{"id":359582,"date":"2026-07-02T05:56:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T00:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=359582"},"modified":"2026-07-02T05:56:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T00:26:43","slug":"walker-kessler-going-to-lakers-will-get-a-4-year-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/02\/walker-kessler-going-to-lakers-will-get-a-4-year-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Walker Kessler going to Lakers, will get a 4-year deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n
\n

FILE \u2013 Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) dunks in the course of the second half of an NBA basketball game, Oct. 27, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo\/Anna Fuder, File)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Walker Kessler is being traded by the Utah Jazz to the Los Angeles Lakers, who may have the middle under contract for the following 4 NBA seasons and for a complete of about $130 million, an individual with knowledge of the agreement said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The Jazz are getting two first-round draft picks and two first-round pick swaps out of the deal, based on the one who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity since the move is a sign-and-trade and has yet to receive the needed league approvals.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tArticle continues after this commercial<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

The Athletic and ESPN were amongst those to first report the agreement.<\/p>\n

Acquiring Kessler is the primary big move for the Lakers of their post-LeBron James era, after the NBA\u2019s all-time leading scorer said Tuesday that he was leaving the team and would spend this coming season elsewhere. And it solves a necessity at center for the Lakers, plus gives the team a young big to pair with star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.<\/p>\n

Kessler \u2014 who turns 25 later this month \u2014 was limited to 5 games this past season after having surgery to repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder in November. He and the Jazz discussed an extension last summer but never got here to terms.<\/p>\n

Kessler was averaging 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks on 70% shooting this past season before getting hurt. In his first three seasons, he averaged 9.4 points on 68% shooting.<\/p>\n

He played for the U.S. on the 2023 FIBA World Cup within the Philippines.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FILE \u2013 Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) dunks in the course of the second half of an NBA basketball game, Oct. 27, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo\/Anna Fuder, File) Walker Kessler is being traded by the Utah Jazz to the Los Angeles Lakers, who may have the middle under contract for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":359583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[19540,985,53416,1416,4320],"class_list":["post-359582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-4year","tag-deal","tag-kessler","tag-lakers","tag-walker"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t