According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Utah Jazz have reportedly agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Los Angeles Lakers in which the Lakers will get Walker Kessler on a brand-new four-year, $130m deal with a player option after year three. In return, the Jazz will receive two unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 as well as two pick swaps in 2028 and 2030.
Walker Kessler is a good young player with plenty of room to improve. This move undoubtedly makes the Utah Jazz a worse team in 2026-27. Still, it is hard to imagine a more perfect center to start next to Jaren Jackson Jr. than Walker Kessler. So why do the Jazz make this move right now? Are they going to waste Jaren and Lauri together? Let’s dive in.
The Jazz are finally operating as if they are an actual NBA team competing to get better and win a championship. For many years during the dark ages of rebuilding and acquiring talent, decisions like this didn’t really matter nearly as much because the Jazz weren’t really trying to win basketball games. Now that the Jazz have acquired the talent they tanked for so long to obtain, like Jaren Jackson Jr. and Darryn Peterson to join guys like Lauri Markkanen, Ace Bailey, and Keyonte George, they are tasked with evaluating which players and contracts best open the biggest window into contention possible.
Let’s be honest: with or without Walker Kessler, the Jazz probably weren’t beating the Thunder or Spurs in a seven-game series next season. The future is bright, but openly acknowledging that is okay. Both teams have the luxury of elite, all-NBA-level talent on rookie-scale, team-friendly contracts. The Jazz simply do not possess that same level of flexibility.
So… What does any of that have to do with the Jazz not bringing Walker Kessler back? Bringing back Walker Kessler at that number, quite frankly, would have forced the Jazz into a difficult space roster-building-wise. I still think the Jazz were willing to do it because they are a better team with Walker Kessler than they are without him, but that extension makes it very difficult to extend Keyonte George and keep a guy like Lauri Markkanen. But when a desperate Lakers team offers two unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps, you don’t overthink it. You pick your jaw up from the floor, and you make that deal without hesitation. Those picks are so far into the future that there is no telling what the Lakers roster could look like at that point.
Draft picks in the NBA are currency. Draft picks are the means by which big-time deals get done. I do not anticipate that the Utah Jazz made that deal for Walker Kessler with the expectation of actually making the draft selections in 2031 and 2033. By making that deal, the Jazz have unlocked the assets to pursue virtually any trade they want. They also preserve the financial flexibility to keep Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen together for longer if they choose. Now, the Jazz window opens and overlaps just as the two top dogs in the Western Conference lose flexibility. Victor Wembanyama is in the last year of his rookie contract, and will surely get a massive payday from the Spurs. Stephon Castle is also likely to be paid handsomely within the next two years when his rookie contract ends. The Oklahoma City Thunder are already starting to feel the effects of decreased salary flexibility, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is set to make $20m more following the 2026-27 season. Can you see where this is headed for Utah?
The Jazz undoubtedly are a worse basketball team today than they were yesterday. I still expect them to compete for a playoff spot in 2026-27, but it isn’t as sure as it would have been had we retained Walker Kessler. That said, it is hard not to be ecstatic about the flexibility the Jazz now have with both their salary cap and draft picks. The Jazz took a small step back in the short term to put themselves in line to take a giant step forward, right as their fellow Western Conference giants are having to come back to the pack a little bit themselves.
It is hard not to be excited as a Jazz fan right now… The Jazz may have taken a small step backward today, but they are positioned to take a much larger step forward in the not-so-distant future. Our ceiling has never been higher.
