It won't be shocking if the Utah Jazz boast a very different roster on February 6 than they do now. They have several veterans who would probably be better off playing for a team with playoff aspirations because the Jazz certainly aren't.
Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus named the usual suspects for who will, at the very least, be likely dangled in a trade. That includes Jordan Clarkson, John Collins, Collin Sexton, Drew Eubanks, and Walker Kessler.
Pincus actually gave an explanation for why he thinks Kessler could be off the team by the deadline.
"While Kessler is still young, he is extension-eligible this summer and may not be in Utah's long-term plans."
The most recent intel on Kessler is that the Jazz have no intentions to trade Kessler in the near future. Now, back during the offseason, even though it seemed odd, to some degree, a Kessler trade could have made sense since his sophomore year didn't go well.
If the Jazz had lost all faith in him, that could have been rationale, though not a good one. This year though, it should be clear from his play that the Jazz would be foolish to get rid of him.
Kessler has been back with the vengeance this season
Any doubts about Kessler's long-term future should be put to bed after how he's fared this season. He's not Rudy Gobert, but he doesn't have to be. He's still drawing comparisons to other lauded defensive stalwarts of previous eras, like Marcus Camby, for a reason.
He's re-established himself as a feared shot-blocker, and now he's become such a presence on the boards that he's regularly averaging double-doubles. He will never be the focal point, but he's also figured out how to make himself useful.
He's averaging a career-high 4.4 offensive rebounds while shooting 78.7% from zero to three feet from the rim. The Jazz will never turn to him to run any iso plays, but he's made himself quite the pest on that end, which is what Utah can reasonably expect from him.
If he adds other parts to his offensive repertoire, that's just gravy, but the Jazz are more than happy to see Kessler make legitimate strides on both ends of the floor. Who knows? Maybe there's more to come, but if this is Kessler at his best, that's a win for the Jazz's future.
The Jazz went into this season well-aware that it would come with plenty of losses. Because Kessler's progress has been a big win for them, trading him with his value than ever would be the biggest loss of all.