Although the Los Angeles Lakers have a roster that may be able to become a championship-caliber unit this coming season, the speculation about who they may go after next summer or the summer after that won’t stop.

Much of that speculation has centered around former MVPs Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokić, both of whom can opt out of their current contracts and become free agents in 2027. But another man whom the Lakers targeted in the recent past has come up again.

Walker Kessler, the promising young starting center of the Utah Jazz, will reportedly not agree to a rookie-scale contract extension, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic. That means he will become a restricted free agent next summer, and the Jazz can either make him a qualifying offer during the offseason or trade him beforehand to get some value back for him.

One league source says the L.A. will look to trade for Kessler during the upcoming season, just as it did in the recent past.

Via Lakers Daily:

“A league source told Lakers Daily that the Lakers will attempt to trade for Kessler again during the 2025-26 season,” Ashish Mathur. “LAL tried to trade for Kessler the past two seasons.”

Kessler averaged 11.1 points on 66.3% field-goal shooting, 12.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a game last season. The 24-year-old isn’t a true offensive threat, but he’s a monstrous rebounder and shot blocker.

This nugget of information seems to call into question how much confidence the Lakers have that new starting center Deandre Ayton can be a cornerstone beyond this season. Ayton, 27, has career averages of 16.4 points and 10.5 rebounds a game and is vastly more skilled offensively than Kessler, but his defense and rim protection have been seriously lacking over the last few years.

Ayton has also been criticized for having a poor attitude over the last two years as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. Portland bought out his contract in late June, and he agreed to sign with the Lakers for two years and $16.2 million a few days later. The second year of that contract is a player option year.

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This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Source: Lakers will try to trade for Walker Kessler again this season
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect