Jazz center Walker Kessler has already met with at least two teams at the start of free agency and is headed to another meeting, The Athletic’s Tony Jones reports.
The restricted free agent has multiple offers in the mid- to high-$30MMs annually, according to Jones, along with proposals that include player options.
As a restricted free agent, Kessler would need to have a suitor with ample cap room to sign an offer sheet. The Lakers are one of those teams and they’re interested in Kessler, The Athletic’s Dan Woike tweets. It’s unclear whether the Lakers are one of the teams who have already had a meeting and made an offer.
The Lakers are also reportedly meeting with another prominent RFA center, Detroit’s Jalen Duren.
Naturally, the Jazz can match any offer sheet Kessler signs. He could also seek a sign-and-trade with a team that doesn’t have major cap room, but Utah doesn’t necessarily need to accommodate that sort of deal.
The Jazz reportedly offered Kessler a five-year contract worth approximately $140MM. According to Jake Fischer of the The Stein Line, Utah’s offer was a take-it-or-leave-it, five-year-only proposal.
Kessler has made it clear for more than a year he wants to be in Utah long-term, Fischer adds. However, during the rookie scale negotiation window last fall, the Jazz never brought what Kessler’s side viewed as a serious extension offer during those talks, according to Fischer.
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