The Utah Jazz have signed starting point guard Keyonte George to a five-year, $157.5 million contract extension. In the process, the Jazz have vindicated the Los Angeles Lakers for the sign-and-trade that brought Walker Kessler to Southern California at four years and $130 million.
With Utah paying another one of its starters a nearly identical annual figure, the Lakers can walk away knowing they paid what they had to in order to land their new interior anchor.
The cost of acquiring Kessler was clearly steep, as Los Angeles also had to give up 2031 and 2033 unprotected first-round draft picks, and 2028 and 2030 pick swaps. His average annual salary comes out to $32.5 million, however, which barely exceeds George's figure of $31.5 million.
Compounded by the fact that Jalen Duren was widely regarded as the top center on the free agent market and is still dragging out his own period of free agency, the Lakers simply paid what they had to for the best fit they could find.
That isn't to say that Duren wouldn't have been worth the wait, nor that George isn't worth the money. Instead, it's to acknowledge the fact that the Lakers had a desperate need for rim protection and paid what was necessary to find the interior anchor they needed—and paid a similar price to what Kessler's previous team was willing to give to another one of its starters.
Considering Kessler has already proven to be an elite rim protector and rebounder, even the baseline of what he's thus far provided is well worth the investment.
Walker Kessler makes just $1 million more per year than Keyonte George
Kessler's career averages come out to 9.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.4 offensive boards, 1.2 assists, and 2.4 blocks in 25.3 minutes per game on 68.1 percent shooting from the field. He made quite a jump in 2024-25 when he bumped those numbers to 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, a league-leading 4.6 offensive boards, 1.7 assists, and 2.4 blocks in 30.0 minutes.
Beyond the individual numbers, Kessler ranked in the 99th percentile in rim protection and rim disruption, and the 97th percentile in rim deterrence, per Basketball Index.
Kessler unfortunately missed 77 games after undergoing surgery on his non-shooting shoulder in 2025-26. In saying that, the Lakers had a desperate need for a starting-caliber center and were limited to fairly expensive options during the 2026 offseason.
Along those same lines, the Jazz needed to lock up the point guard who could operate as the bridge between a surplus of on-ball specialists, including Ace Bailey, Isaiah Collier, Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen, Darryn Peterson, and Brice Sensabaugh.
Put aside the inevitability of having to ship out assets in a sign-and-trade and Los Angeles and Utah effectively paid the same price for their needs. The primary difference is that Kessler will come off the books no later than 2030, whereas George is under contract through 2032—and the Jazz weren't actively competing against other teams for his services.
The Lakers undoubtedly paid big money for Kessler, but the Jazz paying George nearly identical annual money is a clear form of vindication for their gamble.
Add us as a preferred source on Google