It was already cool enough knowing that the Utah Jazz got all that they did for Walker Kessler because Luka Doncic pushed for him. However, there's another factor people haven't considered: they only had this opportunity in the first place because of the few assets Dallas asked for in return for Doncic when they acquired him last year.
NBA Insider Marc Stein gave the full details on how the (still historically ridiculous) Luka Doncic trade indirectly paved the way for them make a deal for Kessler.
"I'm told that the Lakers were emboldened to go to such lengths to acquire Kessler in large part because they acquired Luka Dončić from Dallas on such favorable terms in February 2025," Stein wrote.
"...The trade assets preserved in that heist, in other words, helped nudge the Lakers to a place where they believed they could withstand spending so big on Kessler."
Sure, the Jazz were semi-duped into participating in the Luka trade in the first place, but they may be the only team besides the Lakers to thank Nico Harrison for accepting the deal he was offered for Doncic. It gave the Jazz the opportunity to score big-time from the Lakers' obvious desperation.
Why Dallas didn't ask for more, no one really knows and it's likely they'll never understand, but that paved the way for Utah to swoop in and take advantage of the Lakers' desperate bid for the best big they could get.
How the Jazz use the Lakers' assets will determine how big a score they got
The Lakers got better from getting their hands on Kessler, as he fills their most pressing need, but it's still the Western Conference and they're paying good money for a non All-Star (though that could change this season).
It puts Utah in excellent position to trade for someone even better should the opportunity to arise to either add to their core straight-up, or upgrade from their current rotation. It gives them options from a team who have a lot of pressing questions even after getting a quality two-way center like Kessler.
But Utah knows full well that just because they got some good assets out of this does not mean it will work out tremendously in the end. They scored about as big as they could in the Deron Williams situation, and the most they had to show for it was Derrick Favors, a memorable, above-average Jazzman who didn't become a star in the end.
They got considerably more for Kessler than they did for Williams because they weren't the desperate ones in this instance, but for all the praise the Jazz have gotten since making the deal, it's on them to capitalize on this situation.
Nonetheless, it's a rare, fantastic outcome they got in the end, and Dallas deserves the highest gratitude for allowing them to be in this spot.
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