The Lakers finally have a real center. It only cost them their next two decades of first-round picks.
Walker Kessler is going to Los Angeles as part of a four-year, $130 million sign-and-trade with Utah. The Lakers are sending back unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, plus first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030. That is a mountain of future draft capital for a 24-year-old defensive center who has never made an All-Star team.
Rob Pelinka’s justification is straightforward. Anthony Davis is not a natural five, at least not without breaking down after 60 games. Luka Doncic needs a rim-running, pick-and-roll finisher next to him who can also protect the paint on the other end. Kessler is exactly that. He led the league in blocks last season for the second time in three years, shot 74 percent from the floor, and set screens like his life depended on it.
The problem is those picks. Sending 2031 and 2033 first-rounders out unprotected is the kind of move you make when you think you have a championship-window roster that just needs the last piece. Do the Lakers have that? Luka is that. Reaves is a good player. Rui Hachimura is fine. But this is not a top-two seed roster.
Utah, under Danny Ainge, keeps stacking the future. The Jazz have now flipped Kessler for four future draft assets that all figure to land in decent lottery real estate given the Lakers’ roster construction after LeBron leaves. If Luka gets hurt in 2030, one of those picks is a top-five pick that becomes the next franchise center in Salt Lake City.
The trade also affects Utah’s short-term plans. The Jazz are officially handing the frontcourt over to Kyle Filipowski and Taylor Hendricks. Both were selected in the top 20 in recent drafts. Both are still developing. Ainge is not worried about the standings next season. He is worried about 2029 and 2030 when Utah’s assets mature into an actual young core.
For the Lakers, this is a bet on the next three seasons. Kessler is on a four-year deal, which means he is under team control through 2029-30. Luka is under contract for the same window. Give Pelinka credit for aligning the timelines.
The optics are also loud. This is the second Lakers trade in a month where Pelinka sent out picks for a specific-fit veteran or ascending center. First Ayton went out for Jaden Hardy and picks going back. Now the Kessler deal reshuffles the frontcourt entirely. The Lakers are done being patient with the Luka era. They are pushing chips in.
Whether this works depends on Kessler’s offensive growth. His block totals are elite. His shot creation is nonexistent. Playing next to Luka should feed him easy looks and clean up his numbers. But if Kessler is still a defense-only center in year three, the Lakers gave up too much.
Utah won the trade in terms of asset accumulation. LA won the trade in terms of fit and immediate ceiling. Both franchises got what they needed. The picks will decide who really won this thing five years from now.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
