It’s sad that everything that comes out about Walker Kessler from now until next summer will either be about his injury recovery or his impending free agency, with the majority likely being the latter. The Jazz probably won’t play Kessler like Golden State did with Jonathan Kuminga, but if Kessler wants the most money, he’ll probably have to get it from someone else.
Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal reported that Kessler was asking for a pretty high price from Utah that they weren’t willing to pay, while adding that if he wants a payday like that, he’d have to get it from someone other than the Jazz, who the team would match anyway.
“Contract talks with Walker Kessler are looming this offseason. As we previously reported, Kessler demanded total compensation in excess of $120 million in early talks, a figure Utah was unwilling to meet. As things stand, Kessler would need to secure an offer of that size on the open market to match this. However, Utah remains interested in retaining him,” Afseth wrote.
Whether he deserves that contract or not is up to the eye, but it further shows that the Jazz are in complete control either way. The Jazz know they hold all the cards, but Kessler has proven he’s the kind of player teams are willing to pay good money for, as opposed to someone like Kuminga.
The Jazz shouldn’t rule out Kessler getting the deal he wants
Pending any surprises, Kessler should still be a Jazzman next season, and not just because he has very little impact in restricted free agency. But even though his season was tragically cut short, he has shown enough that it wouldn’t be surprising if teams entered into a bidding war over him this coming offseason.
It doesn’t seem likely that any team would offer Kessler the kind of money he was looking for, but that doesn’t mean the Jazz should rule that out completely. Before his injury, Kessler looked like he was taking another leap. The problem was that the sample size was too small to make definitive statements about whether or not he was.
Either way, Utah should and likely will be prepared for any scenario. They knew what they were getting into when they decided not to extend Kessler, and it’s hard to understand how this blew up in their faces. Even if he does get paid, it’s not like the Jazz would overpay for someone whose skills are easily replaceable.
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