The Utah Jazz did not make the wrong call in how they handled the Walker Kessler situation. Owning the Los Angeles Lakers' HIGHLY uncertain future for the next several years is a big win for Utah. At the same time, the Jazz got rid of one of their most irreplaceable players. Even worse, we'll never get to see what Kessler looks like next to Jaren Jackson Jr.
When Utah acquired JJJ, many were looking forward to seeing the havoc he and Kessler would wreak on the NBA together. Both are rim protectors, but JJJ is a better perimeter defender, which made it feel like scoring on the Jazz was going to get a whole lot tougher to score on.
While their defense together would have been their calling card as a duo, there would have been other ways for the two of them to complement one another. For example, Jackson is a pretty poor rebounder for his size, but because Kessler is the complete opposite, he would have negated the problem when the two of them played together.
Also, while Kessler showed signs of a promising three-ball before he went down last season, his bread and butter offensively is gobbling up offensive rebounds. JJJ is a three-point sniper for his size, which could have worked splendidly together.
Seriously, this duo had all the makings of one of the NBA's best four-five duos. In a way, it's kind of painful that we will never get to see it, but luckily, the Jazz now have the resources to replace Kessler if need be.
Will the Jazz roll with Jusuf Nurkic or try to get Kessler's replacement?
With Kessler gone, that means Jusuf Nurkic is Utah's starting center moving forward unless they have something else up their sleeve. Nurkic proved he still has some good basketball left in him, but he does not replace everything Kessler does.
He's an excellent offensive rebounder but is not a rim protector despite his mass. Utah has every reason to see how that goes before doing anything else, especially after adding Jaxson Hayes. However, if this proves not to work too well for them, the Jazz should look into who in the NBA would replace Kessler the best (on the most team-friendly deal possible).
We shouldn't act like this is pre-determined, but rather that it's a possibility. Keeping Kessler wasn't a necessity, which the Jazz certainly signaled, but there was a lot to like about him and Jackson together. With him now on the Lakers, the Jazz have to be open to the possibility that this hurt their ceiling a bit and must respond accordingly.
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