Jason BatacaoWalker Kessler is headed to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Jazz are trading the 7-foot center to L.A. in exchange for two future first-round draft picks, ESPN reported Wednesday morning.
Utah to sign Jaxson Hayes
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, left, and Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes reach for a rebound during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
He won’t be their Kessler replacement, but the Jazz are adding some depth at center.
According to ESPN, Utah agreed to a deal with former Lakers center Jaxson Hayes on Wednesday.
It’s a two-year, $12 million deal. The second season of the contract is a team option, according to the report.
TMZ spots Kessler in Los Angeles
Utah Jazz center and restricted free agent Walker Kessler will reportedly meet with the Los Angeles Lakers as the NBA’s free agency window opens.
Kessler was spotted arriving in Los Angeles ahead of his meeting with the Lakers’ brass. “I’m here,” Kessler said in a video published by TMZ Sports.
The Lakers have more money to play with than previously expected. On Tuesday, it was announced that LeBron James would leave L.A. and join another team. That makes the Lakers — already in need of a center — an even greater threat to sign Kessler to an offer sheet in hopes of teaming him up with superstar guard Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
“I did see that,” Kessler said when asked about James’ decision to leave the Lakers on Tuesday. “Obviously, he’s one of the greatest players of all time, so he would have been great to play with, but we just gotta see what happens, man.”
With James’ salary off the books and Doncic reportedly wanting to be paired with a top center, the Lakers could potentially throw a lofty contract at Kessler.
The Jazz reportedly offered Kessler a five-year, $140 million deal earlier this offseason, which his camp rejected. Kessler is a restricted free agent, which means Utah can match whatever offer Kessler might receive in free agency.
During Darryn Peterson’s introductory news conference on Saturday, Jazz President of Basketball Operations Austin Ainge made it clear that the team would prioritize its center depth heading into free agency.
“Obviously, we don’t have any centers under contract right now,” Ainge said. “So that will be one area for sure [that] we’ll work on.”
Here are the moves the Jazz have made in free agency so far:
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (30) as the Utah Jazz host the Phoenix Suns, NBA basketball in Salt Lake City on Monday, Oct. 27 2025.
Jusuf Nurkic reportedly agrees to 2-year deal
Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic is set to return to Salt Lake City for two seasons.
According to a report from ESPN, Nurkic agreed to a two-year, $22 million deal with the Jazz on Monday. The 6-foot-10 center averaged 10.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists last season.
This story is developing and will be updated.
Jason Batacao, a former Oklahoma City resident who graduated from the University of Oklahoma, covers the University of Utah for The Salt Lake Tribune. When he’s not covering the Utes, Jason enjoys watching movies, playing on his Xbox Series X and reading books.