Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Los Angeles Lakers made a massive move by acquiring Walker Kessler — a young, elite shot blocker from the Utah Jazz.
- The deal required giving up multiple unprotected first-round picks and swaps, raising questions about its long-term value.
- The team now faces the challenge of integrating this new talent around its established stars and managing its financial flexibility.
The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz for two unprotected first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps; they will also be giving Kessler a new four-year, $130 million contrac — wait, sorry, they gave up WHAT for Walker Kessler?!
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
Kessler is young, he’s a good player but my god man, four first-round picks?! For a career 9.5 points-per-game scorer coming off a torn labrum?! I get he’s 24 years old, an elite shot blocker and rebounder and someone that Lakers will want to invest in for the future but holy macaroni and cheese that is a lot to give up for Walker Kessler. That is, on balance, more than they gave up for Luka Dončić.
Kessler makes the Lakers better, but the price was far too steep
Kessler had been loosely available for years, and Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge managing that kind of return for a player that the team clearly did not want to pay is astounding. It’s the Ainge playbook, through and through: find the desperate team, the one that can’t afford to not make a splash, send them a ridiculous offer and then hang up the phone. Eventually, they’re going to call you back.
Ainge has now made nine first-round picks out of offensively challenged Utah Jazz shot blockers between this and the Rudy Gobert trade — which, do not forget, included Walker Kessler. Is Gobert now worth nine firsts? Can we start that dialogue? Has Danny Ainge cracked the Da Vinci Code and is the answer just “trade shot-blocking centers to desperate teams?” I think it might be.
The Lakers are definitely better next season with Kessler, but there is absolutely no explanation for that kind of price. Unless they were bidding against, like … Jeff Bezos, a Kessler trade involving two unprotected firsts is already ridiculous. The fact that it included two swaps as well makes it the kind of trade you tell your kids about. To scare them.
Projected Lakers starting lineup and rotation
STARTER | POSITION | BENCH |
|---|---|---|
Luka Dončić | PG | Collin Sexton |
Quentin Grimes | SG | Nick Smith Jr. |
Austin Reaves | SF | Jake LaRavia |
Sandro Mamukelashveli | PF | Jarred Vanderbilt |
Walker Kessler | C | Deandre Ayton |
This is a fine team. Is it a good team? I don’t know, maybe. It’s certainly not better than the conveyor belt of Dallas Mavericks teams that Doncic failed to get over the hump with, and the Lakers just blew up much of their financial and asset flexibility in a single move for a player that might be a good center. Unless he suddenly starts nailing threes, nothing about Kessler’s career so far suggests he will be elite.
The Lakers additional signings will take time to acclimate
Grimes is a player who looks great on paper, but there is a reason he’s bounced around the league so much before even turning 26. He plays like a first-option scoring guard, but he doesn’t have the skills to pay those of kinds of bills. He’s not an especially great off-ball player nor was he a particularly efficient shooter last season. He works best with the ball in his hands, a luxury he did not have last time he played with Luka in 2024.
They also signed Collin Sexton, a once-heralded prospect who has become a journeyman. As for Vanderbilt and Mamukelashveli, that could go either way. Both bring different things to the table, but it’s unclear how effective they will be off of Doncic. Put simply, I’m not sure the Lakers are spending their money wisely.
Everything the Lakers do must rotate around that central concept: how do you play off of Luka? It’s why building a team around him is so difficult, as it’s hard to find talented complimentary players that are okay barely taking shots behind Luka and Reaves. There is a chance that Kessler becomes a transformative interior player and lob threat for Doncic, but he certainly was not worth that.
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