The Los Angeles Lakers are 2-0 for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
They won eight straight to open the campaign, dropping just two of their first 15 regular-season contests, and made it to the Western Conference Seminals that year.
If they want to make it that far and beyond this season, they must sure up some of the more uncertain parts of their roster. One of the biggest remaining question marks is the backup center spot behind and sometimes alongside Anthony Davis.
The Athletic’s Jovan Buha suggested Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler could be an option.
“I think Walker Kessler is a name that the Lakers have been interested in that I think would make a lot of sense and would allow you to either start a two-big look. Or – probably more realistically – bring him off the bench and then play two-big shifts,” Buha said in response to a fan’s question about trade targets during his postgame reaction podcast on October 25. “And then in certain matchups, close with two bigs; him and AD, obviously.”
Kessler can be a force on the glass and the paint.
Davis leads the Lakers at over 37 minutes per game. 2023 free agent pickup Jaxson Hayes is the only other center to have logged minutes in the Lakers’ two games.
They also have Christian Wood and Christian Koloko (two-way) but both are injured. That could lead the Lakers to seek another option via trade if they do not have faith in Hayes, who is averaging 8.0/5.0/2.0 with 1.0 blocks in 16 minutes per game.
Lakers Trade Pitch Lands Walker Kessler From Jazz
Kessler, 23, was the No. 22 overall pick of the 2022 draft. The 7-footer was a member of the All-Rookie Team but regressed as a scorer and rebounder in his second season.
He has posted similar numbers to his rookie campaign through the first two weeks of the 2024-25 season. In Year 3 of a four-year, $13.3 million rookie scale contract, Kessler has a $2.9 million cap hit for this season. The Lakers can afford a deal and match salaries.
This Heavy Sports trade proposal would land Kessler on the Lakers.
Lakers get:
Walker Kessler
Jazz get:
Christian Wood
2027 first-round pick rights (currently top-4 protected via LAL)
2029 first-round pick
The compensation, namely the draft capital could be a tough sell for the Lakers, who owe their first-round pick in 2025 to the Atlanta Hawks by way of the New Orleans Pelicans. The Lakers also owe their first-rounder in 2027 to the Jazz, limiting what they can trade.
Perhaps removing the protections on that 2027 pick would satisfy the Jazz amid their rumored asking price for Kessler.
“Before coming to terms on a blockbuster swap with Minnesota for Karl-Anthony Towns mere days before the start of training camp, New York made multiple trade runs at Utah’s Walker Kessler to fill its well-chronicled void at center, league sources say,” The Stein Line’s Marc Stein wrote on October 6.
“It is believed that Utah wanted at least two future first-round picks for Kessler.”
Lakers Could Re-Visit Previous Targets
Buha does not believe the Lakers will limit themselves to centers on the trade market, which makes sense given their existing depth.
“Jerami Grant is [a player the Lakers could target in a trade],” Buha said. “Bruce Brown, Dorian Finney-Smith, Cam Johnson – the guys that they’ve kind of gone after or been interested in in the past.
Grant, 30, is averaging 25.0 PPG and shooting 40% from downtown through two games. He is in Year 2 of a five-year, $160 million pact with the Portland Trail Blazers. Brown is in the final year of a two-year, $45 million deal with a $23 million cap hit in 2024-25. But he has not played yet this season.
Finney-Smith (11.0 PPG, 38.5% 3P) is in Year 3 of a four-year, $55.5 million contract and has a $19.5 million player option for the 2025-26 season.
His Brooklyn Nets teammate, Johnson, is in Year 2 of a four-year, $94.5 million deal.
Johnson profiles as a prime trade target for the Lakers given his age – he turns 29 years old in March – and 3-and-D skill set. But he is also averaging 13.0 PPG but shooting a career-worst 18.3% from three through two games.
Buha pointed to Rui Hachimura as a potential option to step up. Hachimura is averaging 16.0 points, 6.0 board, and shooting 37.5% from outside in Year 2 of a three-year, $51 million deal.
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