Lakers Trade For Walker Kessler, Kicking Off A Flurry Of Moves That Reshape Fantasy Basketball Rankings
The Los Angeles Lakers have been extremely active at the start of NBA free agency, shaking up both the league and fantasy basketball. Their first big move was a massive trade with the Utah Jazz for center Walker Kessler. Los Angeles sent unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 and two future first-round pick swaps.
With this move, the Lakers get the big man they have coveted for years. Subsequently, Kessler will be signing a four-year $130 million deal with his new team. Even when they had Anthony Davis, they still didn't have a true center. Now they do. This was the first big addition to their roster since the exit of LeBron James, which starts the true Luka Doncic era in LA.
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Lakers are acquiring Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz for unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 and first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030, sources tell ESPN. Kessler will sign a massive four-year, $130 million deal with the Lakers. pic.twitter.com/rt8b17fEQZ
- Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2026
Kessler was just the first of a flurry of big moves for the Lakers this afternoon. After the big trade, the Lakers agreed to deals with free agents Collin Sexton, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Quentin Grimes to new deals.
Fantasy Impact
C Walker Kessler, Los Angeles Lakers
Kessler is a monstrous 7'2 center who should thrive in an offense with Doncic and Austin Reaves. Last season, Kessler was limited to just five games due to a torn labrum, but in that limited sample size, he averaged 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game, while also blocking 1.8 shots and swiping 1.4 steals per game.
The previous season, in a much larger sample size of 58 games, he scored 11.1 points per game with 12.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists, with 2.4 blocks and 0.6 steals per game as well. We would expect his assists to go up in that offense, and 12 rebounds should not be an issue. It will be interesting to see how many points her scores, but somewhere between 11 and 15 points per game seems reasonable. However, this move could cause him to be overdrafted come fantasy draft season.
G Collin Sexton, Los Angeles Lakers
This is not great news for Sexton. While he should be fine as the potential top guard coming off the bench for the Lakers, it would have been better for his fantasy value if he landed a starting job somewhere instead of being a backup behind two ball-dominant guards. However, the good news for him is that both Doncic and Austin Reaves have struggled to stay healthy the past few seasons; that could lead to more playing time for Sexton in spurts throughout the season.
F Sandro Mamukelashvili, Los Angeles Lakers
It looks like Mamukelashvili will slot into the starting power forward role in Los Angeles. At 6'9 next to Kessler, this frontcourt just got much bigger. Last season with the Toronto Raptors, he averaged 11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game, while averaging 21.9 minutes per game. He should get more minutes with the Lakers, which should boost his fantasy value.
G Quentin Grimes, Los Angeles Lakers
Similarly to Sexton, this wasn't a great landing spot for Grimes from a fantasy perspective. He has seen his production fall in two consecutive seasons, and last year he scored 13.4 points per game with the Philadelphia 76ers. We would have preferred he landed somewhere with more guaranteed minutes, rather than coming off the bench behind high-usage star guards.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/fantasy as Lakers Trade For Walker Kessler, Kicking Off A Flurry Of Moves That Reshape Fantasy Basketball Rankings.
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This story was originally published July 1, 2026 at 12:25 PM.