The Los Angeles Lakers have to be admired for their unwavering persistence in pursuing Walker Kessler. The Utah Jazz center, once again, had his name come up in connection to the purple and gold. Jaxson Hayes and Alex Len cannot like where this situation is going.
Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribute said, "I think there’s been an offer presented for Walker Kessler. ... Him being their future of the center, giving up multiple picks to get there, that is on the table right now. I don’t know if the Jazz take it. Certainly, they haven’t so far.”
Larsen's appearance on the Locked on Jazz podcast highlighted a handful of takeaways for the Lakers. Rob Pelinka and the organization continuing to view Kessler as the ideal solution to their center problems was certainly one of them.
Another main takeaway, as alluded to above, would be the fact that the more of these rumors and links are out there, the more obvious it is that Hayes and Len are as good as gone in free agency. At this point, it would be a surprise to see either one back with the Lakers for 2025-26.
Lakers would admit failure by bringing back free-agent centers
Unquestionably, the biggest need that has been identified for the Lakers this offseason is fixing the center position. With all due respect to Hayes and Len, seeing either in that locker room next season would represent Rob Pelinka admitting catastrophic defeat in addressing the spot.
Bringing in Len after the Mark Williams disaster at the NBA trade deadline was always patchwork at best. However, the move actually proved to be far more disappointing than the initial prognosis.
Len failed to make any sort of impact on the Lakers. The veteran center averaged 2.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in his 10 appearances for the team during the regular season.
Hayes was a different story. The athletic big man showed a lot of initial promise, having been built in the mold to capitalize off of Luka Doncic's offense.
However, a familiar problem resurfaced for Hayes come playoff time. Struggling to defend the rim without fouling quickly earned the Lakers center a spot on the bench for the majority of their series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Los Angeles would predictably go on to lose that matchup.
The Lakers' continued interest in Kessler showcases a readiness to move on from both of these big men. Los Angeles fans need no convincing of that being the right approach.