Walker Kessler hasn’t even played a regular season game for the Lakers yet, and his new head coach is already pushing him to expand his game. Specifically, JJ Redick wants the 7-footer to start launching threes. And honestly, Kessler seems pretty into the idea.
“I think Coach JJ is hyper-intelligent, and obviously being a shooter himself, we’ve talked about it and he wants me to be able to do that,” Kessler said in his first comments since being acquired from the Jazz via sign-and-trade. “I think for a big to be able to stretch the floor like that or even have the threat of that, I think it makes other teams’ scout really difficult.”
It’s no secret the Lakers have been searching for a reliable starting center for a while now. They think Kessler might be the answer, especially as the long-term frontcourt partner for Luka Doncic. But Redick, a career 41.5 percent three-point shooter himself, sees more potential than just rim-running and rebounding.
The Lakers haven’t had a center who consistently stretches the floor. Not really. Marc Gasol could do it in a different era, and Anthony Davis has done it in bursts, but having a true big who makes defenses pay from deep is a different look. With Doncic and Austin Reaves creating off the dribble, a stretch-five could turn good possessions into great ones.
Kessler’s sample size from three-point range is tiny but encouraging. He shot about 75 percent on 1.6 attempts per game last season. That sounds absurd because it is absurd. He only played five games before a shoulder injury ended his year, but during that stretch he averaged a double-double: 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.8 blocks. He shot 70.3 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free-throw line.
Nobody expects Kessler to become a 40 percent three-point shooter right away. But if he can just keep defenses honest, it changes the math for everyone else. Redick seems to understand that a center who can at least threaten from deep is a weapon that forces scouting reports to be rewritten.
Kessler is clearly on board. The question is how fast he can get comfortable with that shot in game situations. The Lakers are banking on it happening sooner rather than later.
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