LOS ANGELES – For the past couple of seasons, it’s seemed like the biggest need for the Los Angeles Lakers has been a consistent starting-caliber center. Even when Anthony Davis was here, he made it clear he had wanted another big man alongside him in the starting lineup. This offseason, Lakers brass believes they’ve found their man in Walker Kessler.

At the onset of the NBA’s free agency negotiation period, the Lakers’ No. 1 priority was re-signing budding star Austin Reaves. But immediately after that, a search for a center became the team’s next objective. The Lakers were quickly able to execute a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz for Walker Kessler. The deal cost the organization quite a bit in draft capital, but with a center whose timeline matches that of Luka Doncic, it was worth it.

For Lakers head coach JJ Redick, Kessler’s on-court pairing with Doncic and Reaves was the ideal match.

“I think Walker’s a perfect fit for Luka and AR just in terms of his rim protection and really being an anchor for our defense, an area we’ve struggled with,” Redick told assembled media during a Thursday morning press conference. “I know that we have switched a lot one through five over the last two years. That has been by necessity. We look at him as someone we want close to the basket, protecting the rim.”

The incoming fifth-year big man was limited to only five games last season due to a shoulder injury. But prior to that, Kessler was on his way to emerging as one of the best defensive centers in the NBA. During his sophomore season in college at Auburn, he had two triple-doubles with blocked shots.

Through his first three seasons in the NBA with the Jazz, he averaged over two blocked shots a game. He had the fourth-best defensive rating on the Jazz roster last season at 116.9, as per StatMuse, despite playing in only five games. His rookie season he held the team’s second-best defensive rating and in his second year he led the team in that stat.

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But it’s not just his defense where the Lakers feel he can help the team. His offensive skill-set enables Redick to use him in multiple ways as a complement to both Doncic and Reaves.

“He’s very capable of playing in the pocket and playing at the rim with lobs. And we know our guys love throwing lobs. We led the league in lob dunks last season,” Redick continued. “So I just looked at him, and if you canvas the league and you kind of look at age groups, and even the ability to even acquire someone, he’s the perfect fit for those guys and for building out the next phase of the Lakers.”

In his limited appearances last season, Kessler averaged a career-high 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.8 blocked shots. He shot 70.3 percent from the field and a career-best 70 percent from the free-throw line. It’s an extremely limited sample size, but his averages from the previous year suggest he was in line for a breakout to begin with.

He was coming off a 2024-25 campaign in which he averaged double-digits in scoring for the first time (11.1), and put up a career-best in rebounding (12.2). He led the NBA in offensive rebounds at 4.6 per game. And the Lakers and Redick envision using him defensively like the San Antonio Spurs use Victor Wembanyama.

“It changes how we scheme overall … you watch the playoffs, you probably have a basic idea of how San Antonio used Wemby and kept him low and kept him by the basket,” Redick said. “I think just the combination of Walker’s ability to protect the rim, and the wing defenders we have, we’re really excited about that.”