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EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 28: Walker Kessler #14 of the Los Angeles Lakers during Los Angeles Lakers Media Day at UCLA Health Training Center on September 28, 2026 in El Segundo, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
New Los Angeles Lakers center Walker Kessler has not stepped on the court through the team’s first two preseason games after he was moved in a trade and inked a new four-year, $130 million contract extension with the franchise.
Kessler is expected to be one of the most important pieces for this Lakers team alongside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, as they took a big swing and risk to trade four first-round picks and sign him to a new massive deal.
But Los Angeles needed defense and a pick-and-roll partner for the two star guards, and he was one of the best names available.
Still, in the lead-up to the Lakers’ regular-season debut, with Kessler still yet to play in competitive action for the team so far, he remains a big question mark. If he doesn’t perform, the franchise could quickly regret the risk they took by mortgaging their draft future and salary cap for the next few years to get a still relatively unproven 25-year-old big man.
Lakers Warned Walker Kessler Trade Could Go ‘Horribly Wrong’
GettySALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – DECEMBER 28: Walker Kessler #24 of the Utah Jazz reacts to a play during the second half of a game against the Philadelphia 76ersat Delta Center on December 28, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
Writing for Bleacher Report, Grant Hughes named the Lakers’ Kessler trade as a move that could go ‘horribly wrong.’
Along with the draft assets the team traded and the contract they gave the new center, Los Angeles could quickly regret the move and the $130 million contract decision for a player who still hasn’t performed at the level of his new deal at any point throughout his career.
“Justifying that cost is probably beyond Kessler’s ability,” Hughes wrote. “He’d need to stay healthier than he has in any of the last three years, land in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year and help turn the Los Angeles Lakers into contenders.”
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Lakers are acquiring Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz for unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 and first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030, sources tell ESPN. Kessler will sign a massive four-year, $130 million deal with the Lakers.
Kessler has shown potential to be one of the best big man defenders in the NBA, but the Lakers need him to prove it to justify getting him the offseason. Doncic reportedly wanted them to go out and get someone of his level, but giving up all that for someone who has only played in 201 total games and doesn’t have any major accolades or awards to show comes with a big inherent risk.
“Los Angeles paid a superstar price for a quality starter because it was desperate to support Luka Dončić with the kind of paint-patrolling, rim-rolling center he wanted. If this goes badly, a Lakers team that fired all its bullets at the wrong target could wind up losing Dončić to a team that can actually reach contender status,” he added. “You never want to be involved in a trade where everyone agrees the other side absolutely had to say yes.”
As Hughes mentioned, the Lakers needed to make a move like this to bring in talent this summer. They struck out on a few other names, and though Kessler has the chance to take a massive leap this season, the decision to go out and get him will be scrutinized until he proves he’s worth the price.
LA Keeps Getting Warned About New Starting Center
GettySALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – OCTOBER 23: Walker Kessler #24 of the Utah Jazz looks on during the first half of a game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Delta Center on October 23, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
This isn’t the first time the Lakers were warned about the Kessler move being a big risk that might not pay off, as previously it was Ben Golliver of ESPN who discussed how the decision could ‘backfire spectacularly.’
“Here’s what’s so tantalizing about that bet: It could work brilliantly or backfire spectacularly,” he wrote.
“But the Lakers are perilously thin at center behind Kessler, and their frontcourt rotation is largely lacking in proven difference-makers. Los Angeles can no longer count on LeBron James to pick up the slack on offense when Doncic misses time, and any extended absence for Kessler has the potential to send the season off track. With the Lakers’ ownership situation in flux, there’s no telling what the fallout would look like if the costly Kessler acquisition doesn’t pay immediate dividends.”
Kessler has a questionable injury history, as he played just five games last season. Despite getting paid like an All-NBA center, he’s never even made an All-Star game. His career-high scoring is just 14.4 points, which he put up in the five contests he appeared in last year before sitting the rest of the campaign due to injury.
Giving someone like that $130 million is a clear risk that, as Golliver mentioned, will look terrible if it doesn’t work out for the Lakers.
But regardless of the criticism, internally, Los Angeles is high on the new center. On paper, he’s a perfect fit next to Doncic and Reaves, and there’s almost a guarantee he becomes one of the best rim protectors in the NBA on a team that could desperately use it.
For now, there’s still no early return on Kessler in Los Angeles. It will likely take some time before it’s known if the sign-and-trade was worth it or not. But playing for the Lakers, questions and critiques of the acquisition will likely continue as long as he’s in the Purple and Gold.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski