Despite acquiring one of the league's best defenders in Jaren Jackson Jr., there's no reason to think such a trade will have any impact on Walker Kessler re-signing with the Utah Jazz. Even if Kessler gets the richest deal possible, the Jazz are in line to match it. Such is a harsh reality as old as time with restricted free agency.
And now, it will be even harder for Kessler to get the kind of money he wants this summer. Earlier, intel suggested that the Washington Wizards planned to pursue Kessler this offseason. Now, that probably won't be the case after acquiring Anthony Davis.
BREAKING: The Dallas Mavericks are trading 10-time NBA All-Star Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, D'Angelo Russell and Dante Exum to the Washington Wizards for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, 2 first-round picks and 3 second-rounders, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/sfrQQubI5i
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 4, 2026
Davis extends into next season (and likely the one after that), so acquiring him, along with Trae Young, takes the Wizards out of the running in free agency. That means Kessler has one less suitor, and not many other teams will have the cap room the Wizards did before they traded for Davis, making it easier for the Jazz to not only re-sign him, but at their price.
After the Jackson trade, it's easy to see the vision for this Utah team long-term. The frontcourt combination of him and Kessler is very exciting, especially for a team that has struggled mightily to build a legitimate defense after trading Rudy Gobert.
Kessler should be able to cover up Jackson's flaws, too, because he's an elite rebounder who will be paired up with one of the NBA's worst rebounding bigs. Jackson will also be able to roam the floor on defense, leaving Kessler to protect the rim, where he belongs. Offensively, Jackson's spacing should make it even easier to dominate down low.
Utah wants to build a winner, and they got someone who raises both their floor and ceiling, along with complementing Kessler perfectly. And now, it's likelier than ever that the Jazz will get him at the price they want. What's not to like about this situation?
Oh yeah, this sucks for Kessler
There hasn't been any intel suggesting Kessler doesn't want to stay in Utah, but he confirmed back in September that he was frustrated that he and Utah couldn't come to an agreement on a contract extension. Granted, part of that was Utah planned to be a free agency player (not anymore now), but Kessler has lost a lot of leverage on his next deal.
The Jazz will do their best not to have this drag out like Golden State did with Jonathan Kuminga, but they have every reason to play hardball, so now Kessler will most likely have to agree to take less than what he thinks he's owed.
The Jazz know it would be foolish to pay him what the Warriors paid Kuminga, as he's more valuable than him and less replaceable, but pending any surprises, Kessler will likely take a deal that he'll believe is less than what he's worth.
It will still be exciting to see how he factors into Utah's future for the next few years, but he really is a vctim of circumstance like almost every player who's entered restricted free agency.