The Lakers came into the offseason with a clear checklist: lock up Austin Reaves and find a center who could make sense next to Luka Doncic for the long haul. They handled both. Reaves got a four-year, $185 million deal, and Los Angeles then landed Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz.
That move has drawn approval from a familiar Lakers voice. Four-time NBA champion Horace Grant, who won a title in Los Angeles with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, likes what Kessler can add. According to Kyle Odegard of Action Network, Grant pointed to the “toughness” Kessler brings in the paint, something he felt was missing from Deandre Ayton last season.
Ayton wasn’t a disaster, but he also didn’t fully solve the problem, and that was enough for Doncic to push the Lakers to upgrade the position. The center spot became one of the front office’s biggest priorities, and now the team has a different look there.
Kessler’s 2024-25 season was interrupted after just five games because of season-ending shoulder surgery, but what he showed with Utah was enough to keep his stock high. The 24-year-old has already established himself as one of the better two-way centers around.
Offensively, he gives Los Angeles a lob threat with post moves and a better outside shot than many expect. Defensively, though, that’s where the real swing comes in. Kessler’s rim protection stands out, with a career average of 2.4 blocks per game, and he has the size and presence to bother elite Western Conference bigs such as Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama.
Now the question is whether he meshes cleanly with Doncic. If he does, the Lakers may have found exactly the kind of center they were chasing - and the rest of the West will have something to worry about.
In Other News...
Luka Doncics New Lakers Role Could Lead To Something Huge
With LeBron James gone, Luka Doncic is headed into next season with a very different kind of runway in Los Angeles. Around the league, that shift has already sparked talk about how much more of the offense will run through him, especially after Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon revisited Doncics chances of adding another scoring title to a resume that already includes two in the past three seasons.
The question is not whether Doncic can pile up points, but how the Lakers want that volume to look over a full season. Windhorst and MacMahon pointed to his scoring last year, his style of play and the ongoing conversation around his conditioning as the key pieces in that equation, which is why this role change feels like more than just a roster adjustment. If it all clicks, Los Angeles could be looking at a version of Doncic that puts him in the middle of something much bigger than a simple scoring chase. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Could Be Pulled Into A Familiar Luka Doncic Trade Twist
The Lakers have kept working the edges of their roster this offseason, bringing in Walker Kessler and Kevon Looney while still looking for another center through either a trade or a signing. Even with those additions, the bigger picture remains unsettled, because the frontcourt still has questions and the power forward spot has not been firmly sorted out. That has left Los Angeles open to all kinds of trade ideas as it tries to build something sturdier around its top options.
One possibility under discussion would send PJ Washington into the mix, a move that would give the Lakers another starting-caliber piece while also putting Luka Doncic back in touch with a familiar former teammate. For a team trying to balance fit, size, and lineup clarity, it is the sort of proposal that makes sense on paper even if plenty has to happen before it becomes real. For now, the Lakers are still hunting for the right frontcourt answer, and the market around them keeps offering reminders that one more move could change the look of the whole group. [Read more 🡒]
Kyrie Irving Trade Buzz Just Hit A Telling New Wall
The Heat have spent the summer adding to a roster that already looks formidable, with Klay Thompson among the recent free-agent signings and the kind of contract structure that leaves Miami with financial flexibility. Even so, the point guard spot remains the one area that still invites questions, which is why the Kyrie Irving chatter has lingered around the team in the first place.
Miamis interest, however, appears to be running into a familiar obstacle. Trade talk around Irving has picked up again, but the sense around the league is that the Heat are unlikely to land him, leaving their backcourt outlook unsettled even as the rest of the roster takes shape. [Read more 🡒]