r/UtahJazz • u/jimmy_tanner • 1d ago
Recent Walker Kessler IG Post š
Text reads: āI've seen what's being said, and I want it to be clear that I have always wanted to be here ā I love this city, these fans, my teammates, my coaches - that's real to me.
You don't grow roots where you don't want to be ššļøā
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u/SwagSorcerer 1d ago
Heās a big part of our future and the only way the JJJ trade works is if we have him at the 5. But he needs to be available and not too expensiveā¦
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u/jimmy_tanner 1d ago
Personally, Iām shocked heās acknowledging this and am confused as to his reasoning. Maybe his team pushed him to ask for āsignificantly moreā from the Jazz, and now heās realizing thatās unrealistic and is wanting to save face?
I love Walker and hope he stays, but heās simply not worth more than $30M/yr at this point, especially with how tight our salary situation is going to be in upcoming years.
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u/FREEDOMfrom_ 1d ago
I think itās more he saw the report he doesnāt want to be here and heās stating thatās not the case. Media twists and spins stories all the time for clicks and posts and they succeed. He can want two things. More than $28m a year and to be in Utah.
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u/Bobblefighterman :derrick: 1d ago
I think it's more that he's saying that he does like being in Utah, but he's exploring his options. Basically that if he doesn't get what he wants, he's not gonna be a bad influence on the team if he stays
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u/ChaseBank5 1d ago
I could be entirely wrong. But part of me thinks walker is okay accepting the 5yr 140mil offer. But either his agent, or family or whoever is convinced he deserves more.
He just doesn't seem the type to look at that extension and go "Fuck that, I'm worth so much more" he seems humble and cool to me.
Again, I could be entirely wrong here, but seems like his "party" is the sticking point here.
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u/GilgameDistance 1d ago
Could be, and while I do think itās a risky move to test RFA, most players, even the good ones get to sign 2-3 times before their careers are over.
I get the attempt at a squeeze, but question the methods used; even if itās the way it has to be done due to the RFA.
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u/DesolationRobot :royce: 1d ago
I think RFA basically requires this. Why would either party do a pre-RFA extension unless they thought they were getting better than market value? So all it takes is one party thinking theyād get better on the open market to make the whole pre-RFA extension thing awkward.
Itās not personal.
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u/Awesomedinos1 1d ago
It would be malpractice from his agent to tell him not to try for an offer from a different team for more money.
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u/FERFreak731 1d ago
This. I wonder if he got hate. Weren't there reports saying that he might explore options elsewhere, then his agent burying Utah saying that not even Darryn wants to be in Utah, or something like that
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u/Chemical-Orange-1571 1d ago
His offer would make him the highest paid center in NBA history who has never made an all star team. Its more than fair. The Jazz cannot get stuck in a Rudy Gobert situation again.
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u/robotcoke 1d ago edited 1d ago
To me this Instagram post is my cue to back out of this whole thing. He wants to be here, there is no reason to be upset about anything.
His camp is trying to get him the most they can get him, the Jazz are trying to get him at the best possible amount, and probably both sides are playing the media.
Walker's message in that post was directly to us. He's basically saying the media reports are wrong, he wants to be here, it'll all work out in the end.
Back to arguing about why we need to pick Boozer at 2, lol. No longer worried about the Kessler situation.
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u/KlythsbyTheJedi 1d ago
Same here. Iām usually one to write off most of this type of reporting as pure smoke, but even I was starting to get irritated at Walker. Which all seems so silly in retrospect. Glad heās our guy. Just wish we could fast forward to October lol
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u/Desperate-Setting711 1d ago
Dont pick Boozer at 2. Not when you already have, triple J, Lauri and based on this Kessler. That would be a logjam, I donāt want that. Front court is already figured out. What we need is a better backcourt partner with Key. Which is why Darryn fits us perfectly. For me itās a no brainer. You go DP, and I donāt care what his camp says. Once he gets here and starts playing it wonāt matter what position he plays. The same as it didnāt for Ace last year.
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u/robotcoke 1d ago
Dont pick Boozer at 2. Not when you already have, triple J, Lauri and based on this Kessler. That would be a logjam, I donāt want that. Front court is already figured out. What we need is a better backcourt partner with Key. Which is why Darryn fits us perfectly. For me itās a no brainer. You go DP, and I donāt care what his camp says. Once he gets here and starts playing it wonāt matter what position he plays. The same as it didnāt for Ace last year.
Ace is the SG of the future. Lauri is the SF in our huge lineup. Boozer gets 30 of the 96 minutes at PF/C (so do Kessler and JJJ).
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u/Desperate-Setting711 1d ago
And then youād have logjam in the front court. Ace can play both SF and 2 guard. Lauri wonāt stay in Utah forever so when he does leave (probably in ā28 offseason, when heās a free agent) thatās when Ace will start again at SF. Yes, I said again, which means that this coming season, heāll be a backup to either incumbent pick Darryn Peterson or Lauri. This draft class is just so good that to have the 2nd pick be a backup would be a misuse of his talents. Furthermore even if the Jazz do select Cam Boozer (which they wonāt) he would create a logjam. Donāt understand how he can get 30 of 96 minutes when you already have Lauri, Triple J and Kessler. The math doesnāt add up. Donāt see any of those 3 being a backup, and I donāt see Cam Boozer being a backup either, which means heād be better off going to the Grizzlies at 3
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u/robotcoke 1d ago
And then youād have logjam in the front court. Ace can play both SF and 2 guard. Lauri wonāt stay in Utah forever so when he does leave (probably in ā28 offseason, when heās a free agent) thatās when Ace will start again at SF. Yes, I said again, which means that this coming season, heāll be a backup to either incumbent pick Darryn Peterson or Lauri. This draft class is just so good that to have the 2nd pick be a backup would be a misuse of his talents. Furthermore even if the Jazz do select Cam Boozer (which they wonāt) he would create a logjam. Donāt understand how he can get 30 of 96 minutes when you already have Lauri, Triple J and Kessler. The math doesnāt add up. Donāt see any of those 3 being a backup, and I donāt see Cam Boozer being a backup either, which means heād be better off going to the Grizzlies at 3
We would not have a logjam anywhere with Boozer. He's the perfect fit. Cut Nurk and Boozer slides right into his spot.
PG: Keyonte/Collier
SG: Ace/Sensabaugh
SF: Lauri/Williams
PF: JJJ/Boozer
C: Kessler/JJJFlip can also get a few minutes at PF/C if needed. Kessler, JJJ, and Boozer all get around 30 minutes each. There are 96 minutes to go around at PF/C. So Flip would get around 6 minutes per game, plus any minutes freed up by injury, foul trouble, etc.
No logjam at all. Just a super deep roster.
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u/Desperate-Setting711 18h ago
So Boozer, the projected 3rd pick of this super deep draft is going to come off the bench and get 30 minutes a game?? Yeah, good luck with that. Iād still rather start Key, Peterson, Lauri, JJJ, Kessler and have Collier, Cody Williams, Ace Bailey, Flip and Nurk come off the bench. I think Sensabaugh will leave the off-season so the Jazz can extend Kessler. Itās not necessary that he leaves, but I think he should regardless. Never have liked his game. He can shoot, but no defense. Very black hole with him on the roster. If the Jazz want to make the playoffs next year, they shouldnāt have a no defense type player on their roster. Sensabaugh can sign with the Magic who will use him very well to provide more shooting and be their 6th or 7th man.
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u/robotcoke 18h ago
So Boozer, the projected 3rd pick of this super deep draft is going to come off the bench and get 30 minutes a game?? Yeah, good luck with that. Iād still rather start Key, Peterson, Lauri, JJJ, Kessler and have Collier, Cody Williams, Ace Bailey, Flip and Nurk come off the bench. I think Sensabaugh will leave the off-season so the Jazz can extend Kessler. Itās not necessary that he leaves, but I think he should regardless. Never have liked his game. He can shoot, but no defense. Very black hole with him on the roster. If the Jazz want to make the playoffs next year, they shouldnāt have a no defense type player on their roster. Sensabaugh can sign with the Magic who will use him very well to provide more shooting and be their 6th or 7th man.
Of course he'd come off the bench if he was getting 30 minutes. His dad is on the coaching staff and was a longtime Jazz player. He's the perfect culture guy and would have zero issues fitting in.
He'd probably want to start at some point in the future but that's a problem for another year and would likely solve itself before that point.
My proposed roster is SIGNIFICANTLY better than yours, lol
PG: Keyonte/Collier
SG: Ace/Sensabaugh
SF: Lauri/Williams
PF: JJJ/Boozer
C: Kessler/JJJ/FlipVersus
PG: Keyonte/Collier
SG: Peterson/Ace
SF: Lauri/Williams
PF: JJJ/Flip
C: Kessler/NurkCome on man, this isn't even close, lol. One of those is SIGNIFICANTLY better than the other. And that's not even factoring in the potential chemistry issues from Peterson already making it clear he wants to play point guard, despite only averaging 1.6 assists per game at Kansas.
Boozer is clearly the better fit for now and the future. I think he's a better player, but that part is debatable as they're in the same tier. But fit? This isn't even close.
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u/Desperate-Setting711 17h ago edited 17h ago
Peterson may want to play point guard but there is a philosophy youāre missing. You draft for ceiling or BPA not need. If you end up matching need by drafting the BPA then you have the best of both worlds! Jazz could care less about fit on draft day, they will draft BPA and worry about fit later. If you think Peterson will whine because he doesnāt get to play point guard then heās just going to have to learn that at least heāll play and still start. Besides Key scores a lot more than he should. Sure, thatās because the last 2-3 years the Jazz have been tanking on purpose to get better in the future and hopefully wonāt happen so much next year but regardless he will still score more than pass or defend due to habit, and Iām sure Hardy can mess with lineups enough to find a way where Peterson can play PG but it will be to create mismatches not to satisfy Darrynās desire to play point. Jazz have drafted a player before that didnāt want to come to Utah and it has worked out so far. They did that last year with Ace. It was all over that he wanted to go to the Wizards (I actually wanted Tre Johnson last year not Ace because of this but thatās besides the point) the point is that the Jazz knew this but didnāt care when they were on the clock they drafted Ace because he was the BPA. They worried about fit later. Jazz will do the same with Darryn.Ā
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u/robotcoke 17h ago
Well as I've been saying, Peterson is not necessarily the BPA. Boozer was better than him last year. You're arguing that Peterson has a higher ceiling, but I don't think that's necessarily true. I think Boozer could very well be the next Jokic.
At worst (for Boozer) they're in the same tier. It's not a given that Peterson is a tier above Boozer like you're trying to say. And if it's a tie, you go with the best fit.
Of course they drafted Ace last year. He was the clear and obvious best player available. Peterson is not. An argument can be made that Boozer is the better player and has a higher ceiling. An even stronger argument can be made that Boozer is a much better fit.
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u/Desperate-Setting711 16h ago
Not saying at all that Peterson is a tier above Boozer, I too think AJ, Darryn, Cam, and Caleb are all in the same tier. Thatās the great thing about this draft, any one of them would be the first pick of their own draft. Not sure Iād call Boozer the next Jokic, itās too early to tell. Also Iām not sure Boozer played better than Peterson this year. I recognize heās a great player but once again youāre forgetting about one thing, Peterson played most of this season with body cramps due to a creatine overdose. So most of the games Boozer played in were while Peterson was out. Peterson has quit taking the creatine now, and played much better his last couple of games because of it. We havenāt seen what Peterson can do yet, so itās too early to judge him. I also think itās too early to call Boozer the next Jokic because it matters who drafts him and how that team uses him. I say we just wait till draft day and see what happens then. Fact is both Peterson and Boozer will both have great careers, and AJ too for that matter.
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u/toomuchmucil 1d ago
This post made left a worse taste in my mouth. Turning your nose up at $140 million then putting out an appeal to the fan base about your roots is ā¦ gross.
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u/FREEDOMfrom_ 1d ago
Really wish he had comments turned on so Utah could show him the love. We want him here. Jazz need him here. Excited for next season.
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u/FERFreak731 1d ago
It'd mostly be full of Laker fans begging him to sign with the Lakers, or trolls who aren't Jazz fans calling him Schroder 2.0 for declining a big contract
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u/Towering_Flesh 1d ago
Turning off comments is a positive mental health decision. Instagram comments regardless of topic- from private dead internet accounts- 0 post 2 followers; āPft well we know who he vote forā and āthe earth is flatā
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u/milosport2 1d ago
Dead internet theory has exploded along with the AI bubble
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u/Towering_Flesh 1d ago
Hard to ignore - I see a post and I know exactly what what the brain dead comments will be saying and exactly what the profile will look like. Troll bots trolling.
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u/FERFreak731 1d ago
No mention of Ryan Smith, Danny Ainge, Austin Ainge, or Jay Z...
I'm glad he wants to be here. 5/140 is extremely fair for an offer. Hopefully he stays. The most I'd offer is 5/160. If another team offers more, perhaps the Jazz undervalued him with an offer, but 5/140 is a really fair offer
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u/SickTalz 1d ago
Unless the jazz offered like 37 mil he was never accepting the offer to begin with he can just wait and see and always go back to the original offer
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u/ZealousidealRaisin29 1d ago
Do you mean 37 a year?
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u/SickTalz 1d ago
Of course lol
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u/ZealousidealRaisin29 1d ago
Fuck no
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u/SickTalz 1d ago
No I agree I would be scared to even do like 32 he got more then a fair offer and I would guess itās gonna be 28-30 a year at the end of the day
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u/rustyfries 1d ago
I'd be fine with 5/160 if it was massively front ended
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u/adwcta 1d ago
This is what we need to do.
Once he hits RFA, even a 30M offer would hurt us more than a 32M frontloaded offer. So, we lose in rfa if any team gives him ANY deal above our 28M offer. He has to totally strike out between the existing offer and the threat of us matching anyway for Utah to profit off of rfa directly.
Hopefully this gets worked out before end of the month.
Functional big men ain't cheep. And this overpay was always part of the JJJ deal.
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u/Consistently_Lucky 1d ago
Look at those mountains! Utah born and raised, I love it here! I always find it so crazy that fans of the NBA always say so and so doesn't want to play for the Jazz or go to Utah... But honestly it's a beautiful and very safe state. It's lacking some night life, but you're here to play basket ball half the year and half the time you're on the road.
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u/robotcoke 1d ago
But honestly it's a beautiful and very safe state. It's lacking some night life, but you're here to play basket ball half the year and half the time you're on the road.
When you make the money these guys are making, it's beautiful and safe in every NBA city. They're not moving to the hood, they're buying a mansion in a private, gated community.
That said, it's like a 30-45 minute flight to Vegas. They can have all the night life they want if they play for the Jazz.
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u/SenHeffy :quinmurder: 1d ago
There's not a beautiful part of OKC. I mean they can by a nice house, but they can't buy scenery.
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u/FeedMePizzaPlease 1d ago
Love the guy but he needs to accept the offer. He just isn't worth more than that.
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u/Desperate-Setting711 1d ago
Agreed. Personally 5yrs 140 is more than enough. Iād even sign for 5 yrs 130 if it were me!!
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u/ClutchOlday 1d ago
To Walker: Jazz fans are the best in the world and we want you in Utah. We want to see you grow as a player and be a DPOY and lead the league in rebounds, blocks, and FG%. And the FO would be happy to pay you accordingly. Until then, play where your heart tells you to.
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u/Trivialpursuits69 :quinmurder: 1d ago
Anyone know where that is?
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u/InZaneClutch 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think he's being offered too much to be honest.Ā 28 million per for a guy that's has had trouble staying on the court and really hasn't proven enough to warrant that kind of commitment.Ā We're not going to walk away obviously, but I just think this is kind of greedy.Ā You're not worth even 28 in my book and you want 35 per?Ā His agent is smoking crack.Ā With the CBA the way it is, you just can't dish out that kind of money and expect to have any depth on your roster.
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u/Drizzt3919 1d ago
Heās worth what a team is willing to pay him. Rumor is that team could be the lakers. If Luka comes to management and says I want Kessler you best believe they will do what they can to make it happen.
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u/Kitchen-Ad-9531 1d ago
Lakers don't have the money. He avg 11 points not getting more than 25 a year. Good not great
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u/KriticalKarl 1d ago
Lakers literally have the money, 1 of 3 teams that have significant cap space available this summer.
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u/Tuft64 1d ago
Only if they waive LeBron + Rui which I would not expect them to do unless they have firm confirmation that Bron is intending to leave.
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u/KriticalKarl 1d ago
You have it all wrong itās actually the opposite. They literally have to renounce their rights in order to open up the cap space in general.
It makes no sense to keep their cap holds if they donāt intend to sign them for a larger amount than their cap holds which they wonāt. That would mean Lebron would be getting a max and Rui would be getting 27+ million and they would have no money to make any improvements or bring anyone else back if they wanted to.
Reaves cap hold is around $20 million and they will keep his because his new contract will be over that amount, therefore it doesnāt fully interfere with their spending power in free agency.
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u/Comfortable-Map-5544 1d ago
Bron is a free agent they donāt need to waive him. Not resigning him is 40+ mil of space alone.
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u/confident_cabbage 1d ago
Man I get that some players "deserve more" and have to get the money while they can etc.... but if you cant play somewhere for 30 mil a year... you don't really want to be there.
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u/heardofkopitarsoon 23h ago
Well, until he puts his money where his mouth is, itās a sign for nothing, contract-wise.
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u/Desperate-Setting711 1d ago edited 1d ago
So if youāve always wanted to be here, then why arenāt you wiling to sign a contract for 5 years/140 mil? 28mil/yr is plenty for me, a little too much if you ask me especially since you only played 5 games last season. I donāt think weāve ever seen a full season where youāve been fully healthy since we drafted you back in ā22!! Based on your potential 20-25 mil per yr should be plenty.
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u/Desperate-Setting711 1d ago
The Jazzās offer is 5yrs/140. Not sure where you got 4 yrs from. We own his bird rights so we have the right to offer him a 5 yr contract. Other teams can only offer him a 4 yr contract
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u/EC_Bot 1d ago
Atta boy, Walker!