On the Jovan Buha podcast, Eric Pincus revealed the Utah Jazz had shopped Walker Kessler. You can listen to the time-stamped segment below
Pincus, discussing potential offseason targets for the Lakers, talked about Walker Kessler who is coming off an injury. He says that he heard that the Jazz…
“had shopped him a little bit more around the deadline than what they had done before. I had heard the Clippers had a shot to get him in the Zubac trade instead of Matherin. So, those are just rumors, I’m not saying that’s fact…”
As Pincus says, this is just rumors. Maybe this happened, maybe it didn’t, but it’s very interesting if this is true. Will the Jazz look at a sign-and-trade possibility? We know that the Jazz are interested in Austin Reaves. We also know that Utah wasn’t interested in overpaying Walker Kessler. The Lakers, on the other hand, have been interested in Kessler for years, they just haven’t been willing to give the Jazz what they’ve been asking. Knowing that the Jazz weren’t interested in giving Kessler a huge contract, would they be willing to make some sort of move for Kessler? The Lakers have had a terrible season with DeAndre Ayton and have not been able to find a starting center for a long time. Kessler, being an elite rim protector and rim-runner, is the perfect complement to Luka Doncic.
Utah has signaled they’re interested in winning next season. It makes you wonder if the Jazz lose in the lottery, are they going to make some sort of win-now move with their pick? Is there something there that can get them Austin Reaves for Walker Kessler? It certainly seems like the Utah Jazz are going to be active this offseason, and it might just involve a trade with the Lakers.
