The Los Angeles Lakers wagered two unprotected first-round picks, two pick swaps, and $130 million on Walker Kessler being the starting center of the future. It was a risky move considering Kessler played just seven games in 2025-26 and he's yet to make a single postseason appearance.
Though critics are thus justified to be skeptical of the Lakers' decision to sign Kessler, they're also omitting the context of what Los Angeles' other options were—and how badly Luka Doncic needed an interior running mate.
Lucas Johnson of FanSided.com recently ranked Kessler as the worst signing of the 2026 period of free agency. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report named Kessler as the second-worst overpay of the summer. Expand the search and that narrative continues to grow.
Dan Woike of The Athletic proved as much with a recent report that even rival scouts and executives are questioning the Lakers' plan after signing Kessler.
"Kessler, who turned 25 Sunday, played in just five games last season and 58 the year before, numbers that are, in part, explainable in the context of the Utah Jazz’s conservative approach to injuries while aggressively pursuing the best possible draft lottery odds. But it’s also one of the key reasons why some rival scouts and executives have been critical of the Lakers’ plan."
Woike continued:
“'He better be good,' said one Western Conference scout who, like other sources in this story, was granted anonymity to discuss teams’ strategies. The words were cloaked in an 'or else' tone."
Though the concerns are legitimate, the criticism that the Lakers have received ignores the simple context that they needed Kessler more than they needed to be cautious.
Lakers didn't have any better options at center
Los Angeles entered the offseason with Deandre Ayton, Jaxson Hayes' cap hold, and a first-round pick as their only known resources at center. Drafting a big man was an option, but the Lakers made a generally praised selection of Cameron Carr in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft instead.
Considering the Lakers have a dire need for athletic wings who can shoot and defend, drafting Carr was a better option than reaching for a center they didn't necessarily believe in.
From there, it became a matter of weighing their options. Jalen Duren could've been an ideal target, but he turned in a woeful postseason and reportedly wants the full max. For the Lakers, that would've come out to four years and roughly $185 million.
They also likely would've had to give up even more draft picks considering Duren earned All-NBA honors in 2025-26 and Detroit is reluctant to let him go.
Jalen Duren, Mitchell Robinson had red flags of their own
That pushed Los Angeles toward the other options who were realistically available. Per Woike's aforementioned report, the Lakers' top target after Kessler was Mitchell Robinson, who signed a three-year, $47,388,600 contract with the Boston Celtics.
Though that's roughly half the money that the Lakers will pay Kessler on an annual basis, it also comes with the caveat that Robinson has missed at least 51 games in two of the past three seasons.
Furthermore, Robinson played just 13.9 minutes per game during the 2026 NBA Playoffs and hasn't exceeded 25.0 in the regular season since 2022-23. The New York Knicks managed to overcome that factor due to the presence of Karl-Anthony Towns, but the Lakers needed a center who they could trust to play starting-caliber minutes.
It's clearly unknown whether or not Kessler can play that type of role on a winning team, but he's a 25-year-old big with untapped potential. At 28, Robinson arguably is who he is.
A committee of centers wouldn't have been sufficient
Perhaps there's a case that the Lakers could've pursued a stopgap center or built a rotation of quality low-cost bigs. The Lakers are building to win right now with a 27-year-old Luka Doncic and a 28-year-old Austin Reaves, however, meaning there was a sense of urgency.
Doncic and Reaves are also offensive stars with known defensive flaws, which meant the purple and gold needed an interior anchor to deter opponents from entering the paint—immediately.
If nothing else, Kessler has proven capable of excelling along the interior. He has career averages of 2.4 blocks and 3.4 offensive rebounds in 25.3 minutes per game, and during his last healthy season in 2024-25, ranked in the 99th percentile in rim protection and rim deterrence, per Basketball Index.
Perhaps this isn't the perfectly safe signing that some were hoping for. Kessler was, after all, acquired for a small fortune. Given the other options and the time-sensitive nature of this pursuit, however, Kessler was the right choice.
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