{"id":762989,"date":"2026-06-17T02:45:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T02:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/762989\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T02:45:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T02:45:16","slug":"jazzs-mind-blowing-offer-to-walker-kessler-proves-this-isnt-gordon-hayward-repeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/762989\/","title":{"rendered":"Jazz’s mind-blowing offer to Walker Kessler proves this isn’t Gordon Hayward repeat"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been a while since the Utah Jazz have had a staring contest with a restricted free agent like the one they’re having with Walker Kessler<\/a>. In fact, this feels very similar to the Gordon Hayward situation from 2014 in some ways. However, the one key difference between Hayward then and Kessler now is that the Jazz aren’t playing stupid games to win stupid prizes.<\/p>\n

After their latest offer to Kessler was revealed, it’s clear Utah is not messing around this time. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon revealed during his appearance on ESPN700<\/a> that the Jazz have offered Kessler a deal of “five years, almost $140 million.”<\/p>\n

That’s a steep price for someone like Kessler, but it also sends a message to him: Utah believes in him enough to not only pay good money for him, but also to keep him on payroll for half a decade. It’s not that they didn’t believe the same about Hayward, but they didn’t go out of their way to offer that to him, which fueled his falling out with the team a few years later.<\/p>\n

Even though they have been willing to drag this out with Kessler, the Jazz evidently learned their lesson from that debacle and clearly believe it’s in their best interest to take care of this sooner rather than later (even if technically speaking, the best move is to not have him officially sign anything until after they use their cap space).<\/p>\n

Only one problem remains.<\/p>\n

Kessler believes he should make more. Is he right?<\/p>\n

Despite the Jazz’s current offer, MacMahon also revealed that Kessler and his camp believe he is worth “significantly more.” Kessler is a rare commodity, but he has yet to prove that he’s a star. That’s why it’s hard to see how he could get an offer to top that, and that’s not even accounting for the fact that he’s a restricted free agent.<\/p>\n

He is an irreplaceable player, which explains why he thinks it’s in Utah’s best interest to give him what he wants, but the offer they have for him now pretty much reveals how strongly they value him despite the fact that his market has dried up a lot in the past year.<\/p>\n

Part of why the Hayward decision back in 2014 looked worse in hindsight is that, at the time, he had only proven that he was a starter, but not a star. It was actually right after he came back that he started playing like an All-Star. Perhaps Kessler believes he’s about to follow a similar track, especially on a team that’s about to flip the switch.<\/p>\n

Utah isn’t low-balling Kessler, but they might be willing to up the ante if they believe he will have a Hayward-like breakthrough next season. Whether they do or don’t, this may all come down to whether his camp is willing to compromise<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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