It is sad that anything that comes out about Walker Kessler from now until this coming summer will either be about his injury recovery or his upcoming free agency, with the majority of it likely to be the latter. The Jazz likely won't toy with Kessler the way Golden State did with Jonathan Kuminga, but if Kessler wants the most money possible, he'll likely have to get it from someone else.
Dallas Hoops Journal's Grant Afseth reported that Kessler sought quite a hefty price from Utah that they were unwilling to meet, while adding that if he wants that kind of payday, he would have to get it from someone besides the Jazz, which the team would match anyway.
"Contract talks with Walker Kessler loom this offseason. As we previously reported, Kessler sought upwards of $120 million in total compensation in early discussions, a figure Utah was unwilling to meet. As it stands, Kessler would need to secure an offer of that magnitude on the open market for it to be matched. Utah, however, remains interested in retaining him," Afseth wrote.
Whether he deserves that contract or not is in the eye of the beholder, but it further shows that the Jazz are in full control, no matter what. The Jazz know they hold all the cards, but Kessler has proven he is the kind of player that teams would be willing to pay good money for, unlike someone like Kuminga.
The Jazz shouldn't rule out Kessler getting the deal he wants
Pending any surprises, Kessler should still be a Jazzman by next season and not just because he has very little leverage in restricted free agency. However, even if his season was tragically cut short, he has shown enough that it wouldn't be surprising if teams have a bidding war over him this coming offseason.
It doesn't seem likely a team would offer Kessler the kind of money he was looking for, but that doesn't mean the Jazz should rule that out entirely. Before his injury, Kessler looked like he was taking another leap. The problem was that the sample size was too small to make any definitive statements about whether he was or not.
Regardless, Utah should and probably will be prepared for any scenario. They knew what they were getting into when they decided not to extend Kessler, and it's hard to see how this blows up in their face. Even if he winds up getting paid, it's not like the Jazz would be overpaying for someone whose skills are easy to replace.