NBA GM Baffled That Jazz's Walker Kessler Return Exceeded Jaylen Brown's

The NBA world has been rattled with several big moves and trades throughout the past few days––and the Utah Jazz were involved in one of the most notable.

The Jazz would send their restricted free agent center Walker Kessler over to the LA Lakers for a pair of unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps; a solid return for their defensive anchor that nets them a good bit of flexibility financially and when constructing their roster for the future.

That return for Kessler tends to look even better for the Jazz when looking at how the trade of Jaylen Brown panned out for the Boston Celtics, one that would net them two first-rounders and Paul George, who's consistently been viewed as a negative asset since signing his albatross $211 million contract back in 2024.

In reality, the Jazz were able to get a better return for Kessler––someone who hasn't even sniffed an All-Star appearance through four years pro––than the Celtics did for a player coming off a career-best season and an All-NBA Second Team selection.

NBA GMs Stunned By Walker Kessler, Jaylen Brown Trade Differences

That difference in return between the Jazz and Celtics' deals even left some NBA general managers, who spoke to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, scratching their heads in the aftermath of both deals.

"I mean, the guy [Jaylen Brown] got traded for less than Walker Kessler," one NBA general manager told MacMahon. "That's baffling to me."

"It's really hard to tie up that much of your salary cap in one player unless they're truly generational. And he's not even close to that," another GM said. "If you supermax Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] or Joker, it makes sense. That's probably the list. The league is getting smarter now. And here's the thing: The dumb teams are also the cheap teams, so the Celtics couldn't take advantage of one of them."

The returning package that the Celtics got for Brown might go down as one of the all-time shocks in terms of blockbuster trades; someone that was once rumored to go for four picks on the market instead went for two, and a hefty contract for the next two years for George.

In the case of Kessler, though, the perception has been a bit more of the opposite: the Jazz got off of their young defensive anchor who was a key part of their future, but did so in a sign-and-trade that gave them an immense haul of draft assets that many saw as a steep investment for the Lakers to part ways with.

Oct 31, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) dunks in the first half between the Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The package of picks was also combined with paying out a notable contract for Kessler that the Jazz clearly weren't interested in matching, coming out to be a four-year deal worth $130 million in total value, a player option in the fourth season, and an AAV of $32.5 million. That's the highest salary ever paid out for a center who hasn't touched an All-Star game in his career.

So in the end, the Jazz got both financial relief and several draft picks to replenish their first-rounders that they parted ways with in their trade deadline deal to bring in Jaren Jackson Jr. via the Memphis Grizzlies. They've got a hole at center, but are arguably in a much better place for the future than they were about a week ago.

On the other hand, the Celtics are faced with the burden of George's contract, fewer draft assets to play around with, and the public scrutiny surrounding their decision to make the move involving their five-time All-Star in the first place.

The Jazz lost a good player in Kessler, no doubt. But at the very least, the deal put them in a strong spot for the future ahead and has enough flexibility to address their long-term center need in due time––seemingly a much better position than where Boston currently stands.

Be sure to follow Utah Jazz On SI on X to stay up to date with daily Utah Jazz news, rumors and analysis!

Add us as a preferred source on Google