The Los Angeles Lakers paid a hefty price to bring Walker Kessler to town via a sign-and-trade. They shipped out two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps, but now, they’re hoping he can give Luka Doncic what Kristaps Porzingis never could. Porzingis is very talented, but Doncic needs a pick-and-roll big. That’s Kessler.
When the Dallas Mavericks traded for Porzingis, it was with good intentions. They wanted to paid Doncic with a great big-man partner. A guy who could grow with him in Dallas. But at the end of the day, he’s not the type of center that works best with Doncic. He’s a floor-spacing big. A post-up big at times. Doncic needs a PnR threat.
So, by trading for Kessler, the Lakers are hoping he can provide Doncic with exactly that – something Porzingis was never going to be able to do.
Lakers need Walker Kessler to be perfect Luka Doncic center
Kessler is still very young. The only reason the Lakers managed to steal him away from the Utah Jazz is because they didn’t want to pay him (and they still had to shell out a ton of picks to land him).
But at the end of the day, the entire ordeal will be worth it if he ends up fitting nicely alongside Doncic. And based on the way he plays, that seems like a strong possibility.
Kessler has all the makings of a perfect Doncic big man. He’s a strong pick-and-roll guy, a quality lob threat, and, on the defensive end, an elite interior defender.
Those are all the qualities that Doncic needs alongside him, especially with some of the defensive deficiencies he’s proven to have over the years. Unfortunately for Porzingis and the Mavs, he didn’t really fit that vibe.
He was a solid paint defender, but not in the same way as Kessler. He wasn’t going to be banging down low like Kessler can. And on the offensive end, he had a much different game.
Porzingis is a pick-and-pop big man, and he’s not great in the pick-and-roll. He’s not an amazing screen-setter, and he’s a bit skinny to be rolling to the rim with force. He’s also not a serious lob threat.
For Doncic to be at his best, he needs all of those things next to him at the center position. That’s why the Lakers went out of their way to go out and land Kessler this summer.
They are hoping that Kessler can be the best big man Doncic has ever played with.
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