Former Lakers Champion Believes Walker Kessler Brings One Crucial Element to LA

Heading into the NBA offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers had two major priorities: re-signing Austin Reaves to a long-term contract and bringing in an upgrade at center who would be a good fit to play alongside superstar Luka Doncic for the foreseeable future.

Fortunately for Los Angeles, the team’s front office was able to check both boxes, as they inked Reaves to a four-year, $185 million contract and then pulled off a sign-and-trade deal with the Utah Jazz to acquire center Walker Kessler.

Kessler had been linked to the Lakers for quite some time, but was never able to get a deal done with Utah until this summer, which was surprising, as sign-and-trade deals usually don’t come to fruition, at least until this offseason, that is.

Horace Grant: Walker Kessler Brings ‘Toughness in the Middle’ to Lakers

Four-time NBA champion Horace Grant, who won a title playing alongside Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, approves of the move to bring in Kessler.

The former Lakers big man believes that Kessler brings the kind of “toughness” in the paint that was sorely lacking with Deandre Ayton last season, via Kyle Odegard of Action Network.

“No disrespect to (Deandre) Ayton and the rest of those guys, but I think they were missing that toughness in the middle,” Grant said. “The rim protector. He can score, block shots, rebound. That toughness. I watched him in Utah and I enjoyed what I saw.”

Although Ayton wasn’t terrible last season, he did leave something to be desired, enough for Doncic to ask the Lakers front office to upgrade the position, making the move one of the top priorities.

Walker Kessler is a Massive Defensive Upgrade for LA

Even though Kessler only played five games last season before having to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, the 24-year-old rising star was solid during his stint with the Jazz, paving his way to being one of the best two-way centers in the NBA.

Along with being a formidable center on the offensive end of the basketball floor, as a lob threat with post moves and an improved outside shot, Kessler is a massive upgrade over Ayton defensively.

The Auburn product can be a game-changer defensively as a rim protector with a career average of 2.4 blocks per game, and can put pressure on the best offensive bigs in the Western Conference, like Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama.

It’ll be interesting to see if Kessler is a seamless fit in Los Angeles and the ideal center to share the floor with Doncic for the next few years, because if he is, that’s a scary thought for the rest of the West.

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