The Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz have reached a sign-and-trade agreement that will send restricted free agent center Walker Kessler to Southern California, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Charania reported that Kessler, 24, will sign a four-year contract worth $130 million. The deal includes a player option for the fourth season and a 15% trade kicker.
Utah will receive unprotected first-round picks from the Lakers in 2031 and 2033, plus first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030. No players are headed to the Jazz in the transaction, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line noted.
Kessler was selected 22nd overall in the 2022 draft and appeared in 201 games over four seasons with Utah. The 7-2 rim protector averaged 11.3 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks across 58 starts in 2024-25 before a shoulder injury limited him to five games last season.
Contract talks between Kessler and the Jazz stalled after the club declined to offer a rookie-scale extension last fall. Utah reportedly proposed a five-year package worth about $140 million but remained firm on structure, prompting the center to explore other options when free agency opened Tuesday.
Los Angeles emerged as Kessler’s preferred destination. The Lakers, holding more than $50 million in cap space after LeBron James told the team he plans to depart in 2026-27, targeted an elite front-court partner for star guard Luka Dončić. Kessler and Detroit’s Jalen Duren were viewed as the top restricted free agent centers on the market.
Rather than match an anticipated Lakers offer sheet that included a player option, trade kicker and higher annual salary, Utah opted to secure future draft capital. ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted the trade consumes four of the five first-round assets the Lakers possessed entering the offseason, leaving only a 2032 pick swap available for future deals.
League approval is pending.
Source: Hoops Rumors
