The Los Angeles Lakers are handing a massive $130 million contract to Walker Kessler after agreeing a trade with the Utah Jazz.
Kessler, still only 24, will arrive in LA just as LeBron James prepares to depart, adding some star power to the team in the wake of the legend’s shock announcement.
The Lakers are acquiring the 7-foot-2 center for unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, and first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030, according to ESPN’s NBA insider Shams Charania.
Kessler had previously turned down a five-year, $140m deal with the Jazz, and will now earn more in average annual value with the $130m Lakers deal being just four years.
Within that, he has a player option for the fourth year and a full trade kicker, according to sources.
The move comes just 24 hours on from LeBron stunning the league by announcing he will be quitting the Lakers this summer, at the age of 41, in search for a new team.
LeBron James is set to leave the Los Angeles Lakers and will play his 24th NBA season
The basketball star has informed the Lakers that he will be competing elsewhere and that the franchise can ‘move on without him,’ according to ESPN.
A bidding war is likely to soon be underway for the services of the 41-year-old in what could be his ‘last dance’ in the 2026-27 campaign.
His departure not only raises questions about his future, but that of his son and Lakers teammate Bronny James as well.
The move was confirmed by Lakers governor Jeanie Buss, who wrote on social media, ‘LeBron James is one of the greatest athletes in history.
‘We will always be thankful for his eight years with the Lakers – including the title he led us to in 2020 under the toughest imaginable circumstances and the countless records he broke in purple and gold. We wish him all the best in the future, both on the court and off. He will always be a cherished part of the Lakers family.’
It may also complicate the dynamic his son, Bronny James, has with the Lakers
Hours later, James responded with a tweet of his own, saying, ‘No, THANK YOU! Truly a honor to wear the [purple and gold] while trying to continuing [sic] the greatness & legacies that came before me! Hope I made a few proud during my stint.’
Kessler was spotted in LA on Tuesday, with TMZ asking him about the LeBron news just minutes after it had broken.
‘I did see that,’ he responded. ‘Obviously, he’s one of the greatest players of all time, so he would have been great to play with, but we just gotta see what happens, man.
