with roughly $40 million in cap space left to spend.

However, the report notes the Jazz have been "steadfast" in their determination to match any potential offer sheet Kessler might receive as a restricted free agent.

Kessler and the Jazz have been at odds over his contract when they have talked about a deal.

Per a June 17 report from ESPN's Tim MacMahon, there was a "gulf" between Kessler and the Jazz despite the team's offer of a five-year, $140 million contract.

Opposing teams seem like they would have no problem going past the $28 million annually on the Utah proposal. The Athletic's Tony Jones reported on Tuesday that Kessler offers in the "mid- to high-30s" annually from multiple clubs.

On the latest episode of The Hoop Collective Podcast (starts at 28:51 mark), MacMahon also said it is "in the realm of possibility" that Kessler could sign the one-year qualifying offer for $7.1 million with Utah to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The Jazz are in a tricky spot financially because they already have two contracts on their books for Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. that account for $95.1 million next season.

If Kessler ends up getting a deal in the range of $35 million annually, that would put the Jazz up to $120 million for just three players.

They are fortunate to have two promising young players on rookie contracts in Ace Bailey and Darryn Peterson, but this is an expensive group that has no track record of success at this point.

Kessler is also a hard player to figure out because injuries have limited him to 63 games over the past two seasons combined, including undergoing shoulder surgery last November. He is a rebounding machine with 12.1 per game since the start of the 2024-25 campaign, including 4.6 offensive rebounds.

If a team like the Lakers believes Kessler's durability isn't an issue, then presenting him with an offer that might make the Jazz squeamish about matching wouldn't be a bad idea.

That strategy could backfire if Kessler is more susceptible to injuries going forward, but the Lakers also don't have a lot of high-level options to fill their void at center right now.

It's also possible the Jazz are just letting a team like the Lakers negotiate the contract for Kessler on their behalf and they match the offer sheet, allowing them to avoid going through the further headache of trying to bridge any financial gap that exists in their discussions.