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Report: Lakers keep running into same obstacle when they call on Walker Kessler

Published by
Jesse Cinquini

The Feb. 6 trade deadline is just around two weeks away, and Utah Jazz big man Walker Kessler has arguably been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers as much as any player over the past several months.

All the way back in October, The Athletic’s Jovan Buha joined those linking the Lakers to the 23-year-old. More recently, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus explained what he believes the Lakers would have to part with in order to potentially trade for Kessler.

While speaking with ESPN colleague Stephen A. Smith on Thursday, NBA insider Shams Charania seemingly corroborated the Lakers’ interest in Kessler but also explained that the asking price has been really high anytime Los Angeles has called about him.

Buha’s colleague over at The Athletic — Sam Amick — suggested that the Lakers could run into problems in their pursuit of Kessler well before Charania’s comments. In early November, he claimed that the Jazz wouldn’t have been interested in a deal featuring guard D’Angelo Russell — who is now a member of the Brooklyn Nets — and more than one first-round pick to Utah.

But now that Russell has already been traded, perhaps the Lakers can put together a different package to try to land the big man.

When factoring in Kessler’s youth as well as his production with the Jazz so far in the 2024-25 season, the rationale for the Jazz reportedly having a high asking price for him is evident.

Kessler is averaging a double-double of 11.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game across 34 games played (all starts) to this point. He’s leading the Jazz with 2.4 blocked shots per contest as well.

The former Auburn University standout gets much of his flowers for his work on the defensive side of the ball, and for good reason, as he’s great at protecting the rim. However, Kessler is also quite a productive and impactful offensive player.

Kessler doesn’t have a diverse scoring arsenal, but he’s scoring the ball with greater efficiency than any player in the NBA this season. He’s shooting 72.7 percent from the field, with 154 of his 227 field-goal attempts coming at the rim.

The future will show whether or not the Lakers meet Utah’s asking price, but Kessler theoretically would help to fortify the team’s frontcourt attack in a major way.

Jesse Cinquini

Jesse is a sports journalist with extensive experience covering the NBA. He has worked as a staff writer covering the Lakers’ dreaded rivals, the Boston Celtics, for SB Nation. He has also covered the New York Knicks for The Knicks Wall.

Published by
Jesse Cinquini

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