Walker Kessler has gone on the record saying he wants to stay with the Utah Jazz, but the hubbub that's arisen since the offseason started is that said desires come at a high price. If the Jazz don't meet it, Kessler will likely drag this out for the summer, but if he does, he'd better be prepared for when his market likely shrinks even more.
It already took a hit when the Chicago Bulls, a cap space team in desperate need of a center, decided to acquire Nicolas Claxton in a straight-up salary dump. And now, there have been rumblings that the Los Angeles Lakers would be willing to sign-and-trade LeBron James to Cleveland for Jarrett Allen, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst, in EMPHATIC fashion.
"I think if the Cavs were willing to do that, they could have LeBron, obviously LeBron would have to want to sign with the Cavs," - @WindhorstESPN says the Lakers would KILL to get Jarrett Allen in a trade for LeBron. pic.twitter.com/WiFmIABUiE
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) June 24, 2026
That's a problem for Kessler because the Lakers are also a cap space team also in desperate need of a center. Getting Allen knocks them out of the Kessler sweepstakes too, further hurting his negotiating power with the Jazz.
It was already quite a mountain to climb for Kessler as his restricted free agency restricts his options, but his market only continues to shrink. The Jazz are not doing the same thing with him as they did with Gordon Hayward, since they already have a pretty rich offer on the table, despite his objections to the price tag.
He may have to take it even if he thinks he would be on a discount.
Even if LeBron re-signs in LA, that's a problem for Kessler
The Lakers were hypothetically an option for Kessler, both because of their previous interest in him and their label as a cap space team. However, their approach with Kessler was always going to be murky because they had two objectives first: re-sign Austin Reaves (which they just did) and figure out their next best move with James.
If they re-sign James, and he likely won't take a discount for his services, that would all but knock them out of the Kessler race anyway. Their best options are either keep James or trade him for a desperately needed big man. Kessler would be a potentially better option than Allen, but his restricted free agency makes that tough.
The Lakers could conjure up a sign-and-trade deal to get their hands on Kessler, but what do they have that the Jazz would want? Reaves is locked up, and they won't dangle Luka Doncic.
Kessler deserves some sympathy in the fact that this situation isn't entirely on him and may have to settle for Utah's offer, but he shouldn't be surprised in the slightest that this is how the offseason has played out for him.
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