One would think that after all the intel about Walker Kessler, both before and after the NBA trade deadline, everyone would get the picture that the Utah Jazz aren't trading him.
Or, at the very least, they're not selling him off. The Jazz don't want assets for the rising youngster because they'd be trading the best player in the deal. In a scenario where Utah would get a better player, they might consider it, but that offer isn't on the table, and teams who want Kessler would see him as an upgrade for them.
So it's not happening. It makes sense that contenders like the Lakers would want Kessler, especially after the Luka Doncic trade. Even before that all went down, they've tried in the past, and the hole they have in the frontcourt is especially apparent with Anthony Davis gone.
Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz proposed the following trade that would send Kessler to the Lakers.
Lakers receive: Kessler
Jazz receive: Dalton Knecht, 2031 unprotected Lakers first-round pick
While it's obvious as to why the Lakers would do this trade - it's pretty similar to the one that they made for Mark Williams before it was rescinded - here's Swartz' reasoning from the Jazz's side of things.
"Utah may not be shopping Kessler, although a future unprotected first and a good prospect in Knecht (14.3 points, 39.3 percent from three as a starter) should at least start a conversation," Swartz wrote.
No, it shouldn't...
Kessler has played well enough that it's inarguable that he should be seen as a cornerstone of the Jazz's future. He's one of the league's best rim protectors and offensive rebounders, and that kind of value on a rookie contract should not be given up. Especially to a contender like the Lakers!
The Lakers have been unsurprisingly excellent since the Doncic trade, and it's not necessarily Doncic who's made things that way. Of course, he's changed their entire dynamic, but the team as a whole has changed their dynamic that much. Adding Kessler to that roster, and considering what he's good at, only fortifies LA.
The Jazz own the Lakers pick two years from now. The Lakers getting Doncic already hurts the value of that pick. It would make no sense for the Jazz to hurt it further by giving them the Lakers perhaps the one player that could fix their issues. An unprotected pick for their troubles would not be enough for Utah to pull the trigger.
That said, the Lakers pulled off the impossible when they somehow got their hands on Doncic, which absolutely no one saw coming. Because their front office has the silver tongue, maybe the proposed trade above is all it would take to hand over Kessler.
Basically, any player could be on the table for LA right now because of the Doncic trade. No matter how ridiculous any proposed trade involving the Lakers could be going forward, the rationale will be: Look what they had to give up for Doncic.
After the season he's had, trading Kessler sounds ridiculous. If Utah somehow concluded that he has to go, there's no feasible way he's going to LA, despite their recent good fortune saying otherwise.