Jazz should not ignore pressing concern after the Walker Kessler trade

The Utah Jazz knew what they were losing when they traded Walker Kessler to the Los Angeles Lakers. Even if they took the golden opportunity to control the Los Angeles Lakers' future, Kessler is a hefty loss from his skillset alone. There's a good chance it could get worse too, going from Kessler to Jusuf Nurkic.

No, we're not trying to fire shots at Nurkic, who has been awesome in Utah since becoming a Jazzman. The problem is that he and Keyonte George were among the worst two-man lineups in the NBA.

Per the All NBA Podcast, George and Nurkic tied for the sixth-fewest points per direct action from on-ball picks and handoffs (minimum 400 total actions).

Look Nurkic still has quite a few qualities as a player. It's why the Jazz wanted him back and were willing to give him an eight-figure contract to have him on the team for the next two years. However, it's numbers like these that will feed into the narrative that he simply may not be good enough if the Jazz want to win sooner rather than later.

Context is key here (no pun intended) as Utah was trying to lose last season. That won't be the case this time, but it is something to keep in mind, as basketball isn't just about raw talent. It's also about making the most of it as a team.

This season, we're going to see whether the chemistry between Key and Nurk was a product of the tank or if the duo simply doesn't produce that well together.

Luka Doncic still being the big man whisperer means Kessler may have breakout season

The All NBA Podcast also shared the reverse of the earlier mentioned stat. While George and Nurkic ranked among the worst duos in that category, Doncic shared two of the best with the Lakers last season with new Jazzman Jaxson Hayes and Deandre Ayton.

And now he gets to be paired with a demonstrably better player with Kessler. The ex-Jazz center is not a dominant offensive player, but it's fair to believe is that all he needs is an elite playmaker on the floor playing right next to him, and now he's got one.

Doncic has a history of this, as he made Dereck Lively and potential Jazz target Daniel Gafford look phenomenal. He had a frontcourt downgrade, and it didn't even matter. In effect, Doncic made a gourmet dinner with plastic forks and knives with Ayton and Hayes, and now he has Kessler, the most talented big man he's played with since Kristaps Porzingis.

Granted, that was kind of a disaster, but that was the exception, not the norm. Plus Kessler is a different player, and is closer to the player archetype the Slovenian superstar has played with.

Yeah, the Jazz have almost of the Lakers' draft capital, but when thinking about it, no wonder the latter paid a fortune to get Kessler when they had the chance.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow