There was a quiet, maybe slightly desperate hope among Lakers fans that they’d eventually pry Walker Kessler away from Utah. That hope just took a direct hit.
With the second overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Jazz selected guard Darryn Peterson. That’s a huge get for Utah — Peterson was in the conversation for the top spot all season. But for the Lakers, the pick might have closed a door they were keeping cracked open.
Lakers insider Anthony Irwin put it bluntly on X: “Darryn Peterson going to Utah dumps a big bucket of cold water on any dreams of landing Kessler. Just speculating on that, though.”
The logic is simple. Utah already has Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen in the frontcourt, plus Keyonte George in the backcourt. Peterson is another guard. So where does everyone play?
Positional dominoes
If the Jazz had taken Cameron Boozer at No. 2, you could make a case for pairing him with Jackson up front and sliding Markkanen to the three. That might have made Kessler expendable — a tradable asset the Lakers could chase. But Peterson changes the math.
Jackson has been at his best at the four. So now you’re looking at a core of Jackson at power forward, Markkanen at small forward, Kessler at center, George at point guard, and Peterson at shooting guard. That’s a five-man rotation with no obvious odd man out. One of Peterson or rookie Ace Bailey probably comes off the bench to start the season, but the team isn’t trading away a 25-year-old elite shot-blocker when he fits perfectly alongside Jackson.
Kessler’s value was already high
Let’s be real. It was always unlikely the Jazz would let Kessler go. He’s only 25, and he’s been one of the league’s best rim protectors this past season. The guy blocks shots like he’s got something personal against the basketball. Utah isn’t in the business of making the Lakers better, either.
Peterson’s selection just reinforces what was already true: Kessler is more valuable to Utah than he is to anyone else in a trade package. The Lakers will have to look elsewhere to fill that hole at center. Maybe they go back to the trade market for a different name. Maybe they wait for a buyout. But the path to Kessler just got narrower, and it might not exist at all anymore.
The Jazz are entering Year Five of their rebuild, and for the first time in a while, things look like they’re actually coming together. That’s bad news for L.A.
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