What Would Trading For Walker Kessler Mean For The Los Angeles Lakers?

NBA: Sacramento Kings at Utah Jazz | Walker Kessler Trade Rumors
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The Los Angeles Lakers are now the betting favorites, per Bovada, to land Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler if he were to be on the move. 

This comes from the recent speculation that the Los Angeles Lakers could be looking into making a move for the center after The Athletic’s Jovan Buha reported that the Purple and Gold have shown interest in the third-year player.

“I think we need more time to see which guys become available,” Buha said in a new post on his YouTube channel. “I think Walker Kessler is a name that the Lakers have been interested in that would make a lot of sense and would allow you to either start a two-big look or probably more realistically bring him off the bench, play two big shifts, and then in certain matchups close with two bigs.”

This isn’t the first time that Kessler’s name has been in trade rumors, as the Jazz were reportedly willing to let him go for two first-round picks in the offseason.

The seven-footer is averaging 10 points, 11 rebounds, and nearly three blocks per game so far this season.

It’s no secret that the Jazz are in a rebuild. Even their All-Star power forward Lauri Markkanen was in heavy trade rumors this past offseason. In the case of Walker Kessler, if it’s two first-round picks that the Jazz want, the Lakers have the resources to make it happen.

The Jazz currently own the Lakers’ 2027 first-round pick, but it is top-four protected. After that, the Lakers own their future first-round picks. 

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Anthony Davis Would Get His Wish With Addition Of Walker Kessler

NBA: Utah Jazz at Dallas Mavericks | Walker Kessler
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Whether or not the Jazz would be willing to let go of their promising young player or if the Lakers would be willing to give up those kinds of resources for Kessler remains to be seen. However, the person this potential trade would affect the most is Anthony Davis. 

It is widely known that Davis prefers to play at power forward rather than at center. Due to the construction of the Lakers’ rosters in recent times, that hasn’t been feasible most of the time.

The addition of Kessler would get Davis back to playing at power forward more often as he did in his first season in Los Angeles when the Lakers won the 2019-20 NBA Championship. That title-winning team had the likes of JaVale McGee, Dwight Howard, and Marc Gasol on the roster.

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That allowed the Lakers to overwhelm teams with their physicality, dominate the glass, and let Davis roam around the perimeter. His unique skill set allows him to be as equal as a threat defensively for guys driving into the paint as he is for the guys he is guarding in the perimeter.

Not many guys can guard both players in the pick-and-roll like he can at times.

Bringing in Kessler would potentially bring back a dimension that the 2019-20 team had more consistently and allow Davis to avoid battling down low a bit less.