The Utah Jazz hold almost all the cards in the inevitable Walker Kessler extension negotiations. On top of his restricted free agency restricting his options, his market got worse over the course of the season, making it harder to see how he could utilize any leverage over them.
The only trick up his sleave is the fact that the Jazz have a lot to lose if he walks because they need what he brings now more than ever: rebounding and shot-blocking, but if they use their lottery pick on a big man, suddenly it becomes a question as to whether the Jazz would want to keep Kessler period.
Yahoo Sports! Kevin O'Connor's mock draft indirectly introduces this problem, as he projected - on the condition that the Jazz keep their pick - that Utah would take Caleb Wilson with the No. 4 pick.
"Between Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Walker Kessler, the Jazz already have a lot of bigs. But adding arguably the most gifted athlete in the draft class in Wilson would add a player with star upside to the mix. He's 6-10 with springs for legs, and when he's flying above the rim, finishing through contact and chasing down everything in his area code, he looks like a future cornerstone," O'Connor wrote.
Wilson may be the BPA, but it creates a problem because the Jazz have plenty of big men. To be honest, they are already pretty much loaded as is, with a lottery pick only making their team stronger.
But drafting Wilson will make many question what the plan is long-term, even if the Jazz will have plenty of time to answer that.
Utah may be willing to approach the problem head on
Talent is talent, no matter what. There have been teams that have struggled because they were juggling too much of it. In Utah's case, they can afford to draft someone like Wilson and re-sign Kessler and just see how everything plays out.
If by some chance, the team makes it work with their plethora of quality big men, then they'll gladly roll with it until they have to make some tough decisions over the next few years. If it doesn't, it's not like teams out there wouldn't talk themselves into one of those guys and/or trade something of value for them.
Really, even though the Jazz would probably love to come away with a guard more than anything else, in their case and where they're going, there's nothing wrong with taking the Best Player available. Even if it creates a problem, it's not like Utah would be in for the worst situation.
Far from it, in fact.
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