Lakers-Jazz Trade Report Surfaces Days Before NBA Draft
Lakers-Jazz Trade Report Surfaces Days Before NBA Draft originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Los Angeles Lakers are in win-now mode. To be perfectly honest, they usually are year in and year out. With LeBron James and Luka Doncic on the team, there's much more pressure for the Lakers to build a contender around them.
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That's why the Utah Jazz make sense as a trade partner: They are in a completely opposite situation from the Lakers. Because they are rebuilding, they have no need for win-now veterans on the roster.
The Jazz have helped the Lakers before, as they bailed the Lakers out of the Russell Westbrook fiasco, but that came at a significant cost for the Lakers, as they traded a top-four protected pick in 2027 to make it work.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick.© Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
As it turns out, the Lakers definitely have their eyes on a Jazz player: Walker Kessler. The Salt Lake Tribune's Andy Larsen revealed on Locked on Jazz that the Lakers are very much interested in the Jazz center while adding what they would put on the table.
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"The Lakers have shown significant interest all the way back to the trade deadline," Larsen said. "Certainly continuing now, and him being their future of the center, giving up multiple picks to get there? That is on the table right now. I don't know if the Jazz take it. Certainly, they haven't so far."
This report comes just days before the June 25 NBA Draft that is expected to contain significant movement around the league. Kessler is up for an extension this summer, and the Jazz can decide whether he is part of their future or if they want to own the Lakers' draft capital for the foreseeable future.
Related: Calls Mount for Mavericks to Trade Anthony Davis After New Report
Related: Dwight Howard Receives Punishment Update for Fight With Lance Stephenson
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
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