Going into the offseason, Utah Jazz fans would have preferred Walker Kessler to stay with the team. Yet, there were no complaints when the team managed to get FOUR first-round draft assets out of him from the Los Angeles Lakers. Stripping the Lakers of their future was an opportunity the Jazz couldn't pass on, and there's a possibility that this could get even worse for the former.
The Ringer's Zach Lowe explained that if this doesn't work out for Los Angeles, they are "trapped," as he calls it. He later elaborated that their options, in a nutshell, are either to keep things the way they are or trade Austin Reaves as a result of the Kessler deal.
Zach Lowe says the Lakers are TRAPPED after the Walker Kessler trade and may be forced to trade Austin Reaves
— NBABase (@TheNBABase) August 9, 2026
“There’s no question that they overpaid for him [Walker Kessler] and are now trapped with this team and have to figure out: either this is the team or is there a way to… pic.twitter.com/zZYyUZewDE
You can't blame the Lakers for going all out for Kessler because of what he can (hypothetically) do for them, but the ongoing belief right now is that while he fills a need for them, he won't automatically vault them to title contenders.
If they're not, a Reaves trade might be their best at trying to make the most of their situation, and even then, it's hard to think of a deal that changes their fortunes much better than they already are with their current squad.
For the record, Utah was previously interested in Reaves as recently as this calendar year, but has two highly promising young guards in Keyonte George and Darryn Peterson, so there's no need to add him now, especially at the deal.
Plus Utah has no reason whatsoever to help Los Angeles with any problems post-Kessler trade.
Are we sure the Lakers are better than the Jazz right now?
With Kessler, the Lakers filled a hole that was already a problem before they traded Anthony Davis, which got a whole lot worse when they swapped him for Luka Doncic (even if they were beneficiaries of what may be the worst trade ever). That much is clear, but how much better did they get from this?
He may not be what he was, but losing LeBron James is still a massive blow to a team like the Lakers. His departure drastically lowers their ceiling, despite not being the trump card he truly was at the top of his game. Utah may have lost Kessler, but still added quite a few bigs to replace him in the aggregate.
No one's saying is one team is definitively better than the other, but it's certainly hard to say right now. The Lakers or Jazz could prove that wrong, but no matter how it all shakes out, the uncertainty in LA until they prove otherwise should make Utah cautiously optimistic about how this could turn out for them in the end.
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