Nonetheless, buying the 23-year-old middle seems to be a major problem, primarily because of the LA Lakers’ restricted commerce property and the Jazz’s excessive asking value. “I think the issue with Walker Kessler and with Utah in general is their asking prices tend to be higher, and I think trading for Lauri [Markkanen] or Walker is going to be a high price,” The Athletic’s Jovan Buha noted on his latest Q&A; session. The beat author then confirmed that LA focused Kessler final 12 months. “Going again to final season, I reported that the Lakers had had curiosity in Walker beforehand, and so they had inquired about him to the Jazz, and the suggestions they bought was the beginning value, not the ultimate value. The beginning value was the equal of two+ first-round picks,” Buha defined. In response to the reporter, a package deal centered round Dalton Knecht and a single first-round choose would possible not be sufficient to entice Utah. -via BasketNews / June 10, 2025