Seven-time NBA Champion Robert Horry believes that new Los Angeles Lakers center Walker Kessler holds “the key” to the team’s success this season.
Replacing Deandre Ayton as the Lakers’ new starting center, free-agent signee Kessler (four years, $129.5M) returns to the floor after missing nearly all of last season in Utah with a shoulder injury. Horry believes that if Kessler regains his pre-injury form as an elite rim protector, the Lakers become genuine title contenders in the West.
“When you watch what Walker Kessler brings to the game, he’s so incredibly skilled and we haven’t had a big since AD that can block shots like that, pop out for threes,” Horry told ESPN’s “Mason & Ireland Show,” via X user PurpGold.
“So I just hope he stays healthy — him missing damn near all season, how much rust has he developed?” Horry wondered. “Will he be able to knock that rust off and come back and be the center that everybody’s expecting to be?
Walker Kessler: The Key to Lakers?
“So it’s going to be really interesting to see what he can do because he is the key,” Horry declared about Kessler.
“Not Luka [Doncic], not AR [Austin Reaves], he is.”
Horry may be onto something. The Western Conference runs through Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic, while other powerhouses like the Oklahoma City Thunder (Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein), Minnesota Timberwolves (Rudy Gobert), and Houston Rockets (Alperen Sengun) all feature elite bigs as well.
In fact, the lack of a quality big man was the Lakers’ biggest Achilles heel last year. JJ Redick’s team ranked 19th in opponent paint points allowed (51.5), which only compounded the problems they had with their lackluster perimeter defense.
Lakers Seeking Backup Big
The Lakers enter the new season with a center rotation of Walker Kessler and three-time NBA champion Kevon Looney. On paper, that rotation sounds fine. However, relying on just the two could prove to be a risky gamble. Last year, the duo played a grand total of 26 games: Kessler missed nearly the entire season after shoulder surgery, while Looney battled injuries and fell out of James Borrego’s rotation in New Orleans.
Even the Lakers know they could use another big, with reports suggesting that the Rob Pelinka-led front office is seeking another big to fortify the center rotation.
“Between Looney’s 21 games and the five Kessler played last season, the Lakers are, according to team and league sources, hunting for reinforcement at the center position,” The Athletic’s Dan Woike reported in late July.
“But that search won’t be easy. The center market is largely a mess. In addition, the Lakers already have 16 guaranteed contracts and no open roster spots.”
The Lakers would need to either waive a player or two, or make another trade before the start of the regular season. Some insiders have suggested that they will take their current 16-man roster into training camp before taking a final call.
Lakers NBA Champion Names New Signing ‘The Key’ to Title Hopes