'Several' Teams Were After Jazz Ex Walker Kessler, Insider Says
· Yahoo Sports
Instead of matching the four-year $130 million offer sheet Walker Kessler agreed to with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Utah Jazz opted to execute a sign-and-trade, gaining two unprotected first-rounders and two first-round swaps from LA in the process.
However, the Lakers weren't the only team after Kessler despite their years-long interest in the 24-year-old big man.
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Centers have become a premium in the modern NBA ... and it's not a coincidence that the era of the "double-big" lineup is coinciding with the emergence of San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama.
Due to this shift in the league's philosophy — had Kessler's link to Los Angeles not been as strong as it was — ESPN insider Brian Windhorst believes multiple other franchises would've been interested in offering Utah a similarly lucrative package.
"League executives have been struck by the money being spent on centers this summer," Windhorst wrote.
He then included a direct quote from one of these executives that emphasized the mass intrigue in prying Kessler away from Salt Lake City.
"There's several teams who wanted Kessler for a few years, and if it had been a truly open market, other teams might've been willing to make a similar [trade] offer," an anonymous NBA personnel director told Windhorst. "But I'd be worried about doing a big deal with the Ainges [Jazz front office leaders Danny and Austin] just on principle."
Windhorst went on to highlight multiple centers who got paid this summer, justifying the money the Lakers threw at Kessler given the premium they're costing organizations due to Wembanyama's rise.
"Jock Landale, a career backup, got a one-year, $14 million deal from Atlanta. Moritz Wagner, coming off a season-ending left ACL tear, was given a two-year, $19 million contract to be a backup in Brooklyn. And this list could go on," Windhorst continued.
Ironically, another member of the Jazz could fit on that list.
Jusuf Nurkic re-upped with Utah on a two-year, $22 million deal just before Kessler opted to leave, providing Ainge and company insurance while preventing a walking double-double from exiting the building.
And given what other front office members are deeming "bargains," paying Nurkic just $11 million annually seems like a steal.
"I haven't seen it talked about at all, but what the Thunder got [Isaiah] Hartenstein for might be one of the deals of summer," an Eastern Conference executive told Windhorst.
So while it may be difficult for Jazz fans to watch a home-grown kid like Kessler leave ... it may have been necessary due to the direction the league continues progressing in.