NBA rumors: Knicks, Lakers tried, failed to convince Jazz to trade Walker Kessler
Yesterday at 03:02 PM
Casual fans of the NBA may not be in tune with what’s going on with the Utah Jazz — pun very much intended — but even as Utah stumbles to what will be their third consecutive losing season, the rest of the league is keenly aware of what’s happening in Salt Lake City. As Utah undergoes something of a youth movement, veterans such as Lauri Markkanen, Colin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson and John Collins will all receive trade interest this summer. And despite his fit with Utah’s youth movement timeline, teams will continue to call about center Walker Kessler.
Kessler is averaging 11.4 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in his third NBA season. He’s also the league leader in field goal percentage, shooting nearly 73 percent from the field this year. And when you’re just 23 years old and playing on a cheap contract for the next season and a half, it’s reasonable that contending teams around the league would be inclined to make calls about his availability.
“League sources say that the Knicks were right there with the Lakers in their determination before the trade deadline to try to convince Utah to engage in meaningful Walker Kessler trade talks,” NBA insider Marc Stein wrote in his weekly Stein Line newsletter. “No dice, though. The Jazz made it clear they wanted no part of entertaining Kessler pitches in-season.”
The Knicks lost Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency, and have spent the majority of the season with Karl-Anthony Towns and Precious Achiuwa as the only two bigs in Tom Thibodeau’s rotation. The return of Mitchell Robinson, who missed the first 58 games of the season while recovering from offseason ankle surgery, will likely change that, though Kessler would’ve been a much safer bet to give Thibs good minutes than Robinson would’ve.
As for the Lakers, Los Angeles pivoted from Kessler to Charlotte’s Mark Williams, agreeing to send out rookie wing Dalton Knecht in exchange for the 23-year-old center, but to the surprise of everyone involved, the deal was rescinded after Williams failed his physical with the Lakers. Now the Lakers are in a position where they’ll need to move forward with Jaxson Hayes and small-ball lineups that feature the likes of Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, or potentially even LeBron James as the biggest player on the floor. Whether LA can craft a good enough defense playing without a traditional rim-protecting big remains to be seen.
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