Lakers insider pitches trade that would land team Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton

Now that the Los Angeles Lakers have landed Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets, many are wondering if another trade could be coming.

Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation proposed a trade that would send guard Collin Sexton and center Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz to Los Angeles in return for forward Rui Hachimura, center Jaxson Hayes, guard Jalen Hood-Schifino and two future first-round draft picks in 2029 and 2031.

It has been well-documented that the Lakers need another center to bolster their bench and even allow them to use lineups that feature two legitimate centers. When they last won the NBA championship in 2020, they started JaVale McGee at the 5 and Anthony Davis at the 4, which allowed Davis to play as a hybrid safety/outside linebacker on defense and be very disruptive.

Davis has almost exclusively played at the 5 over the last couple of years. When he has rested or been out with an injury, L.A. hasn’t had any real rim protection, which has compromised its defense.

Kessler is a legitimate rim protector who is averaging 2.8 blocks, as well as 10.9 rebounds a game this season. At age 23, he could be a part of L.A.’s future for many years.

Sexton, meanwhile, is the type of quick, attacking combo guard the Lakers sorely need now with Russell gone. With averages of 17.3 points on 48.4 percent overall and 43.6 percent from downtown and 3.8 assists in 28.4 minutes a game, he could add an extra dimension to their offense and allow them to get more transition scores.

The Lakers are in fifth place in the Western Conference with an 18-13 record, and there is a sense that they’re finding some sort of stability, which means that they may only need a couple of reinforcements to truly go places in the coming months. They have won six of their last eight games, including a 132-122 win on Saturday over the Sacramento Kings without LeBron James, and most of their upcoming games over the next four weeks or so will be at home.