Walker Kessler landed in Los Angeles for a free agency meeting and got intercepted before he even left the terminal. The Utah Jazz big man, who becomes a restricted free agent when the negotiation window opens, was greeted at the airport by Lakers fans who apparently saw an opportunity and took it.
According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, Kessler is expected to hold meetings with interested teams while he’s in town. But the fans who spotted him decided to speed up the recruiting pitch. They talked him up. They told him how good he’d look next to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. And Kessler, to his credit, played along. He told them he felt good about the process and that playing with those two guards sounded pretty appealing. Not exactly a hard sell.
The Lakers Have Two Paths to Land Kessler
Los Angeles can’t just sign him outright and call it a day. Because Kessler is a restricted free agent, the Jazz have the right to match any offer sheet he signs. So the Lakers basically have two options. One is to throw a big offer sheet at him and hope Utah decides he’s not worth the money. The other is to work out a sign-and-trade with the Jazz, which would require sending assets back to Salt Lake City. That second option only works if Kessler makes it clear he wants out and forces Utah’s hand.
There were whispers earlier this offseason that Kessler wasn’t thrilled with the Jazz’s initial contract offer. That chatter came out during the period when teams could talk to their own free agents right after the Finals. But Kessler himself went on social media to shoot down those rumors. Jazz owner Ryan Smith also made a point of saying the front office views Kessler as a core piece of the rebuild. So maybe the relationship is fine. Maybe it’s not. Free agency has a way of revealing the truth.
Why Kessler Makes So Much Sense for LA
The Lakers have needed a young, mobile rim protector for years. They’ve tried band-aids. They’ve tried veterans on minimum deals. Nothing has stuck. Kessler, even after missing most of last season with a season-ending injury that limited him to five games, fits the profile better than anyone they’ve had. In his four-year career he has established himself as a legitimate double-double threat and an interior defensive anchor. Those are exactly the two things the Lakers lack right now.
The injury is a concern. No question. Five games is a tiny sample and teams will want to see medical reports before committing real money. But if Kessler is healthy, he changes the math for a Lakers team that struggled to protect the paint all season. And if his airport encounter is any indication, the fans in LA have already made up their minds about what they want.
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