NBA Insider all but confirms Jazz's wild plans with Walker Kessler

With Walker Kessler out for the season, the sad fact is that all Utah Jazz fans will hear about him from now until the offseason is either about his recovery or how the Jazz will approach his free agency. There have been reports about Kessler's price tag, which will definitely be steep. However, recent intel has indicated that the Jazz will re-sign Kessler, but that will be last on their to-do list.

During his appearance on the YES Network last night, NBA Insider Michael Scotto revealed what the Jazz's plans are for this summer, which included what their approach will be about Kessler's deal.

"What they want to do, ideally: they have a ton of cash space this summer. Use it to make the roster better. If they're gonna be in the lottery this year, they hope that that's the last time for the foreseeable future, where they could start to build this thing and make it a run. You re-sign Walker Kessler, but you wait to do that last after you use your cap space."

It might rub Kessler the wrong way, and this strategy will likely fuel speculation all summer long until he signs his name on the dotted line. However, this is ultimately the best strategy because signing Kessler first takes the Jazz out of the running with free agents.

While the 2026 free agent class may not have the biggest names available, Utah will have the opportunity to get a leg up on many teams, as not many will have as much cap room as they do.

Don't be surprised if Kessler re-signs first, but not 'officially'

Utah may likely want to avoid any more drama with Kessler, as he got candid about how frustrated he was that they didn't go out of their way to re-sign him this past offseason. There's no telling if the Jazz really plan to drag it out, but it wouldn't be surprising if there's an announcement pretty quickly that they've reached an agreement with him with the only holdup being that they want to to sign other free agents first before it's official.

Teams do this quite often where they already have an agreement in place with their players, but only haven't made it official to maintain their flexibility. It wouldn't even be surprising if Utah already has or not too long from now will reach an agreement with Kessler on his next deal.

Regardless of how either side feels about how much he is worth, Kessler is someone that is not replaceable even if he may never make an All-Star or All-NBA team. From what Scotto said here, it sounds like the Jazz are definitely more than aware of that.