Potential Lakers and Bulls free-agent target Walker Kessler #24 of the Utah Jazz
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SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - DECEMBER 28: Walker Kessler #24 of the Utah Jazz reacts to a play during the second half of a game against the Philadelphia 76ersat Delta Center on December 28, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
The modern NBA can be a confusing landscape when it comes to big men. For all the talk over the past decade or so about “position-less” basketball and the prevalence of small-ball lineups, there’s no doubt that the league is still very much addicted to height. And so the Lakers, after years of attempts at Band-Aiding the center spot with a power forward (Anthony Davis) and a series of backups, has-beens, appear ready to attempt a full-court press on a guy they feel could be their center of the future, paired with Luka Doncic.
That would be 7-foot-2, 24-year-old Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler.
Of course, the Bulls have plowed forward in recent years with an aging and underwhelming defensive option, Nikola Vucevic, as the starting center. They’re, too, determined to fix that spot for once and for all in the coming months. And they want to fix it with Walker Kessler.
There is not a whole lot of available cap space this summer. But the Bulls and Lakers have much of it, the Lakers at around $50 million and the Bulls at about $35 million. Expect both to be pointed at Kessler.
Walker Kessler Still Jazz’s Free Agent
The problem there for the Lakers and Bulls–or anybody else who gets involved in the bidding, for that matter–is that, while Kessler will be a free agent in the summer of 2026, he will be a restricted free agent. That means that the Jazz will have the right to match any offer Kessler gets, and they’ve been signaling that they intend to do so.
With good reason. Kessler has been out for this season with a torn labrum in his shoulder, but when healthy, he has been as strong a force in the middle of the floor as there is in the league, averaging 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots last season. He’s athletic enough to contest on the perimeter while still being able to get back into the paint, and thus, is very valuable.
Luka Doncic, Lakers
GettyLuka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers could pair with Walker Kessler — if the Jazz let him walk.
Lakers, Bulls Hoping to Get Old-Fashioned Free-Agency Battle for Walker Kessler
Kessler’s free agency should reflect that.
“There aren’t a whole lot of traditional free-agent races anymore, the way to do things now is you trade for the guy, then you extend him,” one GM said. “But the situation with (Kessler) is different–you’ve got teams with needs and cap space, ready to give a big offer, you have got the Jazz trying to manage their own situation. So it’s really wide open.”
But again, the Jazz will have the final say. It won’t be easy, because after trading for Jaren Jackson Jr. from the Grizzlies, adding him to star big man Lauri Markkanen, Utah has about $100 million per year committed to frontcourt players for the next three year.
If Kessler gets an offer that starts him at about $30 million per year–which is what he will be seeking–the Jazz could be priced out of keeping him. It’s a lot to pay for Kessler, no doubt. But a true center of his ability is hard to find, and the Lakers and Bulls both know it.
Celtics and Nikola Vucevic … a Long-Term Thing?
Warriors star Draymond Green said on his podcast this week that he thinks the Celtics will re-sign big man Nikola Vucevic after the season is over. And that is entirely on the table, except that Boston would only do that on a bargain deal. Vucevic is making $21 million this year and would have to accept something around less than half that to stick with Boston, because execs around the league suggest that the Celtics very much want to stay under the $201 million luxury tax again.
Boston barely slipped under the tax at the trade deadline, and if they stay under for next season, they can free themselves from “repeater tax” restrictions. The Celtics’ projected payroll is about $180 million.
Clippers Planning on Kawhi Leonard Long-Term
Teams that nosed around the Clippers at the trade deadline trying to see if Kawhi Leonard might pop loose once James Harden was traded have found the team is still clinging tight to Leonard as its centerpiece.
Team honcho Lawrence Frank explained that is unlikely to change.
“Kawhi when healthy is arguably one of the top five players in this league,” he said. “No one is playing better than him over this last seven-week stretch. Similar to what we did in other summers, we always get together with Kawhi and his representatives and we lay out what the plan is. The number one priority for Kawhi is the same number one priority for the Clippers organization. We want to win a championship. How do we do it together? This is what it looks like.”