Insider Details Lakers' Trade Deadline Pursuit of Young Jazz Star

During this year's passing trade deadline, the Utah Jazz managed to make a few moves around the edges of their roster, they opted not to make any big swings or major changes to the team structure they already had in place.

Yet, it wasn't without a few teams trying their hands for big deals in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline that were ultimately rebuffed by Utah and their front office.

One of those scenarios included a potential deal involving Walker Kessler and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers had been extensively linked with interest to the third-year Jazz big man before the February 6th deadline and seemingly tried considerably hard to get his services on board –– with or without Luka Doncic.

During league insider Marc Stein's latest appearance on the ALL NBA Podcast, he dove into a bit of the rumblings he heard surrounding the Lakers and Walker Kessler at the deadline.

"One of the things I heard coming out of the trade deadline was, there was a lot of talk about the Lakers and how much they would've loved to try to pry Walker Kessler away from Utah," Stein said. "Even before the Lakers got Luka, there was talk: Can they get Kessler? Can they get Kessler? The Jazz repeatedly swatted away those overtures."

Among the major priorities for the Lakers at this year's trade deadline was their desire to land another strong big man to their rotation, whether that be paired next to now-Dallas Mavericks big man Anthony Davis in the frontcourt, or as a pick-and-roll partner and defensive anchor for Doncic. Kessler was a name atop that list of fits for LA, though the Jazz were playing hardball with their young star.

It's easy to see why too. The Jazz center has had the best season of his short NBA career through the 2024-25 campaign, averaging 11.6 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks on a league-best 72.7% shooting from the field. Kessler has stamped his place within Utah's long-spanning rebuild process, and it's clear he wasn't being shipped out of town for just anything.

Instead, Kessler stuck on books past the deadline and has continued his strong year as Utah's starting five-man and defensive centerpiece.

As the 2022 first-rounder will be able to enter extension talks soon entering this coming offseason, expect the Jazz brass to entertain inking a fresh extension for their young star to keep him in Salt Lake City for the foreseeable future, as the Lakers and any other interested team is forced to look elsewhere for their center aspirations.

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