It's been a while since we last got an official update on where things stand between Walker Kessler and the Utah Jazz. Last we checked, from the horse's mouth, he wants to stay, but he seemingly hasn't wavered from his high price. All indications are that he will stay with the Jazz, but if an opponent offers him a contract too rich for their blood, that's where things would get interesting.
However, the Jazz would rather pay up Kessler than let him go to a rival for nothing. That's why Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus proposed three-way trade between the Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, and Miami Heat makes absolutely no sense.
Pincus outlined the following deal between the three teams.
Heat receive: LeBron James, Bronny James, Bez Mbeng, $10.2 million Andrew Wiggins TPE
Lakers receive: Kessler, Andrew Wiggins, $6 million Jake La Ravia TPE
Jazz receive: LaRavia, Deandre Ayton, Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, 2031 Lakers unprotected first-round pick, 2033 Lakers unprotected first-round pick
So... basically a deal where the Heat and Lakers get a lot better while the Jazz get worse, while taking the Lakers' most expendable scraps, and their reward for this is two first-round picks. Why would they do this?
"The Jazz may prefer Kessler, but paying not at the price the Lakers are willing to offer," PIncus wrote. "... If the gulf is too large, Ayton can fill that responsibility on a much cheaper, expiring contract. The Jazz get several players from L.A., including a young shooter (Knecht), a capable defender with inconsistent scoring (LaRavia), and a defensive wing (Vanderbilt).
"But none of those players are why the Jazz made the three-way trade; it's all about the pair of unprotected first-round picks from the Lakers."
Well that's... one way to put it. Really when you take away the sugarcoating, Ayton is a big with an inconsistent motor despite his talent, LaRavia's a serviceable rotation wing, and the Lakers would love to get rid of Knecht and Vanderbilt, so the Jazz are doing them multiple favors, and all for picks?
Didn't Utah just utilize their best picks to get Jaren Jackson Jr.? Wouldn't that send a pretty good signal that they're done hoarding picks? Why would they want more?
That's not even the biggest question from all of this.
Why would the Jazz make themselves worse & make the Lakers better?!
The Jazz and Lakers have the exact same intentions next season: to win as many games as possible. Knowing that, Utah has no incentive to do a deal like this. Make an opponent better while getting rid of a player who is next to impossible to replace. What sense does that make?
This trade would be more plausible if A. the Jazz weren't trying to win this coming season, and B. if their intent was to get rid of Kessler by any means necessary. They're not doing either of those things, and if they were, they would get a better deal out of Kessler.
Center is the Lakers' biggest need, so helping them with that while making themselves worse feels irrational. The Lakers could pay Kessler the money he wants, but the Jazz may simply just match the offer and deal with the consequences later.
Maybe Kessler doesn't stay with Utah, but if there's one thing they sure as hell won't do, they won't let him go to LA.
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