For a guy who’s good enough to be a walking top-10 defense he sure has been anchoring a lot of 30th-ranked defenses

Love Kessler and I think he definitely is one of the best defenders at C, but being a “walking top-10 defense” is wild. I think he’ll do really well in LA but that’s a lot of pressure to put on him.

DPOY? I didn’t realize Wemby changed his name to Kessler..

I’m gonna go on a whim and guess that this guy will never be Gobert. Crazy, I know.

Nah Gobert is a 4-time DPOY who can instantly transform your defense. Let’s put some respect on his name.

lol classic Lakers free agency pickup hype

I dont think he has that upside. Rudy is alot more athletic, he’s much longer, he’s better at guarding in space. Kessler is going to be a huge addition because his rim protection is very good, but outside of that he can’t do as much as the top defensive players in the league.

Guys like Rudy, Chet, Wemby are all pretty versatile and you can have them guard in the post, roaming, switch them in PnR, play more of a hedge scheme.

If there’s one thing about Kessler it’s that he gives a good rim job.

He’s big enough to guard Wembenyama.

Something every team will need going forward. 

It’s not chess. 

is teh Kessler’s trade an overpay? definitely

but that is an overpay you kinda have to make because that’s what Luka wants, supposedly, and for good reasons too as Luka has got much success with good and mobile centers.

My issue is health. His games played has dropped every year, only 5 last year. Rudy has been remarkably healthy in his career, averaging 70 games a season. His injury was a shoulder injury, and maybe that will be fine going forward, at least it’s not his knees or feet. But still, it does put the thought in my head

Remember the first season after the Gobert trade when everybody was hyping Kessler up to hate on the Wolves and saying Kessler was already better than Gobert and the Wolves were idiots for trading him? Seems like nobody does.

This is how a white dude who’s done nothing is talked about while a dude with a ring and a Finals MVP is called the 7th best player on his team. 

Inject that shit in my veins.

Idk why Kesslers move is getting the most attention of all the lakers signings. Around Luka, his 2 best teams featured another ball handler, a rim protecting lob threat, and 2 athletic 3&D wings for the starting 5.

Austin and Kessler are the first 2. It’s more so shocking to me they spent money on more offensive only options instead of 2-way wings. Like if they would have gotten Obre instead of sexton, Reaves grimes Luka Obre Kessler makes a little more sense than with Mamo or Laravia.

He’s not a Gobert level talent defensively. He’s nowhere near as good at defending the perimeter, isos or switching as Gobert. Gobert’s versatility is what really makes him who he is. Kessler is a good rim protector and rebounder. He’s a drop coverage guy.

If you expect Walker to be a walking top-5 defense, you might be leaving disappointed.

(For context, Tony Jones might be an all-time Jazz fan favourite beat reporter. While he likes to re-iterate that he isn’t actually a Jazz fan he absolutely does like to hype some of our players.)

Lol

Hilarious that with the whole Luka and Gobert history, the Lakers have now traded for a player that COULD be Gobert and fits the same archetype. 

In another life they could’ve been best friends lol

I suppose he was going to say that if Wemby plays fewer than 65 matches, he’ll win the DPOY he must have slipped up.

People who like the deal like it for basketball reasons. People who don’t bring up picks and salary. I’m on the basketball side.

A lot of people are going to look dumb because they needed to squeeze off some Laker hate.

The new super team: Kessler, Luka, Reeves

We’re talking about a guy that has basically never played a game on a real team trying to win, let alone a playoff game.

Wasn’t aware Wemby is retired.

DPOY? Did wemby get sent to the shadow realm or something

He’s good enough defensively that he can be a walking top-10 defense

Just hyperbole

How many walker kessler post gonna be till the star of the season man

That’s the whole reason why we will never trade clingan. He is so important to us and we feel he is better than walker

Kessler will be like Utah Rudy great in the regular season played off the floor in the playoffs because there’s no perimeter defense

Can’t decide if I’m more surprised by some of the comments or by learning what Mason & Ireland actually look like.

They were losers and wanted to lose for his entire time in Utah.

How did he affect “winning”?

How many career games has he played?

So how is he going to win with Wemby still playing?

What do analytics say?

Corporate hit job plain and simple.

Can he stay healthy though? A lot of this seems more like wishful thinking. Like yes, he may be able to have the potential to do those things, but will he realize it? Not knocking the player, if he is capable of this type of play, it will be cool to see. But I just think this argument is sort of stupid.

This guy is apparently so good but was the 4th best player on a 22 win team last year lmao 

Lamayo

Everyone drafted is going to be good too, until they start playing

Yeah good luck with that with Luka/Reaves anchoring the defense 

I’m not even a Jazz fan but when the trade happened with Rudy Gobert I thought the Jazz were crazy to trade him but then when the season started I thought the Timberwolves were crazy trading for Gobert when they had their own younger version.

I think Kressler will easily be a great defensive center, he seems like he has better hands than Gobert

::Evaluate guy who has never played a playoff game::

“He’s a big-time winner, refuses to let his team lose.”

Shouldnt be considered a hot take but Kessler is not a good defender despite being a high level rim defender. He doesnt have the strength to battle with the good post up bigs in the west and is not a great team defender, often a little too slow in picking up rotations. He has never been a top 100 player in the league and got paid like one with almost 0 track record. I hope he does develop but this trade has to have been the most questionable of free agency.

Kessler affects winning?! Winning on what team ?

It’s clear that these guys think the public is outright IDIOTIC and don’t respect us at all…

But JB Finals MVP is a negative +/-player?

The amount of nephews in the comments absolving Utah and their tanking bullshit is funny.

But it’s the Lakers. So context about anything doesn’t matter as long as they think they can get a sick burn.