Victor Wembanyama has suddenly made the center position a point of massive priority for contenders around the NBA. Without a decent five-man, how can you expect to compete for a title, especially if Wemby will be waiting for you at the end of the road? This question has extra urgency for the Los Angeles Lakers, who just spent a season coming to terms with the fact that Deandre Ayton leaves a lot to be desired.
Based on the above, it's presumed that Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka is on the lookout for an upgrade at center. But who? In free agency, Isaiah Hartenstein has always been discussed as a nice target, but he'll surely be retained by the Oklahoma City Thunder this summer. Robert Williams III is another possible free-agent target, but there are injury concerns there. And on the trade market, Myles Turner has often been discussed by fans, but there are worries about his waning athleticism.
Can the Lakers finally land Walker Kessler?
Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler has been linked to the Lakers for a longer period than all of the above names. It's gotten to the point where it seems like he'll never be a Laker, because he would've been one by now if it was ever going to happen! That said, Kessler is still only 24 years old. He's one of the most physically imposing centers in the league, making him ultra-important inn the Wemby Era, as explained above.
The akers haven't had much cap space at all in recent transaction cycles, and with that iffy flexibility, a trade for Kessler hasn't been feasible. Now that Kessler is a restricted free agent, and with the Lakers still not operating with amazing cap space, is he still pretty unattainable? Maybe. But you never know what kind of tricks Pelinka has up his sleeve, especially to acquire a player in Kessler who would be such a nice fit for the Lakers.
Kessler's 2.4 blocks per game in his career reveal how effective a rim protector he is, if his 7-foot-2 frame didn't already give it away. That's just the type of backline defender that the Lakers would love to have behind their mediocre perimeter defense (comprised of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves). A guy like Kessler would help cover up that weakness. He'd also match up about as well as anyone else can with Wemby. This isn't an "answer" to Wemby, per say, but it's the best answer possible.
During a recent episode of the Buha's Block podcast, NBA analyst Iztok Franko compared Kessler to Dereck Lively II, with whom Luka reached an NBA Finals in Dallas. Not only did Lively serve as a reliable rim protector behind Luka for the Mavericks, but he was also an awesome lob threat on offense, something that Kessler could also do for the Lakers. "He's a player who I'm sure would love to play next to Luka," Franko added. "He would love that role."
The Jazz have many reasons to hold onto Walker Kessler
That whole Wemby stopper thing? Yeah, that's the same reason that Utah wouldn't want to let Kessler out of their sight and will likely make it a priority to re-sign Kessler this summer. It would probably take a sign-and-trade situation of huge, unpredictable proportions for the Lakers to even get Utah's attention on Kessler -- something involving Austin Reaves. Do the Lakers want to break up their dynamic backcourt duo to bring in Kessler? That's a question that only Pelinka can answer, but it's more than likely a no.
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