The Lakers guard’s praise for his new teammate reveals how Danny Ainge weaponized the NBA's shifting center market to extract a massive haul of unprotected draft capital.
Walker Kessler is no longer a member of the Utah Jazz.
And Austin Reaves may have just explained why the team's CEO, Danny Ainge, was comfortable with that reality.
When Kessler agreed to a four-year, $130 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this summer, many around the league were surprised at the price tag attached to a center who has never made an All-Star team.
But the Lakers clearly viewed things differently.
"I'm very excited. We needed someone at the 5 who could protect the rim and catch lobs, and make plays in the pocket," Reaves told Fly War Eagle's Andrew Hughes. "He's the type of player who could do that, and we're very excited to have him."
Notice what Reaves didn't mention.
... not scoring. Not isolation offense. Not three-point shooting.
The traits Los Angeles prioritized were rim protection, vertical spacing and decision-making as a screener — all areas in which Kessler excels.
In other words ... Reaves accidentally provided the perfect explanation for why Utah was able to extract such a massive return for the former Auburn product.
The NBA's center market has fundamentally changed.
Jock Landale landed a one-year, $14 million deal from the Atlanta Hawks despite spending much of his career as a backup. Moritz Wagner secured $19 million over two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets while recovering from a torn ACL.
Even Jusuf Nurkic, who the Jazz retained shortly before Kessler's departure, returned on a two-year, $22 million contract.
Size has become expensive again.
It's no coincidence that this shift is occurring as Victor Wembanyama continues forcing organizations throughout the Western Conference to rethink roster construction and embrace the return of the double-big lineup.
Players capable of surviving a playoff series against "The Alien" don't grow on trees.
Players capable of doing that while catching lobs, protecting the rim and making quick decisions in the pocket are becoming even rarer.
Ainge clearly understood that reality.
Rather than simply matching Kessler's contract and moving forward, Utah instead executed a sign-and-trade with Los Angeles, acquiring two unprotected first-round picks and two first-round swaps in return.
That's an enormous haul — and not surprising given Ainge's past ability to squeeze the most value possible out of the players he deals.
So while Jazz fans understandably focused on the player leaving Salt Lake City, Reaves' comments served as a reminder of why Kessler commanded that kind of market in the first place.
Reaves explained why the Lakers needed Kessler. But in the process, he may have also explained why Ainge traded him.
