Lakers' Walker Kessler Faces Three Key Tasks in First Season with L.A.

The newly acquired center, signed to a four-year deal after a trade from Utah, will need to stay healthy, improve perimeter defense and expand his offense.

The Los Angeles Lakers acquired center Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade deal this summer, sending out two future first-round picks and two pick swaps, then signed him to a four-year, $130 million contract. He is the most significant addition the team made this offseason.

Durability is the first question mark. Kessler appeared in only five games last season before having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder. Across his first three NBA seasons, he played 74, 64 and 58 games. He is reportedly healthy now, with Kevon Looney and Sandro Mamukelshvili behind him on the depth chart, though neither is seen as capable of handling heavy minutes at center.

The second area is perimeter defense. Kessler is regarded as an elite rim protector and shot blocker, but opponents are expected to target him in pick-and-roll situations and force switches onto smaller players.

Offense is the third focus. Kessler has averaged 9.5 points in 25.3 minutes per game over four seasons, mostly as a lob threat. In his five appearances last season, he made six of eight three-point attempts, and the Lakers hope that small sample points to a developing outside shot to go with a low-post game.