Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Jazz Expected to Listen to Offers for Walker Kessler. Could the Lakers Make a deal?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, everyone, welcome to Locked on Lakers for Tuesday. Brian Komenetsky, Andy Kemenetsky, Walker Kessler. Is he available for real this time? That's next. You are Locked on Lakers. Your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast, part of the Lockedon Podcast Network, your team every day. Thanks to everyone for making Locked on Lakers your first listen of every day,

Starting point is 00:00:32 Monday through Friday, no matter how where you get your podcast. This one, of course, is always free and never behind a paywall. Andy, Locked on Lakers on YouTube is where you can go hang out with over 35,000 subscribers, all of whom are wondering if this is finally the time that the Utah Jazz are not going to pull the football away like Lucy does to Charlie Brown. And they're actually going to put Walker Kessler out on the market and available. We'll get into that in a moment. First, we'll let people know that today's episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money.

Starting point is 00:01:02 Use the code locked on NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. So, all right, Andy, we've been here before. Walker Kessel, I think we would agree. If other than Miles Turner, I suppose, if you could make a list of supposedly getable centers out there in the NBA for the Lakers to get, if not all, most Lakers fans, like he'd be right up there, like, in terms of like a poll. If you took a poll of Lakers fans, Walker Kessler would be a very popular get among Lakers fans. You would agree with that.

Starting point is 00:01:49 I agree with everything other than the premise when you said supposedly getable because Miles Turner was at one point actually getable and the Lakers opted not to get him, which I will reiterate for the thousand time. Never forget. Well, that was a mistake. I said at the time, and it turned out I was correct, no disrespect to DeAngelo Russell, Malik Beasley, or Jared Vanderbilt, but I said at the time, Miles Turner is by far the best player you're going to get for Russell Westbrook.

Starting point is 00:02:23 He was the best name that had been, I think, legitimately attached to a potential Russell Westbrook trade and I said, you're not going to do better than Miles Turner. And as it turns out, I was very, very correct. But that notwithstanding, yes, I would say, I would say Walker Kessler has been at the top of the list both in terms of Laker fan engagement and also, if nothing else, near the top of the list in terms of quality of center. So there are two aspects of this that I want to get into over the course of the show. But we'll start here with this.

Starting point is 00:03:02 The report from Sarah Todd of the Desirette News. The Jazz could be very active in trade talks this summer, and these discussions could include the longtime Lakers trade target in Kessler. Numerous sources, numerous league sources have indicated. They believe the jazz are going to be active over the next several weeks. Remember, this is my parenthetical, not Sarah Todd's, that when they hired Austin Ainsh, the line coming out of some, Salt Lake City is that they are not tanking.

Starting point is 00:03:32 They are going to try to win. That doesn't mean they won't make trades because trades are often how you get better. And you can sometimes try to win and fail. Right. It worked for the Lakers for years. And so the fact that they're making just, remember here, the idea is that they wouldn't be doing tanking trades. They would be trying to get better.

Starting point is 00:03:55 So many expect the Jazz are willing to hear offers that would include draft picks in the 25 draft as well as players on the jazz current rosters. Roster obvious candidates for trade would be John Collins, Colin Sexton, and Jordan Clarkson, who are all on expiring deals as of the 25-26 season. But league sources set that they expect conversations to include Walker Kessler, who is extension eligible, and Lori Markinen. Andy? We've been here before, but

Starting point is 00:04:28 are they really making Walker Kessler available this time? I mean, look, I'm not going to pretend that I know the ins and outs of everything going on with the Utah Jazz, although really it would be both good for our knowledge and also some quality sucking up if I just went to the head of the Lockdown Network, David Locke, who is the radio voice for the Utah Jazz and also the host of Locked on Jazz and would be a great source in all this. And we would look awesome in the process. So I probably should be sending a few more text to David. But I guess it depends on what they're looking to do in Utah.

Starting point is 00:05:13 But the thing that I keep getting back to with Walker Kessler specifically in any type of tear down or reconfiguring of the roster, whatever. is that if you're looking to rebuild from the bottom up, Walker Kessler fits. He's young. He is what you would hope the center you drafted turn into. He is good enough that if you are looking to win right now, you can play him. He is a walking double double. He is a good defensive presence.

Starting point is 00:05:48 I'm not saying that he could be the starter on a championship team, but the jazz are nowhere close to being that anyway. That criteria for the time being doesn't matter. If you're looking to win now, I don't see any reason that Walker Kessler can't be a part of that. So I think a lot of this really has to do with the specifics of what Utah wants to do. And also, I guess what specifically they don't like about Walker Kessler with these plans? Because I've said many times,

Starting point is 00:06:19 given all the stuff that on the surface fits with Walker Kessler in any directions, depending on how available he is, I kind of find it to be a red flag. I mean, maybe he shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. I mean, we're not really sure. Look, I mean, Kessler for people who don't know, averaged 11 points a game last season, four and a half offensive rebounds, 12 and a half overall. he had two and a half blocks a game.

Starting point is 00:06:53 He shot 66% from the field, and that is often because those shots are dunks. The Lakers played Utah late in the season, and it was like Walker Kessler's, you know, hype real that the Lakers allowed him to put on over the course to that game, and it might be why Lakers fans after that wanted him so badly. And quite frankly,

Starting point is 00:07:17 he thought he was coming because anytime a Laker has a good game or somebody has a good game against the Lakers, their tendency has been to trade for them. So that is all true. Like everything you're saying is true and that gets to the catch in all of these

Starting point is 00:07:33 reports, which is they're not necessarily trying to trade Markanin. They're not trying to trade Kessler. But if you really want Walker Kessler and you show up to, you know, and you give now, I guess,

Starting point is 00:07:51 Austin Ains a call and that crew and you say, I'm going to make you an offer you simply cannot refuse. It's so overwhelmingly good for Walker Kessler that, okay, fine, you know, for that we'll trade him. My question to you, Andy, is do the Lakers even have a package that they could put together that qualifies for, it's just that good. You've got it.

Starting point is 00:08:20 I mean, is Austin Reeves in a first rounder? Is that can't refuse? Is Austin Reeves Dalton connected first rounder? I mean, is that can't refuse? I think that's, I mean, that's the best for all. Right. I'm not getting that.

Starting point is 00:08:36 My question wasn't, should they do that? My question is, would you consider that a can't refuse offer? On paper, no. I mean, I don't think it's a terrible offer. I want to make it clear. Like Austin, Austin, Dalton, and a pick. That's not nothing.

Starting point is 00:08:53 That's not nothing for Walker Kessler. But do I think that if Walker Kessler was legitimately on the market and Utah was really starting to take calls that I'd be confident that that's not just the best offer that Utah would get, but also be an offer. We talked on Monday show about the reported. Laker tax, you know, whether you're talking specifically about dealing with Dallas or just the general resentment that has been around the leagues, around the league often perceived

Starting point is 00:09:28 against the Lakers for pick all sorts of reasons. Now picture that while dealing with two angers, not just one age, two angels. That feels like a lot, meaning obviously Danny Aange did help facilitate the Luca Dio, though one wonders how much he actually knew he was facilitating. But regardless, Austin Dalton in a first, that's not a nothing offer. Do I think that that would be the best offer around the league? I can't say with certainty, if someone really wants Walker Kessler, I feel like that could be beatable. Yeah. Oh, I think that's probably true.

Starting point is 00:10:15 And what's interesting to me, we'll do more of this on the break and then get to the second part of this that I'm interested in here in this conversation is like you got to, you know, is Austin, even if you think it's an overpay and it may be.

Starting point is 00:10:30 I mean, again, Austin depends what you value. Austin and a pick and connect. Especially too real quick. Stuff will have to come back from Utah to make the money work. I mean, Colin Sexton is a name that gets thrown around.

Starting point is 00:10:43 Utah's got a lot of young players who don't, make a lot of money. So there are only so many players you can stick in a deal like this. And so, you know, you start to question what it would look like. I will come to two things about this that I think make it tricky. We'll get to it next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by DoorDash NBA fans. You know what time it is. Playoff season. That means big performances. Even bigger rewards. DoorDash is bringing the heat with a slam dunk deal for DashPass members during the 2025 NBA playoffs. It's called they swoosh.

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Starting point is 00:12:16 and the code wingstop 50 dash pass your door to more savings, more flavor, and more ways to save. Terms apply. So one of the things about the jazz and make them an interesting trade partner is they do have I mean, look, I mean, they've got some, they've got more talent on the team than their record has indicated because they've been so aggressive in sort of shutting things down year to year, get a couple of injuries. And all of a sudden it's like, you know, they just roll up the pants and go home.

Starting point is 00:12:49 Get or invent a couple injuries. depending on. Yeah. So they have Lori Markinen as, you know, long-term signed guys 28 years old. And, you know, in theory, if you're going to rebuild, you trade Markinen because he doesn't fit into your timeline. And then beyond that, they got a bunch of young players.

Starting point is 00:13:07 Kessler makes 4.9 and then, you know, is next year. And then as a restricted free agent after that, you know, again, extension eligible. Lakers will sign him for your court. But like for the, for now, he's only a $5 million guy. So if you're putting in for like Austin Reeves, we're going to have to have some money coming back.

Starting point is 00:13:29 Is it Jordan Clarkson? Is it Colin Sexton? Is it John Collins? Like, you know, but like when you, Collins is a pretty good player too. And when you start to factor in all these other guys, makes like $29 million. Okay, well, could you put,

Starting point is 00:13:44 what about if you start now getting to the Rui questions and all the, you can construct an interesting. trade with a team like Utah. But if they're trying to get better rather than worse, that makes it much harder for the Lakers because they have fewer things to offer a team that's trying to improve while still giving them back assets that make the Lakers better because remember, the Lakers are not trying to tank. So that becomes hard.

Starting point is 00:14:16 And it's, you know, now you have to have a team too. that wants, and this is true of everybody, if Reeves is your biggest trade chip, and he is, you need a team that wants or needs Austin Reeves. You mentioned that team? Sort of, maybe, I don't know. I mean, that doesn't scream a team that needs Reeves. Well, it might.

Starting point is 00:14:40 It depends. If Utah is keeping Lori Markinen, then they can definitely use Austin. Sure. If they are keeping Markinen, that means they're trying to win right now. And if they're trying to win right now, Austin can help them. Now, I mean, there are some trepidation they might have about trading for Austin because he is not, I think, in all likelihood, going to sign an extension with any team, the Lakers included, because he can get a bigger extension in the 2026 off season. So that means Utah or any team trading for Austin would have to be trading for him, knowing that he's.

Starting point is 00:15:17 he could bolt in a year. Like there's no guarantee he's going to be around past that one season. So he's a flight risk for every team that could potentially trade for him and also potentially for the Lakers if they keep him around. There's no guarantee. Austin is going to stay beyond this coming season either. So that in a lot of ways complicates his value and offsets the idea of, you know, best bargain contract in the league. Sure, for one season. And then from there, he's getting paid and maybe not by you. Right. And, you know, they have young players like, you know,

Starting point is 00:15:52 Kianti George is a shooting guard who they, you know, has had some really good moments and, you know, and all that. But like they've got guys who they, I mean, happily jettisoned. I think they're not going to come back after next year, you know, like Sexton and Clarkson and stuff like that. But, you know, are those players the Lakers would want? So that's part of it. It's just this notion of like, you have to find a team.

Starting point is 00:16:15 And I think Austin fits on a lot. lot of teams. But whether it's Utah or someone else, if you're going to play that card, it's obviously only two teams or maybe you got to organize a three team or find a third team, a fourth team or whatever. You got to route Austin somewhere that he, you know, to a team that wants him and still get what you want back because the Lakers aren't rebuilding. It's just it's a tricky situation. I thought Utah is a really good example of how that can be hard to construct. I think with Utah, if the Lakers wanted to get in on the Walker Kessler sweepstakes, if the sweepstakes actually start. And again, I'm not convinced that they will. But that's only, in my mind,

Starting point is 00:17:00 at least, that's only going to happen if they're keeping marketing it. Because if they're, if they're getting rid of marketing as well and really looking to try to win, but with a group that is rebuilding, Austin makes no sense from what's not. And also, too, if they're getting, And I also think if they end up, do, if they do end up trading market, and it probably just means that they were lying about trying to win right away. So we'll see. Well, the point being, though, they may, maybe they are willing to try to win in terms of, we will put our best young players out there and instruct them to try to win all the while

Starting point is 00:17:37 knowing they're going to lose more games than they win because they're not good enough. And I consider that, I consider that not trying to win. But I will say this, if that happens, then all of a sudden it makes a little bit more sense that they might try to trade Kessler if they don't want to extend him either. But then the problem, but not a lot. Well, it still doesn't convince me that they would trade Kessler, but then the larger problem is at that point for what Utah would want,

Starting point is 00:18:03 the best offer the Lakers could make is Dalton Connect in a first. And I promise you that unless the rest of the league really does not like Walker Kessler at this point, you have to think, why do the Lakers want him? Like, there's no way Dalton Connect and a first is the best you're getting for Walker Kessler. And the point again, so people understand, the point of this exercise, at least to me, isn't about like the debate over what the right trade is for Walker Kessler. Is this too much?

Starting point is 00:18:35 Is this too little? We can have that conversation. We've established the right trade. They can only do one. Right. That's it. Well, but like, is that, I think the idea. that you could get Kessler from Utah without Reeves is a pipe dream. I don't see how that's

Starting point is 00:18:51 possible. But like the point of this is to me going through all of these things is just how complicated it can be. And then like this sort of like you said, the point you made is a great one. If they're trying to compete, then you know, maybe it makes me you you can argue that Austin makes them better, but then, you know, if you're trying to compete, why are you giving up Kessler, you know, is this great rock in the middle of the lineup? And the minute they're not, Austin doesn't make any sense anymore. So the other half of this equation, though, that I think is interesting, is because why do people like Kessler solves a lot of Lakers' problems? He is somebody who can get above the rim and dunk. He's not like running the floor like a gazelle,

Starting point is 00:19:39 but like you can run stuff above the rim to Kessler. The Lakers showed that was possible. by allowing him to dunk like 14 times in that game. They played earlier in the year. He is an excellent rebounder. He is a very good rim protector. His defensive metrics are outstanding for a third-year player. I mean, like they are legitimately great for a third-year player. So, okay, is he perfect?

Starting point is 00:20:04 No, but he's about as, he's definitely as good as you're going to get. When you can't get as good as you can get, what are the things that you should prioritize in a center? And I will frame this when we come back by telling a funny and slightly embarrassing story. And we'll do that next. First, though, I do want to tell you about Monarch money. Most of you, I know I have. You've checked your bank account.

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Starting point is 00:21:46 So Andy and I at this, to pull the people behind the curtain, Andy, the people listening on Spotify or Apple podcasts or the people on YouTube, the 35,000 plus subscribers. Every day you and I start trading emails and texts like, hey, if you've seen anything at this time of year, it's like we're scouring the web. We're like AI robots trying to find anything that might be relevant. We both saw a story that Jackson Hayes is open. to coming back to the Lakers. This, by the way, just so people know,

Starting point is 00:22:25 this is like the most, you know, Ferris Bueller, my sister's, boyfriend's, brother's cousin, blah, blah, blah. This story, as it were, came from, I guess, Gabe Vincent highlighting this on his Instagram, but somebody left a comment to Jackson Hayes, heard you don't want to be Lake Show anymore, and I don't blame you, gang. And Jackson Hayes responded, that's J-Fa-Fault.

Starting point is 00:22:53 I'm assuming just false. But gee, I deaf ain't say that. So Jackson Hayes is apparently open towards staying with the Lakers. This, by the way, this Instagram thing that I guess was through Gabe's Instagram, I don't know, but was aggregated by Sports Illustrated with the headline Jackson Hayes break silence. I'm on Future for the Lakers. I'm like,

Starting point is 00:23:21 calm the F down, SI headline. Like all of a sudden, Jackson Hayes is like F and J.D. Salinger or something. He's not been in exile for 10 years. He hasn't been playing basketball for a month and a half. He did a quasi-exit interview.

Starting point is 00:23:37 Like, calm the F down. And just the framing of it to the S and I am really happy. Really happy. for we've all been waiting political prisoner or something he's been chilling on break man the framing of it beyond that is just like this you know I'm very happy for Jackson that he had a good year he had a better year than I thought he was going to you know he he kept himself in the

Starting point is 00:24:12 league he showed that he isn't necessarily a starting caliber center like you know that but he kept himself in the league. No question. He's going to be playing in the league. But all that aside, is Jackson Hayes really in position to rule out any of the 30 NBA teams? Like, no, I'm not going to play for you. Sorry. Like, no. I mean, so obviously Jackson Hayes is open to returning to the Lakers. He's open to playing for the Lakers or any of the 29 other teams around the league. But what made this story like more than just an opportunity to mock the way the internet works now is that when when we were going it back and kind of going back and forth on this, you accidentally typed Javale McGee open to return to Lakers. I had been just so people understand, I had been looking up something involving the 2020 Lakers. It was like related to something.

Starting point is 00:25:10 I was Twitter conversation where I was looking up something with the. 2020 Lakers as I was also multitasking working on this email to you. So Javel was on my mind. Jackson, Javail, both centers, both rim runners, lepers. They both start with, they both start with Jop. Yeah. I mean, that's really what it was. No, I get it.

Starting point is 00:25:31 And so, but the point of that is that got me thinking like, you know, Javail McGee is obviously still in the league. The last couple seasons, hasn't played a ton. He was in Sacramento last year. Did he get released? I don't remember. I don't think he was in Sacramento. Javail was not in the league last year.

Starting point is 00:25:52 No. He was in Sacramento for 23, 24. He was not in the league last year at all. Well, then he's also probably open to a return. So, but if you look, it's what's funny about it, and it's not Javille, but it's like, if you look at what he did in those last, couple of seasons. Like you squint real, real hard. You can see like the defensive metrics weren't

Starting point is 00:26:18 terrible in really short minutes. And you know, he's still kind of a permanent rebounder. Okay. Like, is he really good? No. Veterans minimum. Okay. Point here is if you're not going to acquire a guy in a trade, you're kind of in that realm of Javille McGee who could maybe let's just stipulate Javale McGee could give you nine good minutes a game. We'll just stipulate for argument. I'm not sure it's true, but we'll just say. But you also know, A, it's only going to be eight or nine minutes. Like, that's it.

Starting point is 00:26:54 You know he's going to be good at a couple things. Maybe he can still get above the rim, maybe block a shot here and there, but he's not going to fill other needs that you might have, namely playing more than nine minutes a game. Which things do you prioritize? Because like, Jakub Pertil, for example, example that you could get, you know,

Starting point is 00:27:14 theoretically in a trade is a, is a far better player than almost anybody you're going to find on the, you know, free agent market. For the labor's ability to sign guys. Right. But is not a great fit for Luca in terms of the profile. He's, you know, he's going to clog the lane. He's can't done,

Starting point is 00:27:36 doesn't stretch the floor. Pertil doesn't. He's not, doesn't get above the rim. he's a relatively high percentage shooter, but he doesn't play above the rim at all. So you're not getting that lob threat. You get a shot blocker. He's a good rim protector. He's a good rebounder,

Starting point is 00:27:50 but he's not a good fit in other ways. So what exactly, what bits of this do you prioritize? Is it better to get a guy who can be that vertical threat that Luca wants, but is overall a lesser player, maybe not as good of a rim protector, maybe not as good of a defender?

Starting point is 00:28:05 Or do you really want to prioritize that Luca thing, the offensive version, at least, of Derek Lively Jr. and Daniel Gafford and those guys who thrived just basically catching lobs all day with Luca. If you can't get everything that you need out of the center, what should you be trying to get? Who Luca tells you to get? I mean, I'm not being flipping. I'm being serious. I think that's actually the answer. If you have a bunch of different options, none of whom strike you as particularly perfect, you know, none of them are necessarily bad, but none of them feel like exactly what you're looking for, whether in terms of skill set, contract, price, age, whatever,

Starting point is 00:28:52 I would then maybe break your tie by figuring out what does Luca want. Because if Luca has a strong preference, let's just say Luca has a strong preference towards Yaakov-Purdle, which would seem counterintuitive to everything we have gathered Luca wants in a center, then one of two things are happening here. Either you don't quite understand what Luca wants, and if that's the case, maybe your options are wider than you even realized because you've decided in just two and a half months of Luke on the roster, you know exactly what he wants, and it turns out you don't, or you may be in a situation where you're realizing kind of like, we've made it clear. I don't, neither one of us puts the Russell Westbrook deal entirely on LeBron and Anthony Davis.

Starting point is 00:29:41 Like, we both believe that is something Rob wanted to do. Oh, yeah. And that Ginny wanted to do. It's a very Laker thing to do. But that was a situation where nonetheless, LeBron and Anthony Davis wanted a player that really made no sense for the team to get. And hopefully, if say something like that happened with Luca and Jakub Hurtle or whoever, and you're really thinking like, really? Well, the thing about it is, it's like, then you have those conversations is my point.

Starting point is 00:30:14 And real quick, I want to make sure people understand. I was not advocating for the signing of Javelle McGee. Javelle was an archetype here. Sure. But like of imperfect guys, like, you know, people who fill one, Jackson Hayes still gets above the rim and doesn't fill a lot of other needs. Pertil, it's not even that you can't conceive of a way that Purdle and Luca can play together.

Starting point is 00:30:36 Like he would help in a lot of ways. He would help with the rebounding. He would help with defensive presence. You know, these guys are, you know, he's a smart player. He's actually, you know, pretty good passer. Like, you know, there's a lot of stuff that you can do. He sets a brutal screen. He just doesn't get above the rim.

Starting point is 00:30:55 And so if that's the most important thing, like so I don't. And he doesn't necessarily fit the defensive schemes that at least we've seen so far from JJ Redick. Right. But, you know, maybe there's more to it that I do not claim to understand the intricacies of NBA defense where I can imagine what he can and cannot do, what they would do around him and all that kind of stuff. That would need to be something. We bring in people to really explain that in detail. I just find it like I'm curious to know, Luca obviously has a preference for what kind of center they would go get.

Starting point is 00:31:34 If that kind of exact guy wasn't available, what's like plan B? Like, what does he say? Like, oh, no, I love a lob threat, but if I don't have it, it's okay if I have these three things. Or, you know, can you find me a different guy? You know, what about a guy on the wing who can, you know, finish that way? It was a good screen and roll power forward or something like that. Like, there are ways to do this that I just, I find intriguing. And like, you talk about, like, what does Luca want?

Starting point is 00:32:01 the guy is a basketball savant. So like he can do whatever. He's like LeBron. He can do whatever he wants. He can play with. Is there some wiggle room in the, you know, Luca Center? Like I don't know.

Starting point is 00:32:17 It's an interesting. But like they may have to find some of that if they're going to improve the position materially in in ways that can help them win next year. I mean to one last thing I would add to what you were talking about. where there can be other options for lobs other than just your center. The year that the Mavericks went to the finals, Derek Jones Jr. was an above the rim option that Luca utilized a lot beyond the defense that Jones provided. And he was a veteran minimum guy. And he was part of the reason that they were able to put that roster together on the fly in ways that worked within the cap and

Starting point is 00:32:59 still have strength across different positions is Derek Jones Jr. was an A-plus, like A-plus veterans minimum signing that they did that year, Dallas for the 2023-24 season. The Lakers, regardless of what they do with centers, regardless of what they do with trades, regardless of what they do with the taxpayer mid-level, they're going to have to hit, if not an A-plus-plus, at least like a B-plus with one of their veterans. A couple B pluses. They're going to have to. All right.

Starting point is 00:33:34 Well, we will still get to the mailbag. We promise the questions about LeBron and some others that people have been leaving. Continue to leave us questions. Continue to leave us comments. And please, if you're out there, please keep aggregating Instagram replies from Lakers about their free agent status and summer plans. That is very helpful to us. Locked on Lakers on YouTube is where you can go hang out with over 35,000 subscribers,

Starting point is 00:33:59 to the channel catch us on iTunes catch us on Spotify wherever we get your podcast we'll see you tomorrow

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Jazz Expected to Listen to Offers for Walker Kessler. Could the Lakers Make a deal?

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