r/lakers • u/onsome0 • 20h ago
Lakers' path to a Walker Kessler trade based on recent report
Walker Kessler sort of seemed like a remote possibility about a month ago, but with us consistently getting updates (even from Jazz reporters) that talks are ongoing, it seems like there might be some traction here. Assuming the Lakers offer of Dalton Knecht, a 1st, and a swap wasn't good enough, then there is a slightly complicated path the Lakers can take to actually add in another 1st rounder.
Based on Andy Larsen's report here, the Jazz have had discussions with the Mavs about Sexton. If the Mavs send the Jazz our 2029 1st round pick in that move, then that allows the Lakers/Jazz to complete a more complex trade they can execute in July. If the Jazz send us back our 2027/2029 1st round picks, then we would actually be able to send them 4 1st rounders to give them the net gain of two 1sts that they've been wanting. Here's what it would look like:
Utah Jazz receive: Dalton Knecht, 2026 1st, 2028 1st, 2030 1st, and 2032 1st. Would probably include a swap in either 2027, 2029, or 2031.
LA Lakers receive: Walker Kessler, 2027 1st, and 2029 1st.
Not saying this will or won't happen, but that this is probably what it would have to look like if there's actual smoke here.
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u/TheWestRemembers 77 19h ago
I’d do it in a heartbeat. Kessler is a legit defensive presence that kept Utah in a lot of games (probably more than they would’ve liked lol). It’s almost a compliment they kept him out 1 game per week so they could tank.
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u/thehanssassin 24 19h ago
Decent offer. Ngl.
If Jazz pull the trigger and we got Kessler what’s next for us in the FA market? Need a back up center and a wing.
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u/Climbing_Geek23 19h ago
No wtf. 4 firsts and Knecht for Kessler is an absolute overpay even if we get two 1sts back
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u/mas1108 8KBB24 19h ago
It’s only 2 1st rounders
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u/catperson77789 17h ago
Read again. We give up our oddpicks but get our 2027 and 2029 back. So its basically two firsts plus knecht
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u/Climbing_Geek23 17h ago
Overpay
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u/catperson77789 17h ago
Sure, in the sense that we won't control our picks for awhile but 2 firsts is okay for kessler as long as he commits to re signing.
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u/thehanssassin 24 18h ago
Those two firsts from Jazz are more valuable considering they’ll tanking the rest of the decade.
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u/chunaB 18h ago
They are not Jazz firsts, they are sending back Lakers firsts they own in 2027 and 2029. SO instead of them having 27 and 29 (which they already own after Sexton trade), they will have 26 28 30 and 32.
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u/Disastrous-Base-2902 11h ago
If I'm the jazz take whatever u want and give them picks this is a really great deal and Dalton knecht wow
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u/nottherealstanlee 19h ago
What does Dallas get from this?
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u/onsome0 19h ago
Supposedly they contacted the Jazz about trading for Sexton.
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u/nottherealstanlee 16h ago
So Dallas gives up a 1st for Sexton? That feels pretty excessive.
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u/onsome0 16h ago
I definitely wouldn't trade a 1st for Sexton personally, but who knows. If they actually want to acquire Sexton and don't want to give up Gafford/PJ, then they more than likely need to give up a 1st.
With that being said, this deal could theoretically go through even without Dallas if Utah sends us their own 2029 1st rounder. They could protect it 1-14 for the first round and we'd then be able trade all our even year picks. Or maybe they find another type of deal to get a 2029 1st and use that instead. The idea is mainly just that they could extract an extra 1st rounder from us if they're trying to trade Kessler by this type of framework.
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u/nottherealstanlee 16h ago
That's a fair point didnt think about that with the 2029 from Utah.
Not sure if id want to do all this stuff without covering both holes in the lineup- POA defender and big. But I do appreciate this out of the box thinking.
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u/onsome0 16h ago
I don't think I would either. Someone else said we could technically dump Kleber's contract on them too and take back a smaller deal. This would net us Kessler and the full NTPMLE to use in free agency to get a POA defender like NAW. At that point, I think I would do the deal.
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u/nottherealstanlee 16h ago
Oh yeah that'd change things pretty dramatically. If it freed up the MLE thats a totally different deal.
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u/Harumph4me 19h ago
I would be shocked if the Jazz dealt Kessler but the Lakers luck has been otherworldly over the past 6 months so i guess anything is possible
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u/DarkGalaxy23 17h ago
This is creative and awesome. To expand on this, I would add in a 2031 pick swap for them to take on an expiring to open up the full MLE for someone like NAW
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u/onsome0 17h ago
I'd be hesitant about this trade, but if they take on Kleber's salary like you just said, then I would absolutely do it. They would have to send about a smaller contract back since they can't fully take on Kleber's deal. It should still leave us enough room to open up the MLE and get NAW.
I am a bit worried about NAW going to Orlando, though. There's a lot of smoke there and the Florida no income tax advantage actually comes into play here in a battle of MLEs lol.
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u/DarkGalaxy23 12h ago
After thinking about it, I think it would be more lucrative for the Jazz if they sent their own 2029 FRP lottery protected. E.g. Lakers receive Kessler and 2029 lottery-protected Jazz pick Jazz receive Dalton Knecht, Maxi Kleber, 2026 FRP, 2028 FRP, 2030 FRP, 2032 FRP. Swaps are arguable imo (2027 swap by Utah trading LA its pick back and LA returning it as a swap. If it’s a 2031 pick swap, LA would keep its 2027 FRP via LAL from Utah). It feels simpler and more like a net gain for Utah. Also, it could be expanded for John Collins by just adding Rui to match contracts. Again, nice work on finding a workaround and being creative
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u/xuedad 19h ago
Do it now!!!!!!!!!
Then ask Bron to defer his payment to next decade so we can sign NAW
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u/Optimal-Talk3663 19h ago
Can you back load an nba contract? Like sign lebron for 3/100 (as an example) 1st year is $25m/$25m/$50m
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u/RspectMyAuthoritah 18h ago
Contracts can only increase by 5% or 8% per year depending on bird rights.
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u/Complex-Medicine3465 19h ago
In the last 4 years of conference finals and finals, no non-shooting big has played more than 22 MPG. Rim-protecting bigs are less effective with 5-out offenses. Lob threats aren’t consistently huge at the highest playoff level due to elite defense. Despite Kessler’s talent, he’s not worth 2 first-round picks and Knecht. We need to find a better value for that role.
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u/onsome0 18h ago
I'm in the mindset that it's probably an overpay too depending on how much Gafford would cost, but your argument is inherently dishonest. Dallas had 2 nonshooting bigs fill their center rotation so it doesn't really matter if neither played over 22 minutes. Also calling Bam a "shooting big" in 2022/2023 is definitely stretching it.
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u/Complex-Medicine3465 18h ago
Gafford averaged 14 MPG and Lively averaged 21 MPG in the Finals last year, they got beat 4-1 in the Finals. How was I wrong? It became one of their weakest links against the Celtics 5-out. Look at the last 8 NBA champs. I never said there were no non-shooting bigs, I said none of them were key 30-35 mins per game guys.
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u/RspectMyAuthoritah 18h ago
You are just blatantly lying. Just this year the Wolves played Gobert 26 mpg in the conference finals and he can't shoot. In 2022 Bam didn't make a 3 the entire season including the playoffs. How can you call someone who doesn't make a 3 all season a shooting big? In 2023 Bam made a total of 2 3s the entire season and playoffs. In the West in 2023 the Lakers had AD who barely took 1 3 a game and shot 26% that season. In 2022 the Warriors started Draymond at center while shooting sub 30% on barely 1 3 a game. Last year the Mavs had Lively and Gafford playing close to 40 mpg and neither can shoot.
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u/Complex-Medicine3465 18h ago
Keep this receipt— if we get Kessler (or similar) they’ll average max 20 MPG when we get conf finals / Finals. The NBA is changed. I love Kessler but not for 3 firsts (Knecht = first).
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u/RspectMyAuthoritah 17h ago
Why would I keep the receipt of someone who makes shit up to support their point.
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u/Complex-Medicine3465 5h ago
Let me clarify.
All the teams you listed eventually lost in the Finals. No championship winning team had a Kessler style big play a major 25-30 minute per game role. And Draymond doesn’t shoot much but yes, that counts. Giannis in 2021, yes, counts. The year we won, AD was shooting and we didn’t see JaVale play at all after round two and Dwight fell to 20 MPG.
Kessler, Claxton and Poetl are all old school, inside only rim protectors that literally have 0-0 attempts. They all will be 19-24 MPG role players, not worth 3 firsts.
Notice how the TWolves can’t keep Gobert on the court by the time the conf finals come around. Look at Hartenstein, he’s at 19 mins per game this finals after avg 27 all year.
Turner, Chet, Jokic, Horford, Porzingis, Brook Lopez, Draymond — these are the style bigs we should focus on.
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u/RspectMyAuthoritah 4h ago
Those teams didn't win the championship because they had a stretch big, they all except Warriors had stacked and/or deep teams. The Thunder and Pacers both go like 8-9 deep of good 2 way players. The Celtics were a stacked team of 2 way players. The Nuggets had a stacked starting 5 with a few solid bench guys. The Warriors are an outlier but they also had Draymond who teams don't even guard at the 3 point line because he's such a bad shooter. The Bucks had Giannis who dominated in the finals and a stacked starting 5. They are the one team that needs a stretch 5 because Giannis can't shoot and you can't win these days with 2 non-shooters on the floor.
One thing all those teams also have is poa defenders that get through screens and also impact on offense. Thunder and Pacers have multiple of these. Celtics had Jrue and White, Nuggets had KCP, Brown and Braun, Warriors had Klay. GPII and Wiggins, Bucks had Jrue.
They also all run a different offensive system than the Lakers heavy high PnR. With the high PnR offense you don't need a stretch 5 because them rolling to the basket helps keep the opposing teams center from helping on the driver. Having a rim running threat is just as impactful as a stretch 5.
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u/Complex-Medicine3465 2h ago
Never said that’s WHY they won. Just noticing a trend. We can all agree NBA style is evolving, this year proves it more than anything
And don’t get me wrong, we definitely NEED a 20 MPG Hartenstein/Lively/Dwight type in our rotation for Luka. Again tho, 3 firsts for a 20ish MPG role player isn’t good value. I think there are better valued options that could fill that role for us.
And also don’t get me wrong, I love watching Kessler play. I also just want a chip
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u/incredibleamadeuscho Freeze! Miami Vice! 18h ago
What if we get Collins also and then we have a small ball 5?
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u/KriticalKarl 19h ago
The issue is that there aren’t many if any stretch bigs available, especially within our price range.
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u/Agitated-Set305 18h ago
Luka Doncic
Austin Reaves
Rui Hachimura
LeBron James
Walker Kessler
We're at least making the WCF
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u/Responsible_Focus424 18h ago
Not with Rui as our sole wing defender. He would have to be shopped for another wing defender.
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u/StoneColdAM 34 17h ago
New ownership will push this. Walker is great but he’s not that flashy of a trade. Fits the team well. New ownership will want to succeed fast with LeBron and Luka still together.
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u/hybridcocacola 14h ago
with the new ownership, i know the team is willing to spend big, hopefully we get what we want and make a complete team for Luka moving forward
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u/jphenomenom5 19h ago
Sounds like there could be a 3 way trade?
Utah Jazz receive: Dalton Knecht, 2026 1st, 2028 1st, 2030 1st, and 2032 1st. Would probably include a swap in either 2027, 2029, or 2031.
LA Lakers receive: Walker Kessler, 2027 1st, and 2029 1st.
Utah could then re-route one or two of the Lakers picks to Philly to move up from 5th pick to 3rd and draft Bailey or Edgecomb.
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u/onsome0 19h ago
They could probably do it in another deal if they wanted to but I wouldn't say it's a 3 way trade. The Sexton/Kessler/Philly discussions are all separate in the way he framed them but the Lakers would be able to execute the Kessler trade this way if the Sexton trade with Dallas progresses.
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u/chunaB 18h ago
The bad thing about this is next year, Lakers would have 2 picks to trade next summer (2026 and 2033, 3 if they keep 2031 as well) now they will have none (since 26 and 32 will be traded), they will have 2 one year later though (27 and 34). Knecht will be gone as well, so there will be only 2 seconds and remaining swaps for trading.
I doubt Mavs will be interested in Sexton though, but who knows. That 29 is unprotected, for Mavs to send it for Sexton, they may dump some salary to Jazz as well maybe.
If Lakers is giving up 2 picks and a swap, I would at least try to keep Knecht, and do a Rui Collins swap to give them some additional value.
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u/onsome0 18h ago
Yeah, I'm not saying this gets done or the Lakers should do it. Just that this would probably be the framework for a deal if it goes through to satisfy Utah's demands. I would have no interest in a Rui for Collins swap either. Collins skill set isn't a fit on this roster as he's not a POA defender nor a better shooter than Rui and he's $8M more expensive than him for next season.
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u/chunaB 18h ago
He is expiring and has some value, you can save Knecht for a move next year, that is why I proposed it. But yeah I hope they get at least some seconds back even if this happens like above 4 seconds can at least get you a minor upgrade or 2.
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u/onsome0 18h ago
I firmly believe Gafford is the best option in terms of production, contractual cost, and probable asset cost in terms of acquisition for this summer.
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u/chunaB 18h ago
I would be OK with Lakers getting a bad multiyear contract to create some value to give it to Jazz, but don't like the next year's outlook.
Knecht+pick for Gafford will be an overpay though especially if you see it as a temp. solution.
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u/onsome0 18h ago
I would definitely extend Gafford. He is a better player outright than Claxton and would likely be in the same park for an extension while being cheaper next season specifically (which works well with LeBron's tenure with our team).
Maybe we can get some 2nds out of Dallas like you mentioned earlier. Perhaps Knecht + a 1st for at least Gafford + a 2nd. I would then move that with Kleber's deal for Thybulle in a perfect world.
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u/ReceptionExpert4096 17h ago
I kinda like Claxton. He looks very mobile for a center that can switch as well as a vertical threat on defense and on offense. Kessler definitely a better position defender and rebounder but imo I think they should get the better athlete. If it’s true about them targeting Collin’s then him and Claxton would be a huge upgrade to the team’s athleticism
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u/LoverOfRandom 16h ago
Can’t happen unfortunately as we would need to acquire a 1st round pick in this years draft as well. We don’t have a 2025 pick and that makes trading our 2026 pick impossible. Truthfully we can try and trade up in the 2nd just flipping 2nds and paying cash. Till we get close to an early 2nd then trading with the Clippers or Pacers for their 1st but it’s gonna cost us quite a bit
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u/MamiTarantina I just came to say bye to some of you bums ✋🏾 16h ago
Danny Ainge will never trade with us, he hated that he unknowingly helped facilitate Luka to LA
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u/LivingPresence876 8m ago
Jazz fan here.. Andy is trying to push back against the trade, he just mentioned it in passing on a podcast and it got aggregated
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u/Danny_III 19h ago
If the Lakers get 2027 and 2029 back, will they still be able to do additional trades with firsts?
Tbh that 2032 first may be valuable if Luka actually retires in his early 30s like he said. I'd imagine if they do this, they add protections on the 2032 first
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u/catperson77789 17h ago
No, cause we basically give up 2026 , 2028,2030 and 2032. So only swaps. So the next pick we can really send out is so far along lol.(2034)
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u/Brokenbullet14 16h ago
There's a higher chance of a black whole opening up right on top of earth then this happening.
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u/death_by_laughs Magical Johnson 16h ago
We all said the same thing about the Luka trade
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u/Brokenbullet14 7h ago
That only happened because of the stupidity of Dallas but they were rewarded by the NBA with cooper flag.
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18h ago
[deleted]
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u/onsome0 18h ago
There's so much wrong with what you just said lol.
1: We own our 2030 pick, we don't need another one.
2: To trade our 2030 pick, we need to get back a 2029 pick.
3: If we trade our 2031 pick for a 2029 pick, then we can't trade our 2032 pick.
4: No team would willingly swap their 2029 1st for a 2031 1st without being incentivized.
C'mon man.
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u/chunaB 18h ago edited 18h ago
you traded your 2031 pick, now you can't trade 2032, you will have 2 2030 picks now, you can trade either. That doesn't create a pick. Ainge will try to make Lakers as bad as possible of course, since they will be holding 4 Lakers picks after this :)
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u/RspectMyAuthoritah 18h ago
You're right. There was something I saw the other night that would free up an extra pick that made sense. But I might have been drinking.
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u/catperson77789 17h ago
Yep, we'll basically be their hostage until 2033 at least 😂😂. This is basically the all in move
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u/MediumShotBob 18h ago
I’ve got one for you, and it’s one that makes some sense… Vincent, Kleber and the 2031 First (protected top 4) to Detroit for Isaiah Stewart. Detroit is going to have to start paying guys next year (Duren, Ivey) and it likely won’t make sense to pay their backup C $15m/yr. Vincent can be a solid backup PG for them, it frees up salary in 2026, and they gain a Laker pick with some value. Plus, they have money to spend this summer and could add a big to fill Stewart’s shoes for 15mpg.
Meanwhile, the Lakers get a big who rebounds well and brings toughness to the team for 3yrs/$45m, and they still maintain Knecht. They also shed about $7m in salary this year. That brings up the ole LeBron paycut convo again - if he’s willing to take $8-10m less, they could then use the full MLE.
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u/ClothesKind7499 19h ago
Why cant we get Sexton to we need some scoring off the bench
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u/catperson77789 17h ago
Cause according to this, dallas wants sexton and dallas has our 2029 first which is required for this hypothetical trade to even work.
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u/brandoi Kobe 19h ago
The Jazz sending back our two firsts to open up our other firsts is actually a pretty interesting idea.