From a skillset perspective, the Utah Jazz would be hard-pressed to find an exact replacement for Walker Kessler. He is one of the NBA's best rim protectors and rebounders, and he was starting to scratch the surface of his potential as a floor-spacer and passer.
The Jazz have made it clear that they are deploying a center-by-committee strategy. However, none of the three of Jusuf Nurkic, Jaxson Hayes, and Mo Bamba come all that close to what Kessler brought. But what if Utah believes their best bet in replacing Kessler may be Kyle Filipowski.
Filipowski's name hasn't come up much this summer, which is odd because he has proven himself to be a quality player from basically his first game with the Jazz. And let's settle this before anyone gets any ideas: no, he's not the same player as Kessler.
But that doesn't mean he can't replace Kessler's impact as a player in his own way.
Kyle Filipowski has a ton of skill...
— Basketball University (@UofBasketball) August 20, 2026
Pure shooting stroke, would't be shocked by a big accuracy leap. impressive vision for interior passes & soft touch. Foot speed/rim pro is suspect, but has surprisingly good hands & is a big dude. Intriguing upside. pic.twitter.com/xuhxQPrhUI
Filipowski is no rim protector, but he has the makings of an excellent stretch big and is a solid rebounder for someone his size. The sample size is small, but the Jazz saw results when they paired him with Kessler and Lauri Markkanen.
In fact, early on last season, Markkanen and Filipowski together proved to be a positive pairing. The Jazz have every reason to explore that and then some. The Jazz youngster has proven that he's talented and NBA-ready. He should be put up to the ultimate test, with Utah looking to replace what Kessler brought to them.
Filipowski wouldn't have to replace Kessler's rim protection
You can't make a leopard change its spots. Asking Filipowski to be a better rim protector is more or less like asking Superman to be immune to Kryptonite. It straight up just isn't happening. But he doesn't have to because he has Jaren Jackson Jr. by his side.
JJJ can replace how impactful Kessler was on the defensive side while Filipowski can replace his rebounding, and his high IQ play can mitigate a lot of what was left by Kessler. The Jazz may operate believing that they have the personnel to fill in for Kessler even if they don't have a player that has his exact skillset.
Utah will be all about winning basketball. Kessler would have undoubtedly helped with that, but they have personnel like Filipowski that is good enough that they don't have to make a panic move just yet. Because Filipowski has factored into winning basketball before, even in spurts, the Jazz have good reason to think he could be the key to thriving without Kessler.
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