The Los Angeles Lakers paid a small fortune to acquire Walker Kessler. It was a debatable move considering he's played 63 games between his past two NBA seasons and isn't yet an All-Star. The unspoken truth about going all-in on Kessler, however, is that it saved the Lakers from an even more egregious overpay for Jalen Duren.
Debates can certainly be held in regard to who the better player is between Duren and Kessler, but despite expressing interest in both players, the Lakers prioritized Kessler.
Duren is generally regarded as the top center on the open market after securing All-NBA Third Team honors in 2025-26. At 22 years of age, he has a captivating combination of youth, size, power, and skill that make him a star with superstar potential. Despite his promise, the Lakers went with Kessler.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the price of acquiring a new interior anchor was two first-round draft picks, two pick swaps, and a four-year, $130 million contract.
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Lakers are acquiring Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz for unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 and first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030, sources tell ESPN. Kessler will sign a massive four-year, $130 million deal with the Lakers. pic.twitter.com/rt8b17fEQZ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2026
For as steep a cost as that may be, in Detroit, the Pistons are reportedly refusing to let Duren sign elsewhere and will match any offer sheet he receives.
The Detroit Pistons have offered what the franchise believes is the most lucrative contract possible for their All-Star restricted free agent Jalen Duren, are not interested in any sign and trade deals and will match any potential offer sheet he signs, sources @espn @andscape.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) June 30, 2026
In other words: The Lakers likely would've had to give up far more for Duren than they ultimately paid for Kessler, if it would've been possible at all.
Walker Kessler was the more affordable center option
Clearly, there's a degree of finality in Marc J. Spears' report that the Pistons will match any offer sheet that Duren receives. There's always room for negotiation in the NBA, however, and the Lakers were aggressive in their pursuit of Duren.
With the Pistons setting firm boundaries, that would seemingly imply that the Lakers would've had to extend quite a sign-and-trade offer to land the big man.
Beyond what Los Angeles would've had to give Detroit, it likely would've been tasked with paying an even bigger salary for Duren than Kessler. If the Pistons are willing to match any offer sheet he signs, then that would conceivably include the maximum the Lakers could offer at four years and $177.4 million.
In other words: The Lakers would've had to pay Duren upward of $44 million per season and still offer at least similar draft compensation to what they gave Utah for Kessler.
The Lakers will instead pay Kessler roughly $12 million less in projected salary per season on average. That's helped them make significant roster additions already, with Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Collin Sexton all joining the team on multi-year deals.
It's been a long and frustrating road to finding a starting-caliber center, but the Lakers certainly minimized their losses by prioritizing Kessler over Duren.
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