{"id":1163576,"date":"2026-02-23T01:43:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T06:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/?p=1163576"},"modified":"2026-02-23T01:43:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T06:43:04","slug":"walker-kessler-free-agency-update-is-great-news-for-lakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/walker-kessler-free-agency-update-is-great-news-for-lakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Walker Kessler free agency update is great news for Lakers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walker Kessler free agency update is great news for Lakers<\/a> originally appeared on The Sporting News<\/a>.
\n Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Walker Kessler was linked to the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> on last season\u2019s trade market, but a trade never came to fruition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although the same occurred during this year\u2019s trade season, the dynamic 7-foot-2 Utah Jazz<\/a> center remains a player analysts and insiders believe could eventually land with the Lakers. Based on a recent free agency report regarding Kessler, the Lakers could be in great shape<\/a> to secure Kessler\u2019s services this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere’s what I’ll tell you: the Jazz have a number in mind. I think they are comfortable in the $25 million per range, and Walker Kessler and his reps at CAA believe he’s worth much, much more than that,” ESPN\u2019s Tim MacMahon said on Feb. 11.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Now, some options have disappeared. But I’m just telling you, that’s going to be a potentially very tense and extended restricted free agency process.”<\/p>\n

If Kessler and the Jazz are unable to reach a new deal (he\u2019s in the final year of his four-year, $13.37 million rookie contract), Los Angeles should be prepared to steal the Auburn product from Utah by paying him what he\u2019s worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t far-fetched to suggest Kessler will be an All-Star in the foreseeable future, as his smooth touch around the rim and elite shot-blocking chops have been on full display in the big leagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kessler, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury at the beginning of the year, averaged 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game with the Jazz this season, shooting 70.3% from the field in five contests.<\/p>\n

The Jazz\u2019s inability to lock in their standout center for years to come could benefit the Lakers this summer.<\/p>\n

More NBA:\u00a0Bombshell Kawhi Leonard trade report is exciting news for Warriors<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/walker-kessler-free-agency-great-014304904.html<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Walker Kessler free agency update is great news for Lakers originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1163577,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1163576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1163576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1163577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1163576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1163576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1163576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}