The Utah Jazz certainly didn't lose Walker Kessler for nothing this summer. They have now have multiple unprotected picks and pick swaps from the Los Angeles Lakers who are making not exactly the safest bet that Kessler will thrive for them.
Of course, there are caveats. It's not like replacing Kessler is going to be simple, as it could become a problem. However, while some may shame the Jazz for trading a relatively young two-way center, the truth came out about what Kessler wanted this offseason.
Marc Stein revealed last night that Kessler and his camp had convinced Utah that the other route he would have taken was to accept the qualifying offer and enter unrestricted free agency in 2027.
"There is no denying that the s-t-e-e-p trade price that the Lakers were willing to pay to trade for Kessler influenced Utah more than anything, but league sources say that Kessler's camp successfully convinced Jazz officials that he was absolutely determined to go the qualifying offer route this summer had he stayed in Utah and then proceed to (un)restricted free agency next summer."
That seems telling that Kessler did not want to be with the Jazz, or at the very least, that things were about to get super uncomfortable between the two sides.
It still was shocking that Utah pulled off the trade, just like it's shocking that Kessler was planning to pull this stunt, no questions asked. He convinced Danny Ainge - one of the NBA's best poker players - that he was going to take less money and bet on himself next year? Yeah, Kessler wasn't playing around.
However, in light of this new intel, maybe we should have seen all along that Kessler wasn't a long-term Jazzman.
Kessler voiced his frustration last year
After Utah decided not to extend Kessler, he did not mince words at last year's Jazz Media Day, where he publicly admitted that he was frustrated that Utah didn't give him a new deal.
It was the smart decision for Utah because not extending Kessler gave them cap flexibility for this summer. However, he evidently and understandably took it personally that they didn't go out of their way to keep him after he had a resurgent performance in a pretty miserable season.
Plenty of NBA players have felt that same frustration that Kessler did for decades, but not that many openly confirm as much. No one's saying that to fire shots at Kessler, but more to point out that it shows how flustered he was with the process.
Jaren Jackson Jr. trade gave them failsafe
When Utah got JJJ, the prevailing narrative was that he and Kessler would be a dynamic defensive duo together, but maybe we should have seen that Jackson's presence made it so that losing Kessler wouldn't have been that big of a deal. They are definitely not the same player, but some of their strengths coincide with one another that Utah could fall back on Jackson if Kessler left.
It would have been cool to see them on the court together, especially with the Jazz's defense being the most egregious aspect of their tank over the past four years. However, trading for JJJ may have been confirmation that Utah thought he was their center of the future, not Kessler.
If the trade doesn't happen, Utah probably pays up for Kessler. One crazy theory is that, based on Stein's intel, Kessler had told them well in advance what he had planned to do.
All reports said Kessler was going to play hardball
Months before free agency even began, reports emerged that Utah and Kessler were headed for an epic staring contest this summer. Even though both sides reportedly (at the time) wanted Kessler to stay, the caveat was going to be the price tag.
Kessler was Rudy Gobert's replacement and had proven in two of his three seasons in Utah that he was a valuable commodity. The Jazz knew this, but they also knew they couldn't keep everyone, just as they knew Kessler didn't exactly boast a history of consistency.
In fact, the biggest twist in this saga was how quickly the two sides resolved the matter when everyone thought it was going to take all summer.
It was him or Keyonte George
In case anyone doesn't know by now, the NBA's tax aprons make it incredibly difficult to keep a winning team together because of the consequences of crossing their tax aprons. Utah had some cap flexibility, but not a lot.
With JJJ and Lauri Markkanen getting paid $100 millions between the two of them combined give or take for the next few years, Utah had to choose carefully who they wanted to pay. Until George had his breakout, it seemed like a given that they would pay Kessler, but one season later, George made that decision a lot more difficult.
The fact that the Jazz gave George the extension Kessler wanted last season was the giveaway that they were more confident in the former than they were the latter. It's true that they could have had both, but then they would have to choose who to trade, and if they did, it would have been for much less than what either are worth.
The bottom line from Stein's intel is that this was a messy situation that the Jazz took care of before it got to that point. They come to regret how they handled the Kessler situation, but just remember that it could be worse.
Look no further than what's going on between Detroit and Jalen Duren...
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