Lakers Land Walker Kessler on $130 Million Deal as Celtics Add Mitchell Robinson

Q: Is Walker Kessler the Lakers' new cornerstone or their biggest post-LeBron gamble?

Walker Kessler is more gamble than cornerstone, even if he fills the Lakers’ most obvious need. The basketball logic is clear. Los Angeles badly needed size, rim protection and offensive rebounding after ranking 29th in offensive boards, and Kessler is elite in exactly those areas. In his last healthy season, he averaged 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, an NBA-best 4.6 offensive rebounds and 2.4 blocks. Since entering the league, only Victor Wembanyama has blocked more shots per game. For a post-LeBron team trying to stay competitive quickly, that is a strong fit. But the price makes this a high-stakes bet. The Lakers gave up unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, plus swaps in 2028 and 2030, on top of a four-year, $130 million contract with a player option and full trade kicker. That is a massive commitment for a center who has never been an All-Star and is coming off shoulder surgery that wiped out most of last season. It also further strips the Lakers of long-term draft flexibility after earlier deals had already thinned their future assets. Kessler can become a foundational defensive piece, especially alongside Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, but he is not yet the kind of proven franchise anchor who justifies “cornerstone” status on résumé alone. If he stays healthy and sustains his 2024-25 form, the deal can work. If not, this will look like the defining post-LeBron overpay.

Q: Does Kessler's record contract redefine the market for elite, non-All-Star big men?

Not quite. Kessler’s four-year, $130 million deal is a clear market jump for a high-end defensive center who has never made an All-Star team, but it looks more like an aggressive top-of-market outlier than a full reset for all elite non-All-Star big men. The contract matters because of both size and context. At $32.5 million annually, it exceeds the Jazz’s reported extension range of roughly $25 million to $30 million per year and is being described as the richest deal ever for a center without an All-Star appearance. That gives Kessler a new benchmark. His production supports why the Lakers paid it: he led the NBA in offensive rebounds in his last healthy season, ranked near the top of the league in blocks, and fills a major Lakers weakness. But the broader market is still likely to be segmented. Kessler is not being paid as a generic non-All-Star big; he is being paid as a rare specialist with elite rim protection, rebounding and age-based upside at 24. Comparable non-All-Star centers with less impact or more injury risk have generally projected well below this range, while true All-Star-level bigs still sit above it. The bigger signal is that teams may now pay a premium for young centers who can anchor a defense without needing touches. Whether this redefines the market depends on follow-through: if the next wave of players in Kessler’s tier starts landing deals above $30 million a year, then this becomes a new standard rather than a Lakers-specific overpay.

Q: With lottery reform changing pick values, did the Utah Jazz just win the next decade?

No. Utah improved its long-term position, but the lottery reform does not mean the Jazz “won the next decade.” The Kessler trade is strong value on its face. Utah moved a very good center coming off shoulder surgery and a contract standoff, while getting two unprotected Lakers firsts in 2031 and 2033 plus swap rights in 2028 and 2030. If the Lakers decline in the post-LeBron era, those distant picks could become highly valuable. But the proposed 3-2-1 lottery reform cuts both ways and likely lowers the upside of some future picks leaguewide. More teams would have a realistic shot at No. 1, which adds randomness and makes it harder to confidently project that a bad team’s future pick will become elite draft capital. There is also uncertainty because the reform includes a review before 2030, which clouds the value of picks beyond that point, including 2031 and 2033. The clearest direct effect of the reform on Utah is not a windfall. Because the Jazz picked in the top five in 2025 and 2026, the new anti-tanking rule would prevent their 2027 pick from landing in the top five. That pick is owed to Memphis from the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade, so the reform retroactively devalues an asset the Grizzlies hold, not a pick Utah still controls. So the Jazz did well to cash out Kessler at a premium and deepen an already strong asset base. That is smart front-office work. It is not proof they just locked up the next decade.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 1

$130 million over four years sends Walker Kessler to Los Angeles in a sign-and-trade after he rejected Utah’s restricted-free-agency offer and sought a new home.
Two unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 plus 2028 and 2030 swap rights went to Utah, a steep price the Lakers paid to secure a young rim protector for a Luka Dončić-Austin Reaves core.
Boston separately moved to sign Mitchell Robinson, targeting frontcourt athleticism and elite offensive rebounding after its big-man rotation was exposed in a first-round playoff loss to Philadelphia.
The Kessler deal further extends Utah’s 2022 Rudy Gobert windfall, pushing the Jazz haul tied to that trade to six first-round picks and three swaps, with five of those firsts unprotected.