What a Walker Kessler trade could look like for the Lakers

Anthony Davis wants the Lakers to add another big man. Could Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler be the answer?

We’re now less than two weeks from the Feb. 6 trade deadline, which means it’s officially time for everyone’s favorite annual tradition: Anthony Davis clamoring to move back to the four spot.

This week, Davis told ESPN’s Shams Charania that he thought the Lakers needed to acquire another big man because he felt “I’ve always been at my best when I’ve been the four, having a big out there.” He pointed to the 2019-20 championship team, which featured JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard next to him, as proof of that concept.

After Thursday’s blowout win over the Boston Celtics, Davis elaborated on why he felt that way:

Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported earlier this week that the Lakers “remain active on the trade market in pursuit of upgrades.” However, rival scouts and front-office personnel with whom he spoke believe “standing pat or making a half-measure trade (likely one or two second-round picks is more likely than the Lakers going all-in and trading both of their future first-round picks that can be moved.”

Nikola Vučević, Jonas Valančiūnas and Robert Williams III could be among the Lakers’ options on the half-measure front. The Lakers have reportedly inquired with the Utah Jazz about third-year center Walker Kessler as well, although Jazz CEO Danny Ainge appears to be playing hardball for now.

“Every time they call on Walker Kessler in Utah, that asking price is really high,” Charania said on ESPN’s First Take this week. “So that front office is trying to make calls and doing its due diligence, but at the end of the day, it takes two teams to tango, and they have not been able to find deals as of yet.”

That echoes what Dan Wolke of the Los Angeles Times reported earlier this month. Wolke said the Lakers are among the teams that have expressed interest in Kessler, but “the belief in NBA circles is that he’s not available in any realistic trade scenarios.” (How unlike Danny Ainge to have an unrealistic asking price for someone!)

Charania did add that the Lakers are open to moving their 2029 and 2031 first-round picks, but only for players “that not only fit this current LeBron James/Anthony Davis iteration… but they want players that can play the next three, four, five years under JJ Redick.”

That description doesn’t apply to Vučević and Valančiūnas, both of whom are on the wrong side of 30, but it could for Kessler, who doesn’t turn 24 until late July.

Kessler and Davis might be a clunky fit together on offense, as a grand majority of the former’s shot attempts come within 10 feet of the basket. Through two-and-a-half years in the NBA, he’s hit exactly seven 3-pointers on 26 attempts.

He’s also a horrific free-throw shooter with a career clip of only 54.6%. However, he’s shooting a league-high 72.7% from the floor and is averaging a career-high 11.3 points on only 6.7 shots per game.

Defense is where Kessler would make the bigger impact. He has blocked two-plus shots per game in each of his three seasons and he’s in the 92nd percentile of Dunks and Threes’ defensive estimated plus/minus this year. The 23-year-old is hauling in a career-high 4.5 offensive rebounds and 11.5 total rebounds in only 29.8 minutes per game.

The big appeal of Kessler — and why the Lakers may face steep competition for him on the trade market if the Jazz do actually consider trading him — is his rookie-scale contract. He’s earning just shy of $3.0 million this year and $4.9 million next season, which makes it easy for any team to match salary for him in a trade.

For the Lakers, Christian Wood ($3.0 million) or Jalen Hood-Schifino ($3.9 million) alone would cover the cost of Kessler from a salary-matching perspective. Jaxson Hayes ($2.5 million) and Cam Reddish ($2.5 million) would not, but the Lakers could aggregate any two of their minimum contracts and easily clear what they’d need to send out.

The Lakers’ chances of trading for Kessler, thus, may come down to two things: how many draft picks they’d offer and whether they’d be willing to include Dalton Knecht in the deal.

If the Lakers didn’t want to offer both unprotected first-round picks, they have up to three swaps (2026, 2028 and 2030) that they could offer instead. They have two 2025 second-round picks (their own and one from the Los Angeles Clippers) to dangle as well.

With James nearing retirement, the Lakers might understandably balk at including two distant first-round picks for a player who isn’t necessarily a picture-perfect fit with Davis.

The Jazz recently showed that they’re open for business when it comes to shorting the futures of teams with older stars, though. They just traded three first-round picks to the Phoenix Suns for a fully unprotected 2031 first-rounder, which general manager Justin Zanik later described as “the most valuable asset on the market right now.”

The Jazz might feel similarly about a 2031 unprotected first-round pick from the Lakers, since James will be long retired by the time that conveys. Davis will presumably be at the tail end of his NBA career as well—if he’s even still in L.A. by that point. If that pick is on the table, its upside could make the Jazz prefer a Kessler offer from the Lakers versus those from other teams.

Since salary-matching for Kessler wouldn’t be an issue for the Lakers or any other interested suitor, draft compensation figures to be the sticking point in trade talks. Well, that and whether “Almost Ainge” is actually willing to move Kessler in the first place.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Salary Swish and salary-cap information via RealGM.