Hopes are high for the Utah Jazz as they prepare for their first winning season since the Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert era. They’ve brought on Darryn Peterson to help on the perimeter, and retained Jusuf Nurkic to hold down the paint. However, in order to achieve or surpass the lofty expectations Jazz fans have for their team, it would be nice to bring back Walker Kessler, the young, towering big man that Utah has developed over his first 4 years in the NBA. However, as a restricted free agent, the Jazz don’t have much leverage over the size of Kessler’s next contract – he takes meetings from any team interested, they can offer a deal, and the Jazz then have the opportunity to match that deal and retain Kessler, if they wish. So, Jazz fans have all been waiting on pins-and-needles for what that crucial contract number will end up being – will Walker come home, or will the proposal from another team be too rich to stomach? After the official beginning of free agency this evening, Tony Jones reports some interesting (and rather disheartening) information on the Walker Kessler bidding war.
This is larger than fans and, seemingly, the Jazz Brass were expecting. Jake Fischer reported that, at some point in the past year, Kessler would’ve accepted an offer for less than what his market is currently dictating. However, the Jazz didn’t bring Kessler a deal during rookie-scale contract negotiation that seemed serious to his camp, and the time for the initial, lower offer that Kessler would’ve accepted had passed.
I, for one, am surprised that the market is this favorable to Kessler. Operating under the assumption that he’s looking at deals with about 37.5 million dollars of annual value, it seems that the league believes he is a bona fide top 7 center in the league. For reference, in 2026-2027, Alperen Sengun and Rudy Gobert will each make 35.5 million, Jarrett Allen will make 28 million, Myles Turner will make 26.5 million, and Isaiah Hartenstein will make a measly (said with some sarcasm) 23 million. 37 million annually, with a player option, seems rich for an oft-injured center who has never played for a team that finished the season over .500.
The Lakers are the team that has been reported most consistently to be interested in Walker Kessler, but they clearly are not the only team willing to shell out 9 digits offer sheets to acquire the young center. Tony Jones specifies that he has multiple offers in that range – the Sacramento Kings and Brooklyn Nets could very well also be in this thick of this race, alongside the Lakers and Jazz.
With this report in mind, how much is too much for Walker Kessler? Would you be interested in a sign-and-trade? Who do you think has the wealthiest offer on the table? Sound off below!