The Los Angeles Lakers have been in heavy pursuit of Walker Kessler for literal years. The connections to the Utah Jazz big man date back to when Anthony Davis was still a member of the team. This summer saw their longtime wish finally be granted as Kessler officially became a Laker.
The Lakers announce they have officially acquired Walker Kessler via sign-and-trade. The trade is not expanded and remains as it was agreed to. pic.twitter.com/Hq0fX90IC4
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) July 9, 2026
His arrival was announced on Wednesday night, with the Lakers sending out a press release to confirm the sign-and-trade. After the delay in the official reveal, most were anticipating that Los Angeles was working toward expanding the deal, and perhaps that was the case. However, nothing came of it.
The final transaction saw no changes from the initial terms reported by Shams Charania. This was notable considering Lakers insider Jovan Buha stated Los Angeles preferred to dump Jarred Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht. Utah was not about to help them twice.
After handing the Lakers their sought after franchise center, the Jazz drew their line in the sand. That must have been disappointing for Rob Pelinka and company, but Utah was more than justified in holding firm in their stance here.
Jazz gave the Lakers Walker Kessler but no escape from Jarred Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht
Getting rid of Vanderbilt would have given the Lakers more financial wiggle room to operate, plus an extra roster spot to fill. Helping Knecht move on would have given both him and Los Angeles a much-needed fresh start. The Jazz offered up solutions to neither of those existing problems.
Considering what they stand to lose from helping the Lakers, it is understandable. The Jazz hold significant control over Los Angeles' future draft capital.
"The Jazz already did the Lakers a favor by giving them a quality center (which LA had to pay a high price for), but taking back two players they don't even want would have been overkill," Matt John of The J Notes wrote regarding the sign-and-trade.
John called it 'counterproductive' for the Jazz to have helped the Lakers any further. With the hoard of draft capital that Utah owns when it comes to unprotected firsts and pick swaps via Los Angeles, that much makes sense.
The Jazz should be actively rooting on the Lakers' downfall, hoping those assets can help them add to an impressive young core. Lording over Los Angeles' draft capital means one slip-up from Luka Doncic's team and Utah is primed to capitalize in almost any given year.
There was a calculated risk taken here by the Jazz. Helping the Lakers to keep improving by freeing them of players they do not want would have hurt that equation. Essentially, this was Utah telling Los Angeles to not get greedy.
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