RealGM

UTA trades: Walker Kessler, 2027 LAL/CLE/UTA/MIN 1st (lowest not conveyed to Phoenix)
CHA trades: 2027 DAL 1st (1-2 protected, otherwise 2028 MIA 2nd), 2027 MIA 1st (1-14 protected, unprotected), filler (Plumlee?)

This is my preseason overreaction. My god Ace Bailey looks like the future, and part of what makes him effective so far is his synergy with playmakers at the center position (Nurkic and Love). I worry that having less ball movement will make his job harder, so Kessler may not be the best center for his long-term growth (Walker is fantastic as a rim-runner and defender).

Charlotte gets a young, starting-caliber center who can really defend. Ball/Kneuppel/Miller/Bridges/Kessler could make the playoffs in the East and can all grow together.

I don't think the Hornets should do this, but I could see them doing it. The reality is that Kessler only has one season left on his rookie deal, and it could be a tough deal to negotiate. At a minimum, I'd push hard to send back more salary and make the Jazz cut Connaughton.

babyjax13 wrote:UTA trades: Walker Kessler, 2027 LAL/CLE/UTA/MIN 1st (lowest not conveyed to Phoenix)
CHA trades: 2027 DAL 1st (1-2 protected, otherwise 2028 MIA 2nd), 2027 MIA 1st (1-14 protected, unprotected), filler (Plumlee?)

This is my preseason overreaction. My god Ace Bailey looks like the future, and part of what makes him effective so far is his synergy with playmakers at the center position (Nurkic and Love). I worry that having less ball movement will make his job harder, so Kessler may not be the best center for his long-term growth (Walker is fantastic as a rim-runner and defender).

Charlotte gets a young, starting-caliber center who can really defend. Ball/Kneuppel/Miller/Bridges/Kessler could make the playoffs in the East and can all grow together.

If you’re looking for playmakers at the C position, you should go checkout the UTA thread I just made

jbk1234 wrote:I don't think the Hornets should do this, but I could see them doing it. The reality is that Kessler only has one season left on his rookie deal, and it could be a tough deal to negotiate. At a minimum, I'd push hard to send back more salary and make the Jazz cut Connaughton.

I think Utah taking more salary is perfectly reasonable.

Charlotte should be looking for a starting quality C if they really want to make some noise this season. That's by far their biggest issue roster wise. I don't know about the value but this would make them a legit playoff team in the East.

Dat2U wrote:Charlotte should be looking for a starting quality C if they really want to make some noise this season. That's by far their biggest issue roster wise. I don't know about the value but this would make them a legit playoff team in the East.

nah too many question marks on that team even with a real C.

Godaddycurse wrote:

Dat2U wrote:Charlotte should be looking for a starting quality C if they really want to make some noise this season. That's by far their biggest issue roster wise. I don't know about the value but this would make them a legit playoff team in the East.

nah too many question marks on that team even with a real C.

Disagree. Adding a legit vet like Sexton & and upgrading the C position with Kessler would be huge. All of the sudden, they'd have a legit deterrent in the paint, guy that makes everyone's defense a little bit better when he's capable of closing down driving lanes. Sexton is a walking bucket and should flourish in a more complementary role. He'll strengthen their bench or can play alongside their big two in an explosive offensive lineup. I've not even brought up the rookies who all look more capable of contributing that the fringe bench guys of the past. If LaMelo & B. Miller stay healthy, they would be a top 6 seed IMO.

Dat2U wrote:

Godaddycurse wrote:

Dat2U wrote:Charlotte should be looking for a starting quality C if they really want to make some noise this season. That's by far their biggest issue roster wise. I don't know about the value but this would make them a legit playoff team in the East.

nah too many question marks on that team even with a real C.

Disagree. Adding a legit vet like Sexton & and upgrading the C position with Kessler would be huge. All of the sudden, they'd have a legit deterrent in the paint, guy that makes everyone's defense a little bit better when he's capable of closing down driving lanes. Sexton is a walking bucket and should flourish in a more complementary role. He'll strengthen their bench or can play alongside their big two in an explosive offensive lineup. I've not even brought up the rookies who all look more capable of contributing that the fringe bench guys of the past. If LaMelo & B. Miller stay healthy, they would be a top 6 seed IMO.

lamelo's health
miller's development after a mostly missed year
kon's acclimation to the big league
who is playing defense besides kessler

these are the major story lines that will make or break their season.

Pelicans want Kessler to bolster their playoff chances/ stay out of the lottery. They've negotiated a 4 yr./$100m extension that can only be given before the regular season. They would need to find a way to dump Murray's contract for an expiring (HOU? MIA?). Jazz want to cash in and start season with a clean-slate/ball-moving Centers.

Jazz get: Missi + Rozier (waive) + ___ pick/swap capital via NOP
Pels get: Kessler (extended) + K. Anderson + Niang + Fonteccio
Heat get: D. Murray + Hawkins + 2nd(s) via NOP

Jazz get a younger rim running replacement in Missi who can grow in a bench role, has shown flashes on offense. The draft compensation can be 2027 swap with NOP/MIL and worst of Utah's 2027 LAL/CLE/UTA/MIN 1st (lowest not conveyed to Phoenix)? One future first 2028 or beyond could be in play, but should have protections. The Rozier / Anderson/Niang inclusion isn't ideal from the Jazz's vet roster building- but they do it to help facilitate the deal. They could keep Rozier as a trade chip until the deadline or waive him immediately.

Pels build a top defense around Kessler and Herb, and hope the Zion, Murphy, Poole trio can lead a respectable offense, with Bey, Alvarado, Fears, Queen and the new vets contributing. No lotto pick to ATL!

Heat strike early on getting a starting vet PG who could thrive in their system, with enough breathing room in the East to add Murray back in January and reinforce a playoff run. (This probably is the most unrealistic part of the mock trade, with teams probably waiting until Murray is back playing to consider trading for him. Also, Heat have been reluctant to take on long term money for non-star players.

Jazz:

Nurkic/ Missi
Lauri/ Filipowski
Hendricks/ Brice/ Cody
Bailey/ George/ Svi
Clayton/ Collier
-------------------------------

Pels:

Kessler/ Looney/ Matkovic
Zion/ Queen/ Niang
Trey/ Fonteccio/ Anderson
Herb/ Bey/ Peavy
Poole/ Jose/ Fears
---------------------

Heat:

Ware/ Jovic
Bam/ Jaquez
Wiggins/ Powell
Herro/ Kasparas/ Hawkins
Murray/ Davion

Kessler is a solid starting 5, maybe even an above average one... but he's not worth gambling these chips on. They could turn into something much more valuable than Kessler. The guy also wants alot of money.

I like this deal, if Utah doesn't want to do a long term deal.
I REALLY like Lauri and Kessler to Char

Char offers their 2026 unprotected pick, plus the Dallas and Miami picks and Salaun

Kessler is a nice player. I would only give up value if he will do a reasonable extension like 20 per year. If he wants a bunch of money, I don't want to give up anything for him.

If he wants 20/year I would give up the late 2026 pick we have that is the worst of 4 teams. If that isn't enough, meh. I don't want him that bad.

pipfan wrote:I like this deal, if Utah doesn't want to do a long term deal.
I REALLY like Lauri and Kessler to Char

Char offers their 2026 unprotected pick, plus the Dallas and Miami picks and Salaun

Lauri and Kessler are either on big money, or want big money, and that greatly reduces their trade value. Lauri also dropped off quite a bit last year. I just don't see a sane team paying this much to acquire the 2 of them, and certainly not tax avoidant Charlotte.

If Kessler was available for a package like this, he already would be in Phoenix.

I think Charlotte could seriously consider moving in for a legit center if they get off to a good start. More than anything they desperately need LaMelo to stay healthy (and show that he's actually serious about winning). They need B. Miller to stay healthy and take a leap to justify his draft slot. They need Kon to show he's a legit NBA player even if his potential floor is a glue #3 guy. It would be nice if 1-2 of their young frontcourt players (Moussa and Kalkbrenner) can hold their own getting NBA minutes. Those are a lot of if's but do believe the Hornets have potential to be a pretty good team if the stars really align for them.

I like Kessler but not like this

I want to leverage Miami's pick and much more into a Bam trade when the Heat are ready to finally let go

hcsilla wrote:If Kessler was available for a package like this, he already would be in Phoenix.

Phoenix didn't have a package like this to offer. The only picks they have are picks we traded to them.

Dat2U wrote:Charlotte should be looking for a starting quality C if they really want to make some noise this season. That's by far their biggest issue roster wise. I don't know about the value but this would make them a legit playoff team in the East.

The Hornets aren't a Kessler away from making the playoffs. They're not a Kessler away from the play-in. They're at least three players away from the playoffs.

Their three best offensive players are ball dominant and not one of them play a lick of defense. Miller is probably their best defender, but he hasn't developed offensively as they hoped. Saluan looks like a miss at this point. Knueppel will bring some shooting and rebounding, but again, he's probably never going to be a replacement level defender.

They'll score a lot of points and win a few games because the other team just doesn't have it that night, but they're absolutely not in a position to trade first round picks for a slightly better than average center.

jbk1234 wrote:

Dat2U wrote:Charlotte should be looking for a starting quality C if they really want to make some noise this season. That's by far their biggest issue roster wise. I don't know about the value but this would make them a legit playoff team in the East.

The Hornets aren't a Kessler away from making the playoffs. They're not a Kessler away from the play-in. They're at least three players away from the playoffs.

Their three best offensive players are ball dominant and not one of them play a lick of defense. Miller is probably their best defender, but he hasn't developed offensively as they hoped. Saluan looks like a miss at this point. Knueppel will bring some shooting and rebounding, but again, he's probably never going to be a replacement level defender.

They'll score a lot of points and win a few games because the other team just doesn't have it that night, but they're absolutely not in a position to trade first round picks for a slightly better than average center.

They made the playoffs with essentially this core in 21-22. Rozier, Hayward, and Washington have been replaced by Sexton, Miller, and Kneuppel (in terms of how I expect their minutes distribution to go), and Plumlee would be replaced by Kessler, here. I am not saying it is a slam dunk that they make the playoffs if they add Kessler, but it seems like better than even odds to me to at least be in the play-in.

babyjax13 wrote:

jbk1234 wrote:

Dat2U wrote:Charlotte should be looking for a starting quality C if they really want to make some noise this season. That's by far their biggest issue roster wise. I don't know about the value but this would make them a legit playoff team in the East.

The Hornets aren't a Kessler away from making the playoffs. They're not a Kessler away from the play-in. They're at least three players away from the playoffs.

Their three best offensive players are ball dominant and not one of them play a lick of defense. Miller is probably their best defender, but he hasn't developed offensively as they hoped. Saluan looks like a miss at this point. Knueppel will bring some shooting and rebounding, but again, he's probably never going to be a replacement level defender.

They'll score a lot of points and win a few games because the other team just doesn't have it that night, but they're absolutely not in a position to trade first round picks for a slightly better than average center.

They made the playoffs with essentially this core in 21-22. Rozier, Hayward, and Washington have been replaced by Sexton, Miller, and Kneuppel (in terms of how I expect their minutes distribution to go), and Plumlee would be replaced by Kessler, here. I am not saying it is a slam dunk that they make the playoffs if they add Kessler, but it seems like better than even odds to me to at least be in the play-in.

And they haven't made it since. I also don't see the point of trading future firsts to squeak in this season, blow your chance at drafting a good player from the 26 class, only to have Tatum and Haliburton return next season. Honestly, the Bulls are a lot closer than the Hornets and if they move Barrett to 6th man, the Raptors are better.

Maybe it's the former Browns fan in me, but the Hornets have been plagued by attempting shortcuts without having a foundation in place. Big Al, Batum, and Hayward all kept them in that 8th-9th seed range. If I believed building around Melo, Bridges, and Sexton was a sound plan, I'd feel differently. The selections of Saluan and Knueppel would concern me as a Hornets fan, but the solution to that is either to change the personnel in charge of the draft, or go all in on a big trade for a real difference maker, with a guy like Kessler being the subsequent, secondary move.