The Los Angeles Lakers believe bringing in a few Utah Jazz alumni will help them as they fully embrace the Luka Doncic era: Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton. There has been plenty to say about what Kessler brings to the Lakers and how his departure affects the Jazz. But what about Sexton?
Sexton wasn't bad when he was a Jazzman, but, as harsh as this is to say, he never really contributed to winning basketball. It was not his fault, as he came in during a transitional period, but he definitely had his faults, particularly on defense.
That's going to be a problem with the Lakers. It's not like the Jazz were doing him any favors (despite having Kessler on the roster), but Sexton's individual defense wasn't just bad, it was legit among the worst ever.
Basketball University illustrated this when they revealed that Sexton is among the players who provided the lowest defensive true shooting percentage value. Not once, but twice!
And yes, that includes his time with the Jazz. And yes, he's high up there among the worst of the worst.
Poorest three year stretches of Defensive True Shooting Value in the play-by-play era…
— Basketball University (@UofBasketball) August 22, 2026
Free eats with these guys on the court pic.twitter.com/vJ1DCGUqa5
The Lakers' defense was already not exactly great. Adding Kessler will help with that, but he is only one piece of the puzzle. They added him in the hope of aiding their defense, but Sexton's history suggests that Kessler will have an even tougher task ahead of him.
Lakers' defense being bad is good news for the Jazz
What Sexton brings to the table is efficient scoring more than anything. He should help the Lakers with that, but they already had potent scoring with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. He seems superfluous on that end while he's going to make them worse on the other.
If that happens, the assets the Lakers owe the Jazz from the Kessler deal become more valuable. The Lakers are in an unforgiving Western Conference. No one will show them mercy when they have defenders like Sexton on the floor.
Kessler will help as much as he can, but he can't play all 48 minutes and will only cover so many of the Lakers' flaws. Sexton can disprove his reputation, but he's got a long way to go just to prove he's not a weakness on defense.
The Lakers and the Jazz pretty much have the same goals this season, but the Lakers have a lot to lose if their defense holds them back. The irony is that the Jazz's defense certainly has some questions too, but even if they owe some assets, they don't have nearly as much to worry about
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