Lakers-Jazz Trade Grades: How Los Angeles, Utah Made Out in Walker Kessler Deal
Lakers-Jazz Trade Grades: How Los Angeles, Utah Made Out in Walker Kessler Deal
Liam McKeone, Ryan Phillips, Ryan Phillips|
In this story:
Los Angeles LakersUtah JazzAnother big-time NBA trade has hit the wire. This time, it’s the Lakers and Jazz involved.
On Wednesday amid another wave of free agency signings, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Los Angeles was acquiring center Walker Kessler from Utah in exchange for two unprotected first round picks in 2031 and ‘33, as well as two pick swaps in ‘28 and ‘30. Once the trade is official the Lakers will sign Kessler to a four-year deal worth $130 million, which comes out to a hair over $32 million annually.
L.A. was in dire need of a long-term answer at center as GM Rob Pelinka works to build around the remarkable talents of Luka Dončić. Kessler certainly qualifies entering his age-25 season after establishing himself as a strong rim protector and big-bodied paint presence over his first four years in the league. A shoulder injury kept him out of all but five games last season.
The Jazz, looking to take a step forward this year, get a haul of picks in return for a player who didn’t seem to want to be in Utah any longer. Negotiations between the young center, who is a restricted free agent, and the franchise that drafted him appeared to be getting more contentious by the day.
How did both sides make out in this deal? Let’s break it down by handing out grades for the Lakers and the Jazz.
Jazz
The Jazz made out with some solid assets in this deal. But they never should have let this situation deteroriate in the first place.
Kessler was a homegrown talent who would have made for a fascinating but logical fit with the new-look roster Utah is trotting out next year. He’s a proven frontcourt partner for Lauri Markkanen and his skillset seemed a match for trade acquisition Jaren Jackson Jr., who profiles as more of a stretch four than a true center. Adding another big deal to the books might’ve made things complicated down the road but that’s easy enough to figure out. You never want to move on from young talent due to a poor off-court relationship and that seems to be what happened here.
Insofar as what they actually got from Kessler ... it’s fine. The Lakers’ picks are no longer as coveted as they were pre-Dončić because if Luka sticks around then Los Angeles will be mediocre at worst for the next five or so years. The ‘33 pick is the most valuable trade asset but seven years is a long time to wait for a tangible return when giving up a player who was once seen as an immovable part of their core. The biggest benefit is that Utah doesn’t have to pay Kessler $30-plus million a year, which the franchise was clearly disinterested in from the start.
If Kessler was never going to be part of the organization’s future, this is an acceptable return. The Jazz can wield these draft picks to improve the roster as they try to contend for the first time in a long time. But the situation feels like a self-inflicted wound that helped the Lakers land a center in exchange for draft fodder that might be worth something. Eventually.
Grade: C
Lakers
Luka got his big.
Since the minute he was traded to the Lakers last February, the entire league wondered if Rob Pelinka could actually build a championship roster around Dončić. After locking up Austin Reaves to a four-year max deal, finding a center who could thrive alongside the team’s two star guards was the next goal. Mission accomplished.
Kessler gives L.A. a 7'2" post who is an elite rim protector and rebounder, two things L.A. sorely lacked last season. The 24-year-old is a strong finisher, an ideal lob target for Dončić and has a high basketball IQ when it comes to his offensive positioning. While he is limited as a post creator, he won’t need to generate much office alongside Dončić and Reaves. They’ll create plenty of scoring opportunities for him.
The price for Kessler is two future first-rounders, two pick swaps and a four-year $130 million deal. For a franchise that has never been protective of its draft capital, it doesn’t feel like L.A. gave up too much. If Kessler becomes an elite center, an average annual value of $32.5 million will turn out to be a great move.
The only real concern here is his health. Kessler is coming off season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder after appearing in just five games last season. If that proves to be an aberration rather than a trend, this deal checks every box for Los Angeles. During the 2024–25 season, Kessler averaged 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.4 blocks in 33.0 minutes per game. He stuffs the stat sheet without needing the ball in his hands.
Finding a center was the team’s top offseason need, but keeping Dončić happy has always been the larger goal. Kessler is exactly the type of rim-running, shot-blocking big man who has helped Dončić thrive during his career. This is an ideal fit for now and the future.
Grade: A-
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Published 1 hour ago | Modified 1 hour ago
LIAM MCKEONELiam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.
RYAN PHILLIPSRyan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.
RYAN PHILLIPSRyan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.
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NYC roommate ‘horror story’ divides city-dwellers online — is it ‘horribly traumatizing’ or an ‘entitled’ rant?
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NYC roommate ‘horror story’ divides city-dwellers online — is it ‘horribly traumatizing’ or an ‘entitled’ rant?
By Asia Grace Published July 1, 2026, 3:43 p.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The New York Post on GoogleThere’s a roommate rumble in the concrete jungle.
Hostilities between housemates Emily Dukes and Marlyn Rodriguez are seeping out from the door sill of their New York City dwelling and onto the savage streets of social media, where virtual spectators are eagerly taking sides in this chaotic subleasing divide.
Warfare between the two erupted after just one month of living together, when Rodriguez, the leaseholder of the apartment, informed Dukes, a subletter, that she would not be renewing the lease in July, leaving Dukes homeless.
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Dukes, a 30-year-old NYC newcomer and full-time artist, rushed to the internet, claiming to be in a “horribly traumatizing situation” after getting “blindsided” by Rodriguez, who allegedly told her that she was “being kicked out at the end of June with absolutely no prior notice.”
The creative detailed the discord in a viral, 30-part video series — most of which she recorded from her fire escape — garnering millions of views and nearly $5,000 from supporters who’ve since donated to her GoFundMe account.
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The contributions, according to Dukes’ fundraiser, would either help her “pay the entirety of rent for the month of July (if the [landlord] will even let me) on top of a security deposit” or be allocated towards her relocation fees.
Dukes even tearfully quoted the speech Mayor Zohran Mamdani gave after the New York Knicks won the 2026 NBA Championship this month, saying, “What is New York if not your back is up against the wall, your dream just out of reach, unsure how you’ll make your next rent payment.”
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“Looking at those 99.6% odds that are against you and smiling because in that .4% New Yorkers find a way,” the transplant — who’s admittedly lived in five subleases over the past year — sobbed to a digital audience of over 4.6 million.
Rodriguez, a 20-something 9-to-5er, responded to Dukes’ multipart rant, insisting, “I don’t owe you s- -t,” and claiming she gave Dukes “plenty of time and notice to make arrangements,” after deciding to move out rather than renew their lease.
“The real issue is that the rent increased and now you need to qualify for the lease yourself, and that is not my problem,” said Rodriguez, “that’s just how New York renting goes.”
Neither Dukes nor Rodriguez immediately responded to The Post’s request for comment.
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The beef being cooked up by the feuding pair, however, has served as a feast for the eyes of nosey social media commenters, who are eating up the digital drama and calling out which roommate they believe is in the wrong.
“Get a job,” critics repeatedly wrote beneath Dukes’ posts, scolding her for crowdsourcing funds and sympathy, without earning a steady income.
“NYers also hustle like multiple jobs. Idk if that’s still an option here,” spat a local.
“As an artist in NYC who’s been through homelessness, I say this with empathy: you’re gonna have to put pride aside and work,” another advised, in part. “I have walked dogs, cleaned toilets, ran errands for a vindictive architect, babysat for difficult kids, cleaned filthy apartments and worse.”
Equally unsympathetic onlookers rebuked Dukes for attempting to leverage Mamdani’s message to the Knicks.
“Babe, I don’t think Zohran was talking abt you in the Knicks speech; he might be speaking against you bc you’re evil,” tweeted an X user.
@cozygroceryhappy summer solstice, here’s to hoping in miracles when everything feels utterly impossible and the 99.6% odds are stacked against us 🌙 #newyorkcity #fulltimeartist #roommates #nyclife #newyork
♬ original sound – EK
“Transplants are a f- -king plague on society. She thinks she’s entitled to live in New York just because she wants to,” a separate faultfinder wrote. “She’s a ‘full-time artist,’ meaning she’s jobless. She needs to get the f- -k out of New York and move back to Ohio. New York is NOT HER CITY.”
Rodriguez, conversely, received an outpouring of support from folks agreeing that she is “100% in the right” and that she handled the situation like “a true New Yorker.”
“You dodged a bullet by not signing that lease,” praised a commenter.
“Glad you are able to leave this drama. Congrats on your new apartment!!” raved another after Rodriguez revealed her new place and new roommate online.
“Girl, I had a roommate just like her and, all I’m gonna say is I’m so sorry,” another said.
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Dukes, who the internet has sarcastically nicknamed “fire escape girl,” is sorry, too.
After receiving donations via GoFundMe, the brunette has been able to take over the lease of the apartment.
But after taking social media through her week-long saga, she’s publicly apologized for oversharing.
“I fully take ownership — none of this would have happened had I not come to social media in the first place,” Dukes conceded in a clip shared this week, adding that she is a part-time photographer and videographer who’s “always” paid her bills on time.
“I fully recognize how tone deaf it came across by setting [up the GoFundMe],” she continued. “I didn’t consider that and I should have.”
Dukes then vowed to gift a portion of her GoFundMe monies to charities dedicated to both the unhoused and those suffering from mental health issues in her community.
@cozygroceryoh hi, just wanted to make it clear i take full ownership of the consequences of my oversharing on social media, and i will not repeat this mistake again. i could’ve handled certain things differently, and instead i allowed extreme stress and survival mode to take the driver’s seat; that’s 100% on me. to my community + friends specifically: you guys mean the world to me, and i’m so sorry for how out of control this became. this isnt the energy i want to bring to you, and i’m so grateful for your support this entire year, not just this last month. you have no idea how excited i am that i have a lease now and get to become a part of the city for real 😭 part of that will be financial contributions once i’m finally settled, but the other part will be active participation in both the neighborhood i get to live in and the city as a whole. this isn’t something i’m doing to placate social media; so many people have supported me this last year, and i’ve always wanted to be able to give back. now that i finally have stable housing, i’m honored i get to do that. i hate that this long chapter of my life had such an explosive ending, but i promise the lessons i’ve learned will not go to waste. i’ll see you soon 🖤
♬ original sound – EK
“So many people have helped me in this last year of living in the city, and I’ve always wanted to pay it forward,” she said.
“And now that I finally have stable housing, I am able to do that.”
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