The Los Angeles Lakers have finally shaken off the cobwebs and made a move worth talking about! It was not just any move either. Rob Pelinka went out and got Luka Doncic the A-list center he was asking for. Shams Charania reported that instead of an offer sheet, the Lakers opted for a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz.
"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."
Two unprotected picks and two more pick swaps feels jarring at first, but the context matters here. For one, there should be little need to sell just how difficult it could have been to poach Kessler with an offer sheet. This gets the Lakers their guy, and frees them up to keep doing business immediately.
The Lakers are also not sending any players back in the trade, so the price was always going to come from draft picks. It hurts to lose the two unprotected firsts, but they were never going to stick around in this retool. Plus, those pick swaps are essentially meaningless if Los Angeles are as good as they can be with Kessler.
Walker Kessler creates a strong foundation for the Lakers moving forward
Doncic, Kessler, and Austin Reaves — those are the three main players the Lakers are saddling themselves with for this next era in Los Angeles. It is a good foundation.
Doncic and Reaves need someone behind them who can anchor the paint and cover up perimeter mistakes. Kessler absolutely delivers in that department.
The new Lakers center is also going to be a very capable pick-and-roll partner for both members of the backcourt. That should prove its value over and over again within the offense. There will be a lot of easy buckets generated from that simple fallback option.
$32.5 million on average is also good value for Kessler's new contract when considering the alternatives.
If the Lakers were going to attempt an offer sheet, it could have taken $35 to $40 million to truly make the Jazz uneasy about matching it. This move allows them more financial freedom to fill out the roster around their two stars in the backcourt.
Essentially, the Lakers paid two unprotected firsts to absorb Kessler into their cap space and give the roster an exciting option at center that has eluded them for years. The toll is not as great as it seems here.
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