The Lakers Just Spent $130 Million on a Center Who Can’t Create His Own Shot

The Los Angeles Lakers walked into this offseason with a rare gift: cap space. LeBron James announced he was moving on, which freed up roughly $50 million in room. Luka Doncic was already in place as the franchise cornerstone. For once, the Lakers had options. They didn’t have to patch holes with minimum contracts and buyout scraps.

And then they signed Walker Kessler to a four-year, $130 million deal. They gave up two unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps to get him in a sign-and-trade. That is a lot of assets for a center who cannot create his own offense and has attempted eight three-pointers in five NBA seasons. He made six of them, sure. But that’s not a sample size you bet $130 million on.

Kessler is good but that contract is a problem

Let’s be fair. Kessler is 24 years old. He might be the best shot-blocker in the league outside of Victor Wembanyama. He runs the floor well and finishes lobs. He should pair nicely with Doncic in the pick-and-roll, which was a glaring weakness when Deandre Ayton was the guy setting screens and then not rolling hard to the rim.

But Kessler now makes $32.5 million per year. That makes him the 10th highest paid center in the NBA. And here’s the thing: in today’s league, how far can you go with a center who cannot space the floor or generate his own offense taking up that much cap room? The Lakers now have roughly 73 percent of their cap tied up in Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Kessler. That is a good trio. But is it a championship trio?

Mitchell Robinson signed for significantly less money with the Knicks. Daniel Gafford probably would have cost fewer draft picks. Either of those moves would have let the Lakers keep some flexibility. Instead they went all in on Kessler and stripped their future pick cupboard bare.

The perimeter defense is a ghost town now

LeBron was 40 years old last season but he was still an elite communicator on defense. He filled gaps, rotated correctly, and knew where to be. Rui Hachimura had size to bother wings. Marcus Smart, who had a career revival in LA last year, is also gone. All three are off the roster now.

So who guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a playoff series? Who sticks with Anthony Edwards? The Lakers are looking at Jarred Vanderbilt, who is a huge negative on offense, or Jake LaRavia, who shrunk in the postseason and fell out of the rotation entirely. Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton will get minutes on the wing, but both are undersized against the league’s elite scorers. That is a problem.

There are reports the Lakers are interested in Jonathan Kuminga. But Kuminga needs the ball to be effective, he’s not a reliable floor spacer, and he would cost more assets to acquire. That feels like a move that would compound the same mistake.

The Lakers will win games because Doncic drags teams to 50 wins in his sleep. But the ceiling on this roster feels lower than it should be. They spent big on a center who fits a specific role and ignored the gaping hole on the perimeter. The math might not work out in May.