Walker Kessler doesn't defend at the same level as, say, Utah Jazz legend Rudy Gobert does, but just because he's not necessarily a centerpiece of an elite defense doesn't mean he's not a valuable piece, period. For that reason, when the Jazz got rid of him, their defense has now become more of a question mark than it was before.
Bryce Simons brought this up on "The Game Theory Podcast" when discussing the Jazz's offseason. He gave Utah an A- for their efforts this offseason, but brought up that Jaren Jackson Jr. is now their only positive defender on the roster. So much so that he believes the Jazz's defense is likely to be bad.
To be fair, JJJ isn't just a positive defender, but an elite one when he's got a clean bill of health. Even so, despite Gobert's best efforts, there were times where the Jazz's defense reached mediocre because of the lack of support on that side of the floor.
Jackson may face a similar predicament this season. Utah has still made it clear with their center-by-committee approach since the trade that he won't play a minute at the five, but even so, he can only cover so much ground.
That's what makes it a shame that the Jazz passed up the chance to see what the pairing of Jackson and Kessler would look like on the floor together.
Jazz have players with potential to be plus-defenders
Utah has players who have defensive talent, but whether that means they'll become good defenders is another question. Ace Bailey, Darryn Peterson, and Cody Williams all have the physical gifts to be real disruptors on that end of the floor, but they haven't exactly shown what they will look like long-term on defense, and even if they do, how good will they be?
All of them are still pretty young in their careers, so obviously, the jury will be out on them for some time. However, they may have to learn fast if Utah pans out offensively as well as they believe they can.
If the Jazz don't get those kind of contributions defensively right away, their options are either wait it out to see if internal development will get them right or if they should add some reinforcements to make things better.
Their timeline allows them to be patient, and they'll likely let the first few months play out before doing anything. However, if it's clear JJJ is their literally only line of defense, the pressure may be strong enough for them to make another move down the line.
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