Lakers’ Center Hunt Hits a Wall: Jazz Vow to Keep Walker Kessler No Matter What

The Los Angeles Lakers have a problem. Actually, they’ve got two: Walker Kessler and Jalen Duren. And neither one is coming easy.

Let’s start with Kessler, because that’s the one everyone’s been talking about. The Utah Jazz’s 24-year-old restricted free agent center is probably the Lakers’ top target this summer. But here’s the thing — Utah is not playing ball.

Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line dropped the news this week that the Jazz are dead set on keeping Kessler. Like, matching-any-offer-sheet dead set. And it doesn’t matter that Danny Ainge is still pulling strings in Utah. If anything, that makes it harder for the Lakers.

“How do the Lakers pry Kessler away from the Jazz when he’s an RFA? How on Earth do they do so when Celtics-reared Danny Ainge still has such a loud voice in the Utah hierarchy?” Stein and Fischer wrote. “Excellent questions.”

Kessler’s value only went up after Tuesday’s negotiating window opened. According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, the big man has already been meeting with interested teams — and he’s got offers on the table worth between the mid-$30 million and high-$30 million range annually. That’s serious money for a defensive specialist who’s still just 24.

So what about Jalen Duren?

While the Lakers wait to see if Utah blinks — which, again, they’re not — they’ve also got their eyes on Detroit’s Jalen Duren. Stein and Fischer reported that L.A. met with Duren on Tuesday, and that the 22-year-old is open to sign-and-trade scenarios with both the Lakers and the Sacramento Kings.

Sam Amick of The Athletic said the first meeting went so well that the Lakers scheduled a follow-up for Wednesday. And get this: the Lakers told Duren they see him as a max-salary level player. That’s a pretty strong pitch.

But here’s the catch. Detroit is just as stubborn as Utah. The Pistons want to keep Duren, and they’re not exactly jumping at sign-and-trade talks.

So where does that leave the Lakers? They’re chasing two of the best young centers on the market, and both teams are telling them to buzz off. It’s not that the players don’t want to come — Kessler and Duren both know they’d be stepping into a starting role in L.A. The problem is that the Jazz and Pistons have all the leverage.

The rumor mill says Kessler is the likelier target, but “likely” doesn’t mean “possible” when Ainge is on the other side of the table. Stein and Fischer put it this way: “Let’s see, though. Stay tuned. This appears certain to be one of the loudest stories for the rest of the week.”

For now, L.A. is left hoping one of these teams decides to make a deal. But hope is not a plan, and the Lakers know it.