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URGENT: Walker Kessler EXTENSION is $100 million GAMBLE worth it for Utah Jazz?



URGENT: Walker Kessler EXTENSION is $100 million GAMBLE worth it for Utah Jazz?

The market may have been set for a Walker Kesler extension and that might not be good news. It’s next on Locked on Jazzum. You are Locked on Jazz, your daily podcast on the Utah Jazz, part of the Locked On podcast network. your team every day. How are you? I’m David Lock, radio voice of Utah Jazz, Jazz NBA insider. This is Locked on Jazz, your daily podcast on Utah Jazz, giving you insight, expertise, geeky numbers, and hopefully making it way better to be a Jazz fan each and every day. Thank you so much for making Locked on Jazz your first listen of the day. We are free and available on all podcasting apps and on YouTube. Today’s show is brought to you in part by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use the code locked on NBA at monarchmoney.com/lockton NBA for 50% off your first year. Everydayers, you’re the greatest. Thanks for being here. Here’s what we got today. We’ll look at the latest rumors of the NBA. Touch on the LeBron and DeAndre Eaton stuff a little bit. That’s real. Where’s Jonathan Kaminga going? What’s the latest on that? summer league preview as we get going on Saturday and the Walker Kesler extension is probably the next big news for the Utah Jazz. So, let’s start there. Free agent signings have had three deals have had seven centers have signed deals. Three of them are what Walker Kesler’s camp is likely to look at and say, “Well, this is what we should do.” And I’m not sure this is a good thing for the Jazz and where the Jazz I don’t know but what I suspect the Jazz think a deal should be. So let’s look at the seven deals Steven Adams signed for three years for 13 million and Capella two year three years for 7 million and Luke Cornet four years at 10 million a year. Those are probably not comps. Brook Lopez at this stage of his career signs two-year $9 million a year deal. So those four probably not comps. Adams, Capella, Cornet, and Lopez. Yaka Purle signed a 4-year, $104 million extension, $25 million a year for Yaka Purle. Let me be perfectly clear about this deal by the Toronto Raptors. Yaka Purle must do things on the floor and impact a game in a way that I don’t recognize. I I I cannot figure out why Yaka Purle got a four-year $104 million deal. I I it is a mystery to me that he is a $25 million player a year. I I I watched him in San Antonio. I watched him in Toronto. I know Toronto gave up a first round draft pick so that they have a sunken cost that maybe means they have to prove it. I I don’t see that. Okay. Um I could be wrong. I kind of am implying if you’re not hearing it correctly that you actually I am implying I’m wrong. Like I think I’m there’s something he must do as a player that I don’t see. The numbers last year were impressive. 15 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, no threepoint game at all. But that’s those were his biggest numbers yet of his career and in Toronto the year before. So he is a he’s a 12 point a gain, eight or nine rebound guy and averages 25 points a game. And I don’t think of him as an elite rim defender, but maybe I’m wrong. Naz Reed, who’s one of the best offensive big guys but not a good defensive player, got 24 a year for five years. And Miles Turner came in at 26 a year. So Purle and Miles Turner had a great playoff run. Was at one point one of the elite big defensive players in the league, but may not be anymore. But he’s another 15 16 point. He doesn’t rebound much. seven rebounds a game. So, the market for those three guys comes in right at 25 million a year. And I’m pretty certain that that’s where Walker Kesler’s camp is going to want to start conversations. Walker played 30 minutes a game last year. He averaged 11 points, 12 rebounds. He led the NBA in offensive rebounding. He averages two blocks. He’s one of the better rim defenders. He has yet to be at a point where the team’s defense is dramatically better when he’s on the floor than when he’s off the floor. and he’s at 20. That’s at 2425. Now, if you’re the Jazz and you’re negotiating, and Walker’s probably going to add one more to his list, okay, which I think is a really good comp, actually. Nick Claxton, who is the center for the Brooklyn Nets. Nick Claxton is averaging last few years 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, a block. Had a better year two years ago than he did last year. He makes 23 a year in a decreasing deal. So on one sense, maybe this is cut and dry. Walker’s people are going to walk in and be like, “Claxton’s at 23, Reed’s at 24, Purle’s at 25, and Turner’s at 26.” And that’s where we need to be. Isaiah Harkinstein in a unique deal in which Oklahoma City overpaid to get him and only gave him two years is at 28. But that’s a misleading deal because Oklahoma City paid extra for Harkinstein for two years knowing that they had contracts coming up in years three and four and basically gave him the number they would give him over three years over two so they would clear their books. Now, if I’m the Jazz and I walk into this table, I’m coming with three numbers of my own. Daniel Gaffford makes $18 million a year. Zubac, who’s a better player than Walker, makes 19 a year. And Wendell Carter Jr. in Orlando, makes 19.5 a year. Mitchell Robinson makes 13 a year. So, Walker Kesler’s camp’s going to come in with these four or five numbers and probably even add Jared Allen’s 30 million a year, who though he’s been an all-star at this point. and say, “Hey, here’s 24, 25, 26, Harkinstein 28, Allen at 30, and Walker’s in that mix, but Walker, Ross Kesler deserves that money.” And the Jazz are probably going to come back and say, “Yeah, I mean, like Daniel Gaffford and Walker pretty similar. Zubac is at 19 million, Carter’s at 19.5, and Robins is at 13. The problem is over four years this is a $20 million difference and if I’m being honest I suspect that Walker’s camp’s going to come in higher than that number just because that’s what camps do and so you suddenly because the market has been set and what really has happened here is that when you came into this off season I would say the walk the Walker Kesler number I do think Jared Allen having been an all-star at 30 million is at a different number. So when the year started, you had Claxton at 23, Gaffford at 18, Zubac at 19, Carter Jr. at 19.5, and you were probably talking four-year 80. And with the free agency that just happened with Purle, Reed, Turner at 24, 25, and 26, you’re now talking four-year 100. It’s a big difference. So the market is pretty well set and of where we’re talking and so that’s the positive that the conversation should be able to get done to some extent. The problem is the market has shifted fairly considerably here in the last week with Yaka Purle, Miles Turner and Nazar Reeves deals. And if you’re the Jazz, the Purle deal is like what? The Turner deal is under duress and they’re hard ones to say, “Well, that’s what we’re gonna cop with.” The other thing that gets interesting here is there’s a decent amount of cap space in the world next year. And so, as a restricted free agent, the Jazz can play this thing out. And what if they play it out, what the game is is you you basically make your offer to Walker and Walker says no. And then you go out to restricted free agency and you have the right to match any deal he gets. It’s not the greatest script, but there’s a little bit of cap space out there next year that you get could get nervous. And if someone makes an offer, they’re not making a straight offer. They’re going to go put a bunch of things in it, make it difficult for you to match, try to tie your money up a little bit. It’s not as long as it once was, and make it difficult. It’s not a great spot to be in, but that’s where we sit now on the Walker Kesler extension. The market’s been set. And the market’s been set maybe $5 million a year higher than it was a month ago, which is going to make this a little more complicated than it would have been otherwise. The Jazz want to resign Walker. They want to keep Walker for all this talk. I mean, the fact of the matter is for all the trade talk, the Jazz bottom line on this has been like, “Yeah, we need two first round draft picks and a player because according to various reports, because our first draft pick would be to try to regain Walker because Walker is a viable probably NBA starting pick. I get a little nervous on classifying someone as an NBA starter on a team that won 17 games, but I think Walker is an NBA starter. If nothing else, he’s a deep rotation player. But I think he’s an NBA starter. His next, he’s got big steps. His numbers are great. I will say the one thing that jumps out to me on Walker last year is I didn’t I felt like Walker had great numbers, but I didn’t feel as though Walker impacted the game defensively as much as he once did. And so what I mean by that is I didn’t think that we were that much better defensively when he was on the floor. Now, we were awful defensive and so maybe that’s not a fair impact. But when I watch Walker, what I would like to see is the fact that the Jazz get noticeably different defensively when he’s on the floor. And last year, depending on the defensive coverage, if he was in a drop or something like that, I didn’t necessarily feel like we were a great deal better. And in fact, defensively, we were just about the exact same with Walker on and off the floor last year. that that’s you know he’s still got a long way to go and you would like to believe that he can get can prove his rim defense and some of those things team shot about 3%age 3% fewer shots at the rim than he did a year ago or than when he was off the floor. That’s good. But there just wasn’t an impact. Like I don’t if my memory is correct which I think is right that Walker when Walker was on the floor teams shot at the rim almost the same percentage as they did regularly maybe 1% difference. Nothing nothing really dramatic. So he’s got a long way to go still. Markets set. This gets a little hairy. We’ll see how it plays out. It could be extended. Summer league starts Saturday. Super fun to see these guys. Let’s give you the preview of it next as we continue on Locked on Jazz. Today’s edition of Locked on Jazz is brought to you by Murdoch Hyundai located at 4646 South State Street. Also located in Logan and in Lynen, the Hyundai lineup of cars. Absolutely fantastic. We’re I’m driving the new Santa Fe right now and my son has in the same garage in our in our house the one of the old Santa Fe’s. Uh it’s kind of fun to see the difference in the evolution of the models, but we’ve been consistent throughout. That’s my wife, my daughter’s got one that’s sitting right in the middle. Uh and that car has been fabulous for us. So, if you’re looking for a car right now, put a Hyundai on the list. Bells and whistles, safety features for the price unmatched. You can look do the the electrics, the five and the six are just amazing. So, go check all those out at Murdoch. But email me first at dlock09gmail.com so I can give you the VIP treatment that you deserve over at Murdoch. That’s dlock09gmail.com so that I can get you the VIP treatment that you deserve over at Murdoch Hyundai. Please let me know which location you’re planning to attend. That makes it far easier for me to get you hooked up with the VIP treatment that you deserve. Today’s show is also brought to you by our friends over at Monarch Money. This is neat. This is like having your own personal CFO in an app. You put in your finances and it starts to monitor how you spend and it can turn out to give you an opportunity to grow your savings. Make sure you understand exactly what you’re doing. Whether you’re growing your savings, planning a big picture per p purchase, line it up so you can make that purchase in six months, 12 months, maybe even three months. You’re managing your money, you’re building wealth, you’re getting expertise out of the Monarch Money app. It’s like having your personal CFO. You can look at various subscriptions you’re paying for, see what’s worth it, see where some of your funding is going, also see where you can save very easily. It’s pretty awesome. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use the code locked onmbba at monarchmoney.com for over 50% off your first year. That’s monarchmoney.com code lockdown NBA for half off your first year with Monarch Money. Summer League starts Saturday. Fired up. It’s at the Huntsman Center. Tickets are available at utahjazz.com. So hopefully you’ll get out. It’s a great opportunity. And frankly, this is a group that this is going to begin to be this team that, you know, this is the beginning of seeing the team that’s going to be our team next year. This there’s only a this is the primary group. We are full youth movement next year. Uh f the Jazz will play the Sixers and VJ Edgecomb on July 5th. And then we take Sunday off. We’ll play the Grizzlies on the 7th and see 11th pick uh Cedric Coward. And then Oklahoma City comes in on the eth. Uh there’s also a that’s a seven o’clock game every night. There’s also a five o’clock game. Three-day passes if you want to go to all three days I think are about uh I think with fees are about $72. So kind of a great deal. Um single day tickets I think are starting at $25 and then fees on top of that. So um I think that’s the the way to look I think they’re about, you know, and the Huntsman Center is just that one big bowl and I think most tickets are right around 25 bucks. Um, so check it out. Uh, hopefully you’ll come out, stop by and say hi when you’re there. The game will games will be on radio and on TV, Jazz Plus and KJazz, so you can catch them there as well. Bowler Thorough will be on the call. What should we look for? Um, the first thing on the vets. So the big stories we talked about yesterday, they’ve been here for six weeks. They did a bunch of body work to start and it’s the hope is to lead to a different style of basketball. So, let’s start with Isaiah Collier. Hopefully, Isaiah Collier watched Andrew Nemhard in the playoffs because that’s probably what he needs to be. And Nemhard obviously just was a total baller by the end of that. But if you look at him, they’re both kind of drafted in the exact same spot, right? Nehard was the 31st pick of the draft. He has shot it until last year better than Collier. He came in as a as an adult, too, by the way. He came in, I think, after Florida for two years, then Gonzaga for two years, if I remember correctly. Um, and he shot he’s always shoted a little better. He had 38% his last year at Gonzaga, and then he shot very well his last two years until this year. But he’s a little bigger at 65, 193 is what he’s listed at. Collier’s the smallest 65 I’ve ever seen, but he’s the biggest 220 I’ve ever seen. Right. like and so the way Nemard picked up the ball and played with that physical defense and Collier’s 210 by the way but so he’s the biggest 210 smallest 6’5 I think he’s got to be 63 62 um but nonetheless the way he’s going to impact the game is the same way that Nemar did physical pressure picking up ball pressure going all out leaving nothing left being exhausted playing with that intensity using his physical strength and what’s becoming more and more true in the NBA right now is that the best defenders are physically strong and so he can become physically strong that way. Um, and is that and is physically strong that way. So that’s the first thing I’m watching Collier defensively. I I’m not going to we’re not I’m not doing any judging on Collier goes one of 13 from three in summer league. I don’t care. It’s going to take him a long time to get that shot right. Two or three years, I think. Um, but I want to see him be a defensive presence. He needs to, his body allows him to dictate the game defensively. And in summer league, he should be able to annihilate people. And with 10 fouls, very similar to the way that Scotty Pippen Jr. did, though I have a guy on our team, remember last year in the summer league, basically Scotty Pippen Jr. is so dominant, he ends up making the roster and then having a big year for Memphis. And there is a guy on the Jazz who could be this year’s Scottie Pippen Jr. I’ll get to that in a second. For Ace Bailey or let’s go, let’s say Cody Williams. For Cody, Cody Williams was funny as heck in his interview he did this week. He’s eating 5,000 calories today and he hates food. Very interesting to listen to him talk about the fact that his brother Jaylen Williams did the same thing. Jaylen Williams came to the NBA at 22. So, he’d already been through this. And here’s Cody trying to grow, you know, gain up to it. Cody, I think, has gone from about 170 to about 190 weight-wise. So, Cody, I think, has put on about 20 pounds. Those numbers are not exactly right, but just go with it. And he did it during during the year last year. He did a really nice job despite struggling. Um, but he he went from, I think, about 170 to 190 to 180 and put on another 10 here in the offseason. And you can see it upper body wise, lower body, you can’t see it as well, but I want to see him play off contact. Last year he was a tit deck chair on the Titanic every time he got hit by a body. I mean he was overboard and done. So I want to see when someone puts a shoulder into his chest in summer league. How does he hold it? How does he play off contact? These are a little bit esoteric and they’re not nearly as exciting as whether he can dunk and shoot and score. But that’s what we’re probably watching on Collier and Williams is these Collier’s defensive presence. Cody Williams, his physical ability to play off contact, to run a route offensively, to get take a a shoulder into the chest and hold his body form and not and not fold and to see how he how he kind of plays with a little bit more confidence if that strength gives him confidence. You’ve seen it with Walker last year early in the year when he had all this new strength and all of a sudden he’s like, “Oh, I can do this.” And he changed entirely who he was. Philipski is noticeably stronger as well. for me on him it’s gonna be body movement. There was an awkwardness particularly laterally to Kyle Filipowski and there was a the cons biggest concern I have on Kyle Filipowski. There were so many things you liked but the biggest concern I have is the amount of times that he would be guarding at the free throw line Naz Read or someone would catch it and they would spin make two dribbles and Kyle was still standing still and the guy was gone. And to me, that’s the biggest question on Kyle is whether or not there’s going to be some more lateral movement, some quickness in his movements. And watch it again, not just whether he makes a His shot looks great. The little bit of practice, just the way he releases it. Looks confident. Looks like he’s really built off the end of uh middle of last year. Remember, end of last year, he faded a little bit. I think he just got tired, but he looked really confident. Again, not that exciting, but those are the things you’re watching on those three on on Clayton and Bailey. Um, the Jazz are trying to play 0.5 basketball, which means that offensively you’re getting it and making a decision in.5. I don’t actually care whether it’s a great decision every time, but a decision in.5 is the key here. Particularly for Ace Bailey, who had a tendency at Ruckers playing with Joey from Stanton Island and his three buddies to hold it. And for Clayton, who was really the point guard conducting, had a tendency to bring it up and, you know, had the ball in his hands left. Can these guys move the basketball, hold it, and make quick decisions? Um, shot making for both those guys will be nice because it gives them confidence and they probably will be fine in that regard. But can they play 0.5 basketball? The Jazz want to have much more ball pressure and they want to play five offensively. And with Sexton and Clarkston gone and some of those kind of things, I think they have a lot better chance of playing 0.5 basketball than they did a year ago. And now it’s going to be on Keonte and Collier and these guys to play that style, to really move it. So, we’ll see whether they can do that or not. What’s really going on with LeBron James? Something certainly is. Plus, is Jonathan Kaminga going to find a home? NBA rumors next on Locked on Jazz. Today’s show is brought to you in part by our friends over at Game Time. Use the code locked on NBA for $20 off your next Game Time purchase. Game time. Live music this summer. Going to a ball game somewhere on the road. Go see Major League Baseball. Going to catch a WNBA game somewhere. That’s where Game Time comes in. Game time makes getting concert tickets faster and easier than ever. Prices actually drop as you get closer to Showtime. And you can save up to 60% with killer lastminute deals. Tired of the endless scrolling trying to find the best deal? Game time zone deals pick the best seats in your section for you. Ever wonder what your view is? The app shows you panoramic seat view. And with Game Time, the price you see is the price you get. No hidden fees. That’s why Game Time is the perfect app for you. Worried about what happens if the plans change? Game time guarantee has your back with cancellation protection and more. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets and show tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create an account. Use the code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Create an account. Redeem the code locked on NBA. L O C K D O NA for $20 off. Download the Game Time app today. Last minute ticket deals. Lowest price guaranteed. Game time. Make the summer fun with Game Time. LeBron James opt in. There’s all this noise. Rich Paul says this and that. And all of a sudden, I gotta admit, I was like, “Yeah, whatever. No, there’s something here. There’s something here. This is the end of the Lakers and LeBron. And the only question is whether it’s lasting 12 months, one month, four months. I don’t know where you can trade him. The Warriors for Jamie Butler. Is he going to ask for a buyout? But few quotes, Rich Paul’s agent, power broker of the NBA, made the comments that basically the Lakers are going to take care of Luca and their their team and my job is to take care of LeBron. There it is. They are not in love with the fact that this is Luca’s team now. The Lakers have moved past the LeBron era into the Luca era and LeBron’s not in love with it. It is becoming more possible that the all the stories around the Luca trade that LeBron didn’t know and found out at that dinner might actually be true. Remember all those stories and I was like, “Yeah, whatever. There’s no chance LeBron.” No, there’s a chance that they made the move, traded Anthony Davis, did everything and didn’t tell LeBron. That story is feeling like it’s more true now. It’s pretty massive. It also might explain why the Lakers were just not that good in the playoffs last year or just that into it. Like there were some feckless efforts out there in that fivegame disaster. The report Sam athletic super good dude reports that the Lakers did not have any conversation with LeBron about an extension. That’s mammoth. So, let’s put these things together for a second here. They maybe didn’t tell LeBron that they were trading Anthony Davis for Luca. They his contracts got this optin and they don’t come to him and talk to him about an extension for three or four more years. And LeBron, who’s the best or second best player in the history of the NBA, is sitting there waiting for his phone to ring and it never rings for a discussion about an extension. So, he’s pissed and opts in for 50 million. Like, okay, I’m going to get my money. And now we’re into a dance. This is pretty epic. I’ll admit I’m slow to this party. It took me 72 hours to realize there’s something really here. I do have a tendency at this point in my job at 54 years old and having been in the league for a long time and no longer the daily reporting and no longer have to do the daily talk show to kind of wait and see on some of this stuff and find, you know, the Ace Bailey’s not reporting stuff to be total Oops, excuse me. Bull crap. um and just not get caught in the 24/7 news cycle. It also means I do this every now and then where it’s like, oops, this story is real and I missed it. This story is real. The LeBron Laker divorce is about to be a 12mon story that might be shorter. I doubt they can get the Lakers to buy him out and let him just go anywhere, but you never know. LeBron has not shown that he wants to be Jimmy Butler and tarnish his reputation by destroying a season or franchise. He’s pretty damn smart. He might do it somewhat subtly, but it is going to be interesting to watch. It is awfully hard to move a $52 million contract. Cleveland is not going to want to move like a bunch of players to go get LeBron and ruin their what they have. The Knicks might have an offer they put together for LeBron and it might be advantageous for the Lakers to do it so they can actually build around Luca in the next generation. And there was all this question of whether Luca and LeBron actually fit. Well, maybe the Lakers don’t care. So, this is wild and worth watching. And the DeAndre 81 is not going to answer the problems. DeAndre Eaton. One doesn’t roll, two doesn’t pop, just stays in the middle of the floor basketball-wise on the offensive end. Three sometimes does. Two doesn’t play defense. And three has generally lacked professionalism. In a game last year against us, he was as unprofessional as any player I’ve ever seen ever. Literally, it became part of our playbyplay call. I’ve never seen someone lack interest more than DeAndre Aton did in that game. And that was not an unusual circumstance. And I don’t think he’s going to get to LA in the big lights and suddenly turn on an interest. just has not been a player that’s committed to being interested night in and night out. And now there’s all these reports out of Portland of late for planes, late for practices, not showing up, this and that. I just think it’s who he is. Not to like cement you into something forever, but I don’t think the big market suddenly makes you do this things less. And our big last final domino to fall on NBA free agency is Jonathan Kaminga. Not a lot left. Al Horford and Jonathan Kaminga. The latest rumor is Kaminga to Sacramento. Monk gets moved maybe to Detroit in a three-team deal and the Warriors get some stuff back on the back side of it, but they don’t want a lot. All right, see you at the Huntsman Center on Saturday. I’m probably not putting out a show in the fourth. Uh, so have a great one. Look forward to chatting with you if you stop by. Jazz summer league starts Saturday, Monday, Tuesday. Come see the young kids play. beginning of our next season. Frankly, the rotation’s not gonna be wildly different than it’s going to be during the season. No Walker, no Keonte, but other than that, no John Collins, not a lot of different things to it. No Lowry, but fun to see our We got a bunch of guys are going to play this year. We get to watch them. You can follow me on socials at Dlock09. Would always enjoy that. We’ll send you now to the first ever 247 National NBA channel. If you haven’t subscribed or followed our program, please do so. And five star reviews are always appreciated. Have a great day.

David Locke, radio voice of the Utah Jazz and Jazz NBA Insider, explores the potential Walker Kessler extension and its implications for the team. Recent free agent signings have set a market that could push Kessler’s value to $25 million per year, a significant increase from earlier projections. Locke analyzes comparable contracts, including those of Jakob Poeltl, Naz Reid, and Myles Turner, while considering the Jazz’s perspective and potential negotiation strategies.

The episode also previews the upcoming Summer League, highlighting key players to watch such as Isaiah Collier, Cody Williams, and Kyle Filipowski. Locke discusses specific aspects of their game to focus on, including Collier’s defensive presence and Williams’ ability to play through contact. Additionally, he touches on NBA rumors surrounding LeBron James and the Lakers, suggesting a potential end to their partnership, and briefly mentions the Deandre Ayton situation and Jonathan Kuminga trade possibilities.

0:00 Market set for Walker Kessler extension
3:38 Analyzing recent NBA center contracts
7:50 How free agency impacts Kessler’s value
12:27 Summer League preview at Huntsman Center
16:30 What to watch for from Isaiah Collier
19:33 Expectations for Cody Williams and Kyle Filipowski
23:08 LeBron James situation with Lakers deteriorating
27:43 Challenges in trading LeBron’s contract
30:16 Jonathan Kuminga trade rumors and wrap-up

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17 Comments

  1. Too many good centers in drafts, and many go late in first round and early second. I would trade for 2026 1st rounder, 2026 2nd rounder, plus player – primarily to avoid 100m, help ensure keeping top 8 pick, and to get more balanced center, like Sengun. Think Aliyah Boston she can drop 25+ if needed. If 3s aren’t going in, and they often don’t, you need big that can score high percentage shots. We may need 2 first rounders to trade up as well.

  2. Let him go and go after him next summer as a restricted free agent, teams are probably not have the money or desire to push his number. Had the Jazz waited for Lauri, they would have signed him for less this summer. Probably around $30,000

  3. The key of making quiick decisions is to be watching the floor before you get the ball and be making your decision before you catch. In other words anticipation.

  4. This message is for Walker. Dude hit over 70% on your free throws and Utah will pay you over 20 million a year all day long!

  5. Locke I love everything you do but for the life of me I can’t understand your undervaluing Walker for two years now. Did his reps/dad get into it with you and hurt your feelings!?

    Thinking Walker “is maybe an nba starter” WTF. The Jazz were purposely loosing and you are implying he didn’t do enough 🤦🏼‍♂️. Walker is a legit starter in the NBA and only going to get better. I personally hope he gets paid so he’s happy VS you wanting to do the retarded old Kevin O. Strategy of letting the market decide a players value through restricted FA. Only gives the player a player option on the last yr. Perfect case study is Hayward. Just pay the man!

  6. Kessler is worse than Naz, Turner. Those guys have offense and are 5 out which is unique. Can’t shoot free throws which impacts playoffs. And Gobert as nothing more than a defensive center was off the floor in crucial moments similar to Walker. So he should hopefully be in 20 million range over 25

  7. To me, Walker is still maturing & ascending/developing player who is the least of Jazz chemistry problems? A “fair price” should secure him. Hopefully WCJr and Ace can be the start of a fresh new attitude & hope but seems like it will be another 3 years before they are competitive…

  8. Kessler should give the Jazz some kind of discount. He established himself in SLC. I think 18-20M per year is a good deal for both sides

  9. I think he should be dealt. Defense isn't valued in the league anymore, and neither is a true center. Remember those Dallas and Clipper series that led to Gobert getting dealt because he was a liability on the court? I don't ever want to relive that as much as I value defense and grew up on Centers running the league

  10. Pay Walker. If he wants $25m, pay him. You can adjust his contract in 4 years when he's up for extension. Gotta pay someone.

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