Breaking news: Lakers head coach has commit a 5-star player from Texas tech due to his…
Breaking news: Lake
That’s from longtime Lakers writer Trevor Lane, on the Lakers Nation podcast this week. Kessler is not the big-time name many Lakers fans want. However, he is the pure, shot-blocking man the Lakers may very well need, though.
Kessler is a 7-footer who turns just 23 this month, having been a first-round pick in 2022. He was a breakout defensive star in his first season, earning third place in the Rookie of the Year voting, but did not have a lot of growth in his second year.
He played 64 games in 2023-24, averaging 23.3 minutes per game. The Jazz were offensively challenged at times, and preferred to use Kessler off the bench frequently (he started 22 games). Kessler averaged 8.1 points and 7.5 rebounds, but, incredibly, blocked 2.4 shots in those limited minutes.
Said Lane on the podcast:
“This is my, ‘It takes too much sense not to get it done’ trade. (Guard Jalen Hood-Schifino), the 2027 (first-round) pick protections removed, the Lakers right now have 1 through 4 protections with the Utah Jazz. And a Top 6 protected 2029
Indeed, it is a good deal for the Lakers, if the team wants to focus on bolstering an already solid defensive group for which offensive spacing may well have been the biggest issue in 2023-24. A defensive front of Davis and Kessler would be imposing for any team, but it would clog the middle on the offensive end for a team that needs to create space for James and Davis inside.
If the Lakers have the shooting, Kessler makes some sense. Tinkering with the 2027 first-round pick protections and giving up a future first, with Hood-Schifino makes the deal reasonably affordable for the Lakers.
“Lakers get their young big, their shot-blocking presence at the rim,” Lane said. “The Jazz, for whatever reason, aren’t all-in on Walker Kessler. They even brought him off the bench for the majority of last season, but he still blocked over 2.0 shots per game. He made a major, major negative impact on opponents’ field goal percentage at the rim.
“That’s my trade that I like. That’s my
move.”
first. For Walker Kessler. That’s my trade
