The Utah Jazz have already made a seismic move this offseason by hiring Austin Ainge, who promised right out of the gate that they won't tank next season. Just because they're not tanking doesn't mean they're keeping the roster intact. That means some trades might be in order, and among the players who could hit the trade market, besides the usual suspects, is Walker Kessler.
The Deseret News' Sarah Todd revealed from her latest intel that teams around the league expect the Jazz will be active on the trade market. While she names players that fans have come to expect to hit the trade market, she also mentioned Kessler among the possible players the Jazz could trade.
"Numerous league sources have indicated that they believe the Jazz are going to be active over the next several weeks. Many expect that the Jazz are willing to hear offers that would include draft picks in the 2025 draft as well as players on the Jazz’s current roster.
"Obvious candidates for trade would be John Collins, Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson, who are all on expiring deals as of the 2025-26 season, but league sources have said that they expect for conversations to include Walker Kessler (who is extension eligible) and Lauri Markkanen," Todd wrote.
Kessler is coming off an excellent third season where he proved himself as one of the league's best rim protectors again, along with being one of its very best offensive rebounders. It doesn't seem likely that the Jazz would trade him after the season he's had because it's rare to find a player who can perform at the level he does on a rookie contract.
There is a good theory for why he would *technically* be a candidate in this regard.
Kessler might be on the table, but it won't be easy to get him
Before Todd's intel, The Athletic's Tony Jones revealed that while Kessler isn't untouchable, it would take a lot for the Jazz to entertain trading him away.
It's likely that the Jazz would only make this trade if they received an unquestionable upgrade in return for Kessler. More specifically, they would receive an upgrade that would vault them to a higher level. There may be some misunderstandings about intel like this, like the Jazz are trying to dump Kessler. They're not, and they will only sell him off if the price is right and high at the same time.
Pending any major surprises, the most likely route the Jazz go with Kessler this offseason is extending him. It's a standard move for every NBA team to evaluate all options first with their players before making any commitments, but the third-year Jazzman has given every indication since the start of last season that he's worth keeping around.