Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge didn’t come to an agreement on an extension with Walker Kessler this offseason, meaning he’ll be hitting restricted free agency next summer. The Jazz didn’t fail to reach Kessler’s demand because they don’t value him, though. Their trade price for Kessler shows they value him highly.
As The Athletic’s Tony Jones noted, it’s not because they don’t want him back. In fact, Utah views him as the best player they’ve brought in during the post-Rudy Gobert/Donovan Mitchell era.
Instead, the Jazz want to keep Kessler’s cap hold low and splurge in free agency, finally ending what could be a four-year run of lottery finishes.
“The Jazz see themselves trying to end their time near the bottom of the Western Conference standings as soon as next summer. By not signing Kessler now, he would have a cap hold of $14.9 million next summer, which would give the Jazz enough space to keep Kessler’s hold and still do work in free agency. Then, the Jazz and Kessler theoretically can come to an agreement. Because Utah holds Kessler’s Bird rights, the Jazz would be able to exceed the cap by signing him,” Jones wrote.
“If Utah extends Kessler now, his cap hold would be whatever that contract dictates, which could make the franchise less flexible from a money standpoint.”
All rebuilds must end, but the Jazz don’t have many building blocks to do so. Kessler, Keyonte George, and Brice Sensabaugh look like potential long-term role players, but there needs to be a star centerpiece to make it work. Lauri Markkanen has been good enough to be competitive, but not good enough to lead a winning team.
A Markkanen trade could help them land a player or pick that could become that, and it should be a formality considering the team’s desire to spend money in 2026 NBA free agency. ESPN’s Tim McMahon reports that the team views him as just short of untouchable, though.
It’s unclear if Ainge’s stance will change. But a Markkanen and Kessler frontcourt hasn’t done much for the team yet.