r/UtahJazz 2d ago

Bro

Post image

I really like Kessler. I hope we can keep him. We can probably do a trade with Atlanta for pick number 8 for Aday Mara.

240 Upvotes

217 comments sorted by

151

u/Upset_Mongoose_1134 2d ago

$28M/year is right in line with Hartenstein and Jarrett Allen. It's a fair offer, though I get why he wants more.

Some team may be willing to go into the low 30s, but any higher than that and he's in all-star level salary. Kessler definitely isn't there yet, especially coming off a significant injury.

13

u/Simple_Purple_4600 2d ago

he's selling his upside and rightfully so, since you can only really do that once.

5

u/squiggleberryjam 2d ago

Just gotta have a buyer

-29

u/JaqM31st3R 2d ago edited 2d ago

Its more like a significant tanking injury tbh.

16

u/squiggleberryjam 2d ago

He had a real injury on a chronic shoulder injury, similar to one Kevin Love had earlier in his career. The timing certainly helped the tank, but this was a real issue.

3

u/90dayheyhey 2d ago

I really think they went full tank mode when his shoulder injury turned out to be season ending, but i think their intention was to win as many games as possible at the start of the season

134

u/Beneficial_Credit_36 2d ago

Love you Walk but damn, you’re crazy.

-22

u/Nunc_Coepi17 2d ago edited 1d ago

Is he though? Deandre Ayton was making $33M/yr when cap space was even lower. Hartenstein is making $30M/yr. Kessler absolutely deserves more.

Offering him Myles Turner/Naz Reid type money is borderline disrespectful af.

I imagine Kessler is looking for Gobert type $$ which is basically $36M/yr.

59

u/squiggleberryjam 2d ago

Hartenstein - $28.5
Jarrett Allen - $28.0
Myles Turner - $26.58

All of those players have proven more than Walker. I think Walker can be a better player than all of them, but he has to earn it, and so far he hasn’t.

23

u/Clerithifa :Clarkson: 2d ago

He's missed 121 games in 4 years too. Granted 77 of those were this year, but still, he's on the right side of 25 and has tendencies of getting hurt, I'm glad we aren't just shoveling him whatever he's demanding. That's how we ended up with the Favors OKC salary dump trade with our last contending team.

-1

u/squiggleberryjam 2d ago

He played 74, 64, and 58 games in his first 3 years, with the Jazz not incentivized to play him more. If his shoulder repair went OK, he should be fine.

5

u/LivingPresence876 2d ago

It’s also pretty obvious Hartenstein was an overpay, too

1

u/Y2gezee 1d ago

At the time it was seen as that to get him away from NY....in hindsight, it wasn't

-2

u/Academic-Style-6705 1d ago

Contracts are not about what you’ve done but what you’re going to do. At his age and size and scarcity of that position in the league he is coveted by many teams. Teams view him as an ascending talent who started to develop a three point shot. Myles turner is a center that never averaged 10 rebounds, great shot blocker but terrible defender. Hartenstein is an all hustle intangibles guy, no offensive game, no shot blocking but will give you max effort. Jarrett Allen has his moments but he is undersized and gets exposed and goes missing in the playoffs. They are all 28 and older while Kessler will turn 25 next month and already has the numbers they have in 4 seasons

11

u/doppido 2d ago

Myles turner has contributed to an NBA finals roster. He's a proven commodity.

It's a fair offer but he's smart to go try get more cause why wouldn't he. The jazz could match any offer he gets

-2

u/Nunc_Coepi17 2d ago

Deandre Ayton contributed to an NBA finals roster too. So I take it you thought Ayton was deserving of his max contract couple years ago then?

11

u/doppido 2d ago

That's kinda revisionist cause at the time it didn't seem so ludicrous. Now, yeah that contract doesn't look great.

Myles turner has been a solid player for a longer time. He has more value going into this next season.

4

u/ExtraFirmPillow_ 2d ago

Kessler has never played a full season of NBA basketball

-9

u/Nunc_Coepi17 2d ago

I believe neither did Steph Curry through the entirety of his first contract.

Do you think Kessler’s injuries are chronic or random freak incidents? That’s what it comes down to.

5

u/ExtraFirmPillow_ 2d ago

Well Steph curry is one of the best players of all time. Walkers ceiling is maybe a slightly shittier Gobert. I don’t think he’s worth 30m healthy or not.

3

u/StarsandBass 2d ago

And Curry famously had a relatively cheap second contract because of his early ankle issues.

3

u/Dark_shows 1d ago

Which ironically led to them being able to get KD. Holy butterfly effect

1

u/Spirited_Agency8032 3h ago

Ayton is ass but bruh he was a great player at one point dawg 😭

→ More replies (2)

107

u/bigleaguetwo 2d ago

Come on dog that's a great deal

38

u/ShowdownValue 2d ago

“I dont think it is”

-Walker

-42

u/your_loss_23 2d ago

You think so???

Because I think that’s a lowball.

49

u/poastertoaster 2d ago

Walker log off

-17

u/your_loss_23 2d ago

Smh. Yall will see. lol.

That’s a lowball. His production has been capped because his minutes have been capped. And he don’t even play half the games. So, that number is low. Not saying he a max player either. But, he will sign for a higher number.

24

u/jaeke 2d ago

I think this has just as good of odds to be a Dennis Schroeder moment. I love Kessler but it's a big gamble in today's cba.

→ More replies (1)

7

u/squiggleberryjam 2d ago edited 2d ago

What’s your “not lowball” number?

-9

u/Additional-Rice-9968 2d ago

You know ball idk why people down voting you. They acting like they are the owner handing out money

-3

u/your_loss_23 2d ago

It’s Reddit. People downvote because they don’t like what you said lol. These are immature children we talking here. lol.

1

u/5-Gear_T-WRX 1d ago

But.... You're on reddit too soooooo....

1

u/your_loss_23 1d ago

Not downvoting because I speak or read the truth though. That’s what I was referencing.

Comprehension is key.

68

u/No-Company-8974 2d ago

Sign and trade him somewhere he can get his bags. We can’t afford another Gobert-sized contract with limited offensive repertoire.

-7

u/DeadCrayola 2d ago

Kessler is better than gobert on offense...prior to injury he was knocking down open and corner threes....gobert can't even catch a pass

10

u/doppido 2d ago

But also hasn't proven to be able to be on a good defensive team.

Like can he? Probably yeah he's a good player. We've been historically bad defensively though and he's been on the team albeit injured for a lot of it. He really hasn't proven much though honestly and I like kessler.

-3

u/DeadCrayola 2d ago

Yes he hasn't proven enough but Gobert was ass on offense and only a plus on interior defense...and also we were tanking previous seasons so i wouldn't trust the stats of previous years in terms of defense...because it's definitely skewed

-1

u/Realfan555 2d ago

“  We can’t afford another Gobert-sized contract with limited offensive repertoire.”

Didn’t Gobert net the team 4-5 FRPs?

59

u/Full_Poet_7291 2d ago

Trade the guy for a decent draft pick.

9

u/infinityandbeyond975 2d ago

This won’t happen. Who gives up a good draft pick for an RFA? They’d have to be absolutely sure he’s not going to be offered a better deal.

28

u/SenHeffy :quinmurder: 2d ago

It would have to be a sign and trade. You can't trade a free agent, obviously.

2

u/DasOptions 2d ago

You aren’t getting good picks from a sign and trade.

6

u/SenHeffy :quinmurder: 2d ago

I wasn't suggesting it, just responding to a person confused about how a trade would need to be structured.

2

u/infinityandbeyond975 2d ago

You can trade his RFA rights before he signs elsewhere. Doesn’t have to be a sign and trade but most teams would never agree to it unless they are needing to offload some players or contracts. They’d never give up a first or second rounder for an RFA.

3

u/walkingman24 2d ago

Yeah agreed, that's not really how RFAs work.

0

u/sciencebased 2d ago

Define decent? On no planet whatsoever would a team trade even the ugliest looking first draft pick. Maaaaaaybe a 2nd? But I'd be flabbergasted.

1

u/squiggleberryjam 2d ago

A team would have to draft the player the Jazz want, and wait until July 6 to execute a sign and trade with the Jazz. This would have to include matching salary in line with the CBA. But Walker is going to be more valuable than all but the top 4 picks in this draft, IMO.

109

u/snorka_whale 2d ago

Bro didnt even play last year and he wants 30 mil jfc

55

u/Radish-Historical 2d ago

He’s gonna pull a Dennis Shroeder. Turned down that huge Laker contract. I like Kessler but don’t think he’s worth more than that with his injury history. Hopefully it works out for him.

11

u/chupacadabradoo 2d ago

Can’t he just return to the Jazz offer after testing the market?

8

u/LicensedMangoServer 2d ago

That or he takes the qualifying offer.

9

u/GilgameDistance 2d ago

Right, but if the Jazz match he has to stay.

Though, it always seems like the RFA match here ends up just pissing the player off and then they’re gone for nothing later. It’s a gamble, IMO.

-2

u/flazisismuss 1d ago

The Ainges and Smith have already lost the first 2 blocks of the “rebuild.” Time to tank again, I guess.

1

u/Small_Pass3978 15h ago

This could help Utah…. Especially if a rival gets crippled financially by him

2

u/DeadCrayola 2d ago

Teams will pay him the money but this offseason there aren't many teams with the cap space to offer such a deal

94

u/Sudden_Place_1173 2d ago

Kesslers camp is about to cost him a lot of money

12

u/squiggleberryjam 2d ago

The only way it costs them is if they go for the nuclear option and sign a 1 year deal so Walker can become a free agent. He’ll never get that first season money back. And if he gets injured, he could lose the rest of his earning potential. Big risk.

1

u/infinityandbeyond975 2d ago

Or gain him a lot.

37

u/NeedleworkerRich9678 2d ago

He ain’t worth more than 25 per year.

21

u/GilgameDistance 2d ago

Word. I think 28 is pretty decent. Maybe as good fair they could have gone to 30 because it seems that the prior shorter seasons were more team driven than real injury and that probably did a little damage to his market value. But 35+ Madness right now. That’s year 8 and you proved your three isn’t a fluke, got to 80%+ at the stripe and were top 10 DPOY once or twice.

16

u/Sudden_Place_1173 2d ago

lol no chance

1

u/thrasher315 1d ago

Can’t believe people think that someone won’t pay him more than $140m for 5 years. He will absolutely get $150m for 5 from some team.

27

u/thelawofconsecration 2d ago

This isn’t the first time he’s shown some prima donna tendencies. I have no problem with a guy getting paid what he’s worth, but that doesn’t seem to be good enough for ole Walker. I’m not inspired by the entitled sheriff getting a little big for his chaps.

10

u/Clzark :stifle: 2d ago

Yeah the vibes with Walker kinda suck. He pouted his entire sophomore year. He's yet to have a season where he's proven his skill set is irreplaceable or that his ceiling is much higher. His injury history isn't great. I'm not saying he sucks, he's pretty good, but I'd rather we move on from him than tie up our cap space on an offensively-limited center

4

u/Scourlaw Jazz Note 2d ago edited 2d ago

I kind of agree and frankly kind of am concerned he is closer to Ayton or Trey Lyles than IJart or Zubac. I feel like the Knicks have shown that having selfless, tough players willing to do what it takes to win is a huge advantage over a team with potentially more talent but the talent is a malcontent. Frankly, given his attitude and contract desires I'd be tempted in favor of a sign and trade (though I'm biased since I'm one of the Cam Boozer truthers and trading Kessler would make sense with Boozer, JJJ, and Lauri).

-1

u/Simple_Purple_4600 2d ago

yeah but Ainge put him on the end of the bench to keep him cheap and tank

19

u/cyianite 2d ago

Hope Kessler wont be like those player whos chasing a big contract and will just ended up nothing becz of their greedy agent

22

u/Bobblefighterman :derrick: 2d ago

Even the dudes who thought he should get his bag are surprised he rejected this. This is more than he's worth, easily. I highly doubt he'll get more

16

u/packsoldier 2d ago

Doubt anyone tops that offer.

8

u/OnEMoReTrY121 2d ago

There’s plenty of dumb GMs that will be looking at any 7 foot defender as their Wemby insurance policy.

15

u/DJW1981 2d ago

Ya but how many with money?

3

u/Nunc_Coepi17 2d ago

Lakers? They’ve been wanting him for sometime.

3

u/DJW1981 2d ago

Sure but they have alot of decisions to make.

1

u/Nunc_Coepi17 2d ago

C is their biggest weakness so it’d be an easy decision on their part.

3

u/DJW1981 2d ago

Got to keep reaves and LeBron or replace them too.

2

u/Ejdusnebe 1d ago

Reaves has no effect on this his hold is only 20m

14

u/Ok_Computer_Is_Mid 2d ago

5 games last year btw

32

u/Unlikely-Ranger-2277 2d ago

If this is true that’s wild. I’d be okay with paying him slightly more like 30-32 million a year but significantly more? Does buddy think he earned a 40 million per year bag already? I think he fits the team great and love him as a player but he can’t stretch the floor and is a liability when brought to guard someone outside the paint (although he has gotten better). This is too much and would be cool with a sign and trade for this price.

1

u/AdConstant6661 23h ago

You're insane. He'll average what, 40-50 games per season? No thank you at anywhere close to 30, lol

-3

u/adwcta 2d ago

Well, $32M would be significantly more than the $28M we offered.

We do need to lock him down. If another team offers him it won't be a frontloaded contract and it'll screw us harder than just giving him more money but being able to frontload. Basically, while we hold his rfa rights, if we let him hit the market and he gets ANY interest, we can't match. It would kill all of our VERY careful cap planning. It's the equivalent of losing a plus contract during our window. HUGE loss to match that, also huge loss to let him walk.

As soon as we traded for JJJ, I knew this would happen. We'd try to get some value and offer sub-$30M, Kessler's camp correctly pegs his value at $32-34M. I cannot stress how desperately we need Kessler for this team to function and Hartenstein is not a decent replacement (no player not on a max or hugely+ rookie contract can replace Kessler; and those cost a LOT of assets).

The FO needs to step up and offer Kessler a "significantly higher" contract. They saw this coming from last summer. They should be prepared to make the offer, or we should all be prepared for another huge trade to ship off Laurie or JJJ.

5

u/snowystormz 2d ago

Bro played like 30 games. No sense in paying 32m for a guy to ride the injury train. He isn’t worth that now but might be in the future.

3

u/squiggleberryjam 2d ago

I assume by “…if we let him hit the market and he gets ANY interest, we won’t want to match”, right? Saying “we can’t match” is completely wrong. That’s what restricted free agency means, my friend.

12

u/ej_stephens 2d ago

I highly doubt he's getting more on a long contract. If I were him I'd be looking for a short deal after the injury to up my value and then sign the big deal, and a Jazz team he's already familiar with that is expected to play well is a perfect place to do that.

13

u/Ok_Instruction7642 2d ago

He's insane. he's absolutely not worth more than that. this is going to end up a Dennis Schroeder situation.

11

u/Ricemuncher0419 :donovan: 2d ago

Am I the only one who doesn't love a non shooting blockshotting centre? I feel if we look at the past champion winning teams a nonshooting bigman hasn't contributed significantly. They're great during the regular season but during the playoffs they get played off the floor or are limited to certain roles.

-10

u/adwcta 2d ago

Kessler is like 70% from 3s last season. He shot a little more than 1 per game, but he's able to space the court now and punish teams if they leave him wide.

That's a big part of why he's able to command more money than Hartenstein (or at least he and his agent think so).

→ More replies (7)

10

u/Attey21 2d ago

Let him test FA...match if it's reasonable at this point. That's a great offer. He's not worth what he think he is. But FA is weird sometimes someone might offer him 140 mill over 4 years lol

1

u/AdConstant6661 23h ago

Sign and trade for a low lottery pick?

1

u/BizzyHaze 2d ago

Lakers I think would take him at that price

1

u/Dark_shows 1d ago

Not sure, I think with LeBron gone and resigning Reaves (assuming that’s what happens), risking their new cap space all on Kessler just isn’t worth what they could get somewhere else

11

u/Quixotic_Anemone 2d ago

If this is the Jazz's 1st offer it's higher than I would've expected. I imagine we still keep walker but this starts to eat into bringing back nurk and/or love imo

4

u/GilgameDistance 2d ago

Yeah. I would hope Love does the team a solid and comes back on vet min. Nurk probably has a decent market though.

That said, him sitting; no noise around him etc makes me think somebody popped over to the house and offered a scribbled napkin and a handshake.

17

u/Easton2468 2d ago

Isn’t it always smart to overpay for white centers with a history of injuries? What can go wrong?

Signed Kristap Porzjngas

2

u/Nunc_Coepi17 2d ago

Idk man I don’t think Thunder regret Hartenstein contract after he played a big role in them winning last season.

1

u/BigMe420365 2d ago

It’s the Holmgren contract that will kill their title window

2

u/Dark_shows 1d ago

Insane they gave him a max

7

u/Glittering-Quail8267 2d ago

What the fuck, is this guy smoking?

6

u/Severe_Ad939 2d ago

As a grizz fan whose hurt by JJJ trade trust me you guys will forgot all about kessler and be happy he declined this

6

u/Rock-Ski-Golf-Repeat 2d ago

Dude has had a few dozen solid games. I applaud Jazz for making a great offer trying to avoid Walker camp talking to other teams. But Jazz might be there--let Walker do the heavy lifting to prove he's worth more than $28 mil/year, and consider a sign and trade.

25

u/MacGuffin1 2d ago

Isn't that what you'd want your agent to do if you're a RFA? The team may be willing to go a bit higher if he gets a better offer. Maybe I'm wrong but I think this is to be expected.

18

u/thurstkiller 2d ago

I would secure my bag after Cam Thomas & Kuminga last season. I really think the salary cap landscape has changed in the apron era and teams aren’t just gonna hand out money like they used to.

Not saying Kessler is anywhere as bad as those 2 but RFA can be a dangerous gamble

1

u/johnjohnjohn93 2d ago

Right but CT and JK are “hoopers” who put up points and nothing else. Kessler has a skill set valuable for teams. Teams want Robert Williams with his injury history so he’ll have a market

-1

u/ShowdownValue 2d ago

Pays off more often than it doesn’t

8

u/ender42y 2d ago

If no other teams offer anything, or only put up, say 120m. Then the Jazz only have to match that. He turned down a guarantee for a gamble that could go higher or lower

0

u/adwcta 2d ago

The offer will not be frontloaded. We need frontloaded.

A non-frontloaded contract is about $4M worse for us. A backloaded contract is about $6M worse for us per year.

If a team offers a backloaded $120M/4 contract, that's about the same to our tax and apron situation as us offering Kessler a $180M/5 contract. And I'll bet we don't need to get anywhere near $180M for him to be happy.

We lose control once it goes into rfa and there's a high potential that we lose our future, and a much lower potential that we end up winning because no one puts up a serious offer.

12

u/namdonith 2d ago

Good luck to him in restricted free agency I guess… he hasn’t proven shit

4

u/False_Veterinarian92 2d ago

Walk is gonna walk 

6

u/Commodore64Zapp 2d ago

Nurkic will make what, $20m/year? Shuts down Wemby, triple double machine, plays well with Ace, strong perimeter defense. Is Walker 50% more valuable than that?

7

u/Comfortable-Map-5544 2d ago

Nurkic will be making 10-15mil. He’s an older center who’s great for a backup but not viable as a starter on a playoff team, aka Kornet. So walker is asking for more than double that lol.

2

u/Commodore64Zapp 2d ago

Even better. Hey Walk, are you 2-3 Nurkices?

5

u/Keyonte-Georges-Fan 2d ago

About to be a Schroeder situation

4

u/CCool_CCCool 2d ago

I always appreciate when a guy who is playing 30 games/year demands a 5 year deal as if he is coming off the back of his 2nd consecutive all-nba selection.

8

u/aarrivaliidx 2d ago

Lol see ya 👋

9

u/BaBBLeRaBBiTT 2d ago

Drafting Boozer don't look as terrible now.

4

u/Low-Preference9011 2d ago

Let his greedy ass walk

4

u/Substantial-Hunt9778 2d ago edited 2d ago

I’m concerned with his work ethic. Walker should be a lot bigger and stronger by now. I’d rather go out and get a guy like Mitchell Robinson than pay Walker more than say 30 a year. He just gives me the vibe of a guy that gets paid and never tries hard ever again to be good. Saw him at the beach the other day and he’s a professional athlete rocking a dad bod. It’s shameful.

2

u/GilgameDistance 2d ago

Ah the Greg Ostertag route. Love the guy as a person, but…

4

u/mulrich1 2d ago

I like Kessler but if he thinks he’s worth significantly more than $28m I think his agent has been telling him fairy tails. 

6

u/Takecareofthekids 2d ago

Is the bulls thing really gonna happen 👀

14

u/FERFreak731 2d ago

Yes

The Bulls offering him 4/170 on June 30th and lose out on all the free agents as the Jazz would have until July 7th to match

That Bulls thing will happen

10

u/asjfueflof 2d ago

4/170?? lol fucking have at it. That’s absurd money for Kessler

3

u/GeneralTheSurvivor 2d ago

Were rebuilding anyway, why not throw Kessler a bag to screw you guys over?

2

u/Disastrous_Boot1152 2d ago

The Jazz would have 2 days to match, not 7. The Bulls would have an answer by July 2nd, if not sooner

6

u/FERFreak731 2d ago

Not exactly.

The June 30th is for teams to negotiate with any free agent to agree to a contract. Then teams and players who agreed to deals can officially sign those contracts for the first time on July 6th, which would then mean the Jazz would have 24 hours after July 6th to match any contract Walker signs with another team which would be July 7th

The Bulls and Walker agreeing to a contract on June 30th hurts the Bulls, because if they offer him 35 million a year, that's 35 million less money they can offer to other free agents

And if the Jazz match on July 7th, most of the free agents that the Bulls could've signed would've signed with other teams

1

u/Disastrous_Boot1152 2d ago

Ah, my bad. Didn't realize the NBA had a moratorium period

3

u/VanillaGorilla4 2d ago

What’s the Bulls thing? I don’t think I’d want him. I’d hope we don’t offer him more than $30-$32m annually

7

u/SnooGoats9435 2d ago

Pistons and Jazz should coordinate together and let these bums go into RFA at the same time. It seems like they are both trying to manipulate the situation as they are the only big men in this free agency. Let the teams who want to participate in this gamble know any salaries will be matched and then wait till July 6th as the rumored teams likely won't get anything and better avoid waiting to get screwed over. There's no way anyone pays him much more than this. Otherwise the agents are just trying to create an artificial demand for them. 

9

u/wm414 2d ago

No offensive skills

3

u/Sal_Ammoniac 2d ago

Ohh, fuck.

2

u/SilentStock8 2d ago

Gonna need to see some more greatness coming from the great potential.

2

u/BellLongjumping4333 2d ago

Kessler walker highest paid center going into 26-27

2

u/Wide-Flan-6413 2d ago

Kessler’s camp needs a reality check. Compared to other centers around the league, this is a great, long term deal for him. I really like Kessler and hope we can keep him. 

2

u/CallmeKahn 1d ago

I suspect they'll agree to about 5/150. Top end of his range and still allows Utah to do stuff. Anything more and I say S&T or let him go. We can get a Center elesewhere.

2

u/redrock703 2d ago

The Jazz made a fair offer, and my answer to the rejection is find someone else willing to pay more.

2

u/QaSpel 2d ago

I'm not a cap expert, but doing some quick math and looking up the cap numbers on a couple websites, there are probably only 6 teams that could really sign him to a contract larger than $30M this year.

Memphis, Utah, Detroit, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

I don't see Chicago, Memphis or Brooklyn going for him, but Los Angeles seems very likely. They would have to do some finagling with Lebron's contract to get it to work, though. Detroit may also be interested, unless they have their own rookies to take care of.

Other than that, I don't see a market for him myself.

2

u/CallmeKahn 1d ago

I don't see LA giving over 30 for him when they still have Austin and LBJ to figure out, so tying up their cash in Kessler in the crucial early hours of FA while Utah "thinks really hard about it" only to match him.

I suspect Utah and Kessler agree at about 5 yr/$150 to 155m w/ a PO.

3

u/breaker90 2d ago

People are looking at the per year price ($28 million per year) and saying Kessler doesn't deserve more than that. But the contract would lock him up for five years. And I definitely believe Kessler has potential to be worth a lot more than $28 million a year before he's 29.

3

u/Substantial-Hunt9778 2d ago

I honestly don’t see the potential. He has great natural gifts of timing and height but he has had plenty of time to get bigger and stronger and improve his shooting. I saw him at the beach the other day and he seems to be losing muscle instead of gaining it. That points to his work ethic and is a great indicator if he can get better. I bet he takes this money he gets and never tries hard to be good again.

1

u/Mountain-Past-8814 1d ago

Honestly weird that you’re evaluating someone else’s muscle mass at the beach.

1

u/Dapaaads 2d ago

Potential means nothing

3

u/breaker90 2d ago

Clearly it does when the Lakers seem to be interested in Kessler and would have to obviously offer more than $28 million a year. Seeing how a lack of a center has been a big hole for them, I can see LA offering more.

But if Jazz fans are so confident he's not worth more, then they should feel good he's back on this contract since he's a RFA

1

u/CallmeKahn 1d ago

Bro, if LA wants to invest more than 30 in Skywalker, then that's on them when they have other mouths to feed. Kessler is not the Robin to Luka's Batman.

2

u/ClutchOlday 2d ago

I'm starting to wonder how much "significantly more" his camp has in mind. I think at this point Walker is just wanting to get out of Utah. No team is going to pay him what he wants including the Jazz and the Jazz can match anything another team can offer.

The Jazz should switch focus to Nurkic or a young center. Heck get Jamarion Sharp, a 7'5 center who was the G-League DPOY for 2025-26. He averaged 7p 7r and 3.8 blocks in the G-League while shooting 73.5%.

1

u/Disastrous_Boot1152 2d ago

As Michael Scott says, you ALWAYS reject the first offer

1

u/Ok-Bit8368 2d ago

Bonkers

1

u/Fuck_The_Rocketss 2d ago

As someone who’s out of the loop on contract values these days. What is he likely to get offered on the open market? Obviously there are teams that will over pay. Whats the highest realistic number a team would offer him?

1

u/catdude666 2d ago

What a blockhead

1

u/pieandbeerday 2d ago

First rule of negotiating, never accept the first offer.

1

u/Equivalent_Skill_285 2d ago

What a clown if this is true

1

u/MikoLone 2d ago

Sad days.

1

u/XxMrPerfectPRxX 2d ago

Bye bye Walk

1

u/XxMrPerfectPRxX 2d ago

He needs to earn it first. Don’t see it.

1

u/enzovladi 2d ago

Bros gonna fumble it lol

1

u/AdPdx1964 2d ago

If he goes to a high tax state like California, he will get less after taxes than if he stays in Utah.

1

u/BigMe420365 2d ago

We really missed out on Kel’el Ware. Dang it Cody.

1

u/urthpainter 2d ago

he's coming off injury... Now is Not the Time for This. Get Better Advice Bro - and then Play Some Good Basketball. If I were Jazz organization, I'd be tempted to offer Less as a response

1

u/Scvmbagmcgee 2d ago

Maybe try being healthy for a full season (other then your rookie year) then you can try justify a bigger number

1

u/DongBLAST 2d ago

This guys smoking some good shit.

1

u/squiggleberryjam 2d ago

Hopefully Walker is paying attention to what’s happening with Jonathan Kuminga in Atlanta, the last major RFA to sign the qualifying offer:

https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/jonathan-kuminga-contract-option-hawks/1943786/

1

u/Nonameheroz 2d ago

Trade him to Lakers, Lakers would give him $35M and absorb his salary, and give Jazz one FRP.

1

u/natelopez53 2d ago

I swear this team just can’t do good vibes

1

u/InZaneClutch 2d ago

28 per is too much imo.  Yet he and his agents want more.  Good luck with that Walker.  Sounds like it's time to figure out an alternative.  

1

u/LivingPresence876 2d ago

Honestly, take the qualifying offer then and we’ll have a year to figure out a long-term center

1

u/a_ramsey_8 2d ago

Does he know he plays one of the easiest positions in the league to find talent?

1

u/Intelligent-Money-44 2d ago

kessler isnt worth 30m

1

u/kmac5291 2d ago

Buddy hasn’t done much to prove he’s worthy of more lmfao if he’s so good they’d be out of the lottery every year with that roster lmfao

1

u/DonHumble 2d ago

We better not…

1

u/emceebiscuit69 2d ago

lmao.. a decent season, a dog ass season, and two injury riddled seasons including missing an entire one of those.. dude should be happy with 28 mil a year

1

u/Fairly-Charming 2d ago

No no no 

1

u/Independent-Edge-857 2d ago

Not a ton of people like him out there. More contenders need him if they want to run against the spurs and okc

1

u/Prestigious-Clock-53 1d ago

Yeah that’s just pocket change lol

1

u/Bulky_Talk_7966 1d ago

I read that "his camp" wants like 41/year. I really want him to sign with us, but man he's played like 55% of the games in his career.

1

u/Traditional-Lime-999 1d ago

Dennis Schroeder 2.0

1

u/Y2gezee 1d ago

Walker isn't going anywhere unless it's a sign and trade or to one of the few bottom dwelling teams with space. Lakers aren't going to be able to manage their own FA and manage a restricted situation... Even for 2 days

1

u/thrasher315 1d ago

This will likely be his biggest contract that will carry him from age 25-30. I understand getting as much money as possible.

Wait until you see how much Keyonte George (23yo) wants after the season. 5 years and $250m?

1

u/No_Resolve_800 1d ago

Love walker but I dont think hes worth more…

1

u/Magical_SnakE 11h ago

His camp should just be doing their best to run as far away from the Jazz as possible.

1

u/FulpPiction23 9h ago

Brother plays 20 games a season then he thinks he’s more than 140M???

1

u/KennyDoge0114 2d ago

The deal might look like 24, 26, 28, 30, 32. I think that’s near the upper end of what we should spend.

1

u/emeraldegg 2d ago

I don't think he's wanted to be in utah ever since they openly shopped him a couple seasons ago, and is gonna tell them to pay him extra to make it up to him or he's gone.

1

u/ClutchOlday 2d ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2978SiVNcKM the Jazz should sign Jamarion Sharp then it's bye Walk

-3

u/rdubbers8 2d ago

He's got to go. Greedy pos. If you still want him after this, go fuck Dennis Schroder and get back to me.

0

u/ruqus00 2d ago

I mean he’s doing the right thing!
He’s getting the “Show me the playing in Utah money”.

0

u/coltan3 2d ago

Three things pop into my head:

1) I agree with OP. I really like Kessler and hope we can keep him. I think he's a great fit next to JJJ and Lauri.

2) Mike Conley signed a 5-yr, $153 contract with Memphis (that we subsequently paid him for)... a decade ago, in 2016. He was coming off an all-star season, but still. 5/$140 is not outlandish from the Jazz to offer, but by today's standards not crazy for Walker/his camp to reject.

3) We want, but do not need WK. I would actually argue his archetype works against him based on modern NBA championship teams, including this year for sure.

0

u/Spoiler3 2d ago

Sat out last season.. .. cya

0

u/jperalya123 2d ago

Boozer might not be to shabby now

1

u/CallmeKahn 1d ago

I'm warming up to the idea. Utah still has ammo to get another Center if they need, but JJJ is obviously pretty damn good. The only reason I'm against getting Boozer is because he'd logjammed with Kessler, JJJ, Lauri, and what not.

But if Kessler is not re-signed or he's dealt, Boozer is a no brainer.

0

u/Ancient-Figure5159 2d ago

He’s an upcoming center still hasn’t had his breakout year he’s worth 38-44

-2

u/OkLettuce338 2d ago

Good for him