It's been a few hours since the Utah Jazz traded Walker Kessler to the Los Angeles Lakers. At first, it perhaps seemed as though they planned to have Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. be at the four and five, but the newest Jazz addition, Jaxson Hayes, would say otherwise. More specifically, it confirms that Jusuf Nurkic is taking Kessler's spot as the team's starting center.
ESPN's Tim MacMahon revealed that Hayes has joined Utah on a two-year deal worth $12 million with a team option for the second year.
Source: The Jazz are signing former Lakers center Jaxson Hayes to a two-year, $12 million deal. The second season is a team option.
— Tim MacMahon (@BannedMacMahon) July 1, 2026
Hayes has alternated between the Lakers starter and backup for the past few years, but it's clear he's best suited as someone coming off the bench. Because it makes little sense for both he and Nurkic to be on the bench, that means Big Nurk is keeping his starting job.
Nurkic did a solid job filling in for Kessler last season, even if he's definitely not a rim protector that Kessler is. At the same time, Nurkic's role on the team should fit in snugly next to Jaren Jackson Jr. His passing abilities and rim touch should mesh well with the amount of offensive firepower the Jazz have.
The fact that they got him on a team-friendly deal too should make Utah feel more fortunate. Bringing him and Hayes to a frontcourt with JJJ and Lauri Markkanen should make the Jazz feel good about their big man depth.
Nurkic & Hayes give Utah options
Nurkic and Hayes are polar opposite players for the Jazz. Nurkic is the savvier player who uses his mass and IQ to make his presence felt on the court. Hayes doesn't have the same IQ Nurkic does, but he is an okay rim protector, elite athlete, and intimidating lob threat.
He doesn't replace Kessler by any means, but he and Nurkic mitigate that loss considerably and at pretty much half the annual cost the Lakers will pay the former Jazz center. It seems pretty clear that between who the Jazz have brought back, added, and lost that though they valued Kessler, it wasn't really to the degree we may have thought.
Whether they were right to make the moves they did will be determined by how this season goes.
The Jazz's big man rotation goes beyond their free agency decisions, as, lest we forget, Kyle Filipowski has earned every right to be part of Utah's rotation as well. He also brings some dimensions to the team as a jack-of-all-trades, offensively polished big man.
The Jazz may have preferred to keep Kessler, but their moves this summer have strongly suggested that they had things planned out if they had lost him.
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