Report: Lakers giving up multiple picks to make Walker Kessler their center of the future is ‘on the table’

The Los Angeles Lakers have long had interest in acquiring Utah Jazz big man Walker Kessler, and as the 2025 offseason heats up, it appears that Kessler is still on the Lakers’ radar as they look to add a proven big man to the fold.

Per the Salt Lake Tribune‘s Andy Larsen, the Lakers giving up multiple draft picks in a trade for Kessler is “on the table.”

L.A. has a limited amount of tradable first-round draft capital, so it’s possible that the scenario in question includes some pick swaps or second-round capital.

“I think there’s been an offer presented for Walker Kessler, right, and certainly from the Lakers, have shown significant interest all the way back to the trade deadline, certainly continuing now, and him being their future of the center, giving up multiple picks to get there, that is on the table right now,” Larsen said.

“I don’t know if the Jazz take it. Certainly they haven’t so far.”

Kessler would check some boxes for the Lakers in the sense that he’s an elite rebounder and rim protector at the center position. He averaged 12.2 rebounds (including a league-high 4.6 offensive rebounds) and 2.4 blocks per game across 58 contests with the Jazz in the 2024-25 season. He could help fill the hole left by big man Anthony Davis’ departure in some ways.

The 23-year-old’s presence could have come in handy for the Lakers in their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. L.A. lost the series in five games in large part because the team had no answers for some of Minnesota’s bigs, and the Lakers didn’t trust center Jaxson Hayes enough to give him extended run in the series.

Kessler is one of the more promising young centers in the NBA, but acquiring him would likely come at a steep price, especially since the Jazz have shown an ability to acquire quite the haul via trade in recent years.

The young center would fit with L.A. like a glove on paper, but whether or not the Lakers and Jazz will come to an agreement on a trade this offseason remains to be seen. For now, maybe folks shouldn’t get their hopes up that Kessler will start the 2025-26 campaign in a Lakers uniform.