Always on the trade block, never traded: How long will Walker Kessler be with the Utah Jazz?

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It’s one of the worst kept secrets in the NBA: The Utah Jazz would not mind trading away Walker Kessler.

They also wouldn’t mind keeping him around for the foreseeable future. But if a newer, shinier, younger (and slightly better) toy came along, Danny Ainge would not think twice before trading away Walker Kessler for said toy.

Just two years ago, Kessler was that shiny new toy, one that was passed up 21 times on draft night and traded to a new home before he found his way to Utah. He was third in Rookie

of the Year voting behind two future all-NBA guys in Paolo Banchero and Jalen Williams, and had a legitimate case to be an all-defensive player in just year one.

He was selected to the Team USA roster for the FIBA World Cup, and when the Americans failed to medal in the tournament, basketball fans everywhere were complaining that head coach Steve Kerr didn’t use Kessler enough, keeping him on the bench when they desperately needed size.

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It seemed that the Utah Jazz had replaced Rudy Gobert for only a percentage of the cost, and snagged four more future first-round draft picks from Minnesota, just for kicks and giggles.

But now headed into year four, there seems to be a consensus on Kessler: Ehh.

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Walker Kessler: If “solid” was a center

I like Kessler. I like him a lot. Shot blocking big men don’t just fall in your lap, and in the Jazz’s case, Kessler did just that. Most NBA teams would love to have a competent big man, one that can play without every person in the arena holding their breath. There’s a reason that the Los Angeles Lakers would love to have him. In the playoffs last year, J.J. Redick opted to leave all the Lakers big men on the bench, even when they had nothing to lose.

But even with his elite rebounding and great defensive numbers (his 2.4 blocks per game were second in the NBA only behind Victory Wembanyama), his play leaves most fans just wanting slightly more. His points per 36 minutes have only gone down since his rookie season, averaging 13.3 last year compared to 14.4 in year one. And while there have been a few efforts to expand his shooting range, I doubt that those efforts will ever result in Kessler being a respectable shooter from outside the paint.

Even the Lakers, who are the biggest contenders for the Kessler trade sweepstakes, echo this sentiment. They like Kessler, but not enough. It was reported that they tried to make a move for the Jazz’s big man last season, but Danny Ainge’s asking price was way too high, wanting multiple first round picks.

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And that actually makes sense for both the Jazz and the Lakers. For the Jazz, getting a pick in the 20s is probably not enough for you to give up your defensive stabilizing force. If you’re the Lakers, do you really want to give up multiple first-round picks for someone who might get a few second-team all-defensive votes? While Kessler is one of the top rim protectors in the league, he’s a tier behind the best. He’s not Rudy Gobert, he’s not Chet Holmgren, he’s not Evan Mobley.

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The Myles Turner Comparison:

The best comparison I can think of for Kessler (not in terms of style of play necessarily), is Myles Turner. For an entire decade, Turner was on the trade block for the Indiana Pacers. Every single trade deadline, Turner was rumored to be traded to every team imaginable, but by some miracle, managed to stay in Indiana for 10 years before signing with Milwaukee in free agency this offseason.

There was just never a package good enough for the Pacers to let go of their 2015 No. 11 pick. And he was really good for the Pacers. He led the league in blocks two different times, he improved his offensive game so much that teams had to respect his range — never mind the finals — and in total he started over 600 games in Indiana. That’s really good value.

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But Turner was never one of the best big men in the league, and I don’t know if there was ever a time where people thought he had the potential to be the best. Kessler’s hype in the 2023 offseason probably higher than Turner’s ever was, or at least as high as his peak.

Did you know that in his 10 years, Turner never once made an all-defensive team? He once got fifth place in DPOY voting in 2019, but that was the peak of his defensive prowess. I could definitely see Kessler getting to that level, but I am not buying that he could get much higher than that — and that’s okay!

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What do the Jazz do with Kessler?

Kessler doesn’t need to be a top-five center in the league for the Jazz’s future to be great, he just needs to be solid, and I think that he will be a solid big for years to come. The Jazz’s future hinges on Ace Bailey, Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Filipowski, a few other young players and whoever next year’s almost definite top-five selection is (and maybe Lauri Markkanen if he is also somehow still in Utah in a few years).

According to Keith Smith of sportrac.com, one Jazz front office executive had this to say about Kessler:

“We’d love to get Walker signed. We have a whole lot of flexibility, because Lauri (Markkanen) is the only veteran we have on a long-term deal. That will come into play with Walker too, because he’ll be the next guy on a long-term deal. That’s something we have to be mindful of, as we plan and build out roster out in the immediate and for the future,”

Kessler staying on the Jazz is not the end of the world. His contract will likely be reasonable, tradable, and won’t break the Jazz’s bank. If this offseason’s restricted free agency was any sign of next year’s, then expect Kessler to be able to resign no problem.

Unless another Wembanyama or Holmgren comes around in the next few years’ drafts, or if any team is willing to give the Jazz one high draft pick or multiple firsts, expect Kessler to be in Salt Lake City for the indefinite future.

And there are worse things than that.

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