Although he hasn’t played since the fifth game of the season, Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler’s contract value increased this week.
The fourth-year center will become a restricted free agent this summer. He will enter a market with limited available big men, especially someone young and skilled at shot-blocking like Kessler.
Utah Jazz are finished with tanking after this season
The Jazz have a reason to struggle this season. They owe a first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder, protected for the first eight picks. If they don’t meet the conditions this season, they owe nothing. The Jazz aim to finish with one of the four worst records to secure a top-8 pick.
While the 2026 draft class looks promising, the 2027 and 2028 classes are not as strong. After four seasons of rebuilding, which began with trading All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in 2022, the Jazz are ready to move on from tanking.
This desire led them to trade several picks and a good portion of their summer cap space for Jaren Jackson Jr. This move shows they want to compete with Jackson, Lauri Markkanen, young point guard Keyonte George, and this year’s No. 5 pick, Ace Bailey. It also makes it likely they will retain Kessler since Jackson is better suited as a power forward than a center.
2026 free agent class has few big men
For teams looking for big men help this summer, options are now fewer. The Golden State Warriors traded for Kristaps Porzingis and are in a good position to re-sign him. The Washington Wizards used cap space to acquire Anthony Davis. The Indiana Pacers traded for Ivica Zubac, and the Boston Celtics added Nikola Vucevic, who they can bring back first.
The free-agent options besides Kessler are not very exciting. There are older veterans like Vucevic, Jusuf Nurkic, and Brook Lopez, or injury-prone players like Robert Williams III and Mitchell Robinson. Kessler’s main competition is Deandre Ayton since Jalen Duren is expected to stay with the Detroit Pistons after his All-Star season.
As a result, Kessler, whom the Jazz didn’t actively try to extend last summer, is likely to receive significant offers during restricted free agency. The Jazz will probably have to match these offers, especially since they will be over the salary cap due to Jackson and Markkanen’s large contracts.
Kessler’s market value increased simply because he rested his injured shoulder. He has emerged as a big winner at the trade deadline without being directly involved.