Reports indicate that the Lakers are fully committed to pursuing Kessler this summer! The Jazz are only willing to offer a $25 million annual salary, which is far below the player's expectations.

On February 13th Beijing time, according to insider Sidery, the Lakers are preparing to aggressively chase Jazz center Walker Kessler on the free agent market. The Lakers have ample salary cap space and can offer Kessler a lucrative qualifying offer. Many teams in the league are speculating whether the Jazz will ultimately match an offer far exceeding their valuation.

Previously, ESPN's Tim McMahon mentioned on his show that after last season's offseason contract negotiations stalled, the gap between the Jazz and Kessler's camp has been widening.

“The Jazz have their own price point,” McMahon said. “They believe a contract around $25 million per year is appropriate. However, Walker Kessler and his agents at CAA think his worth is significantly higher.”

McMahon also added that this situation might evolve into “a very tense and prolonged restricted free agent negotiation,” especially since many external potential suitors have already left the market.

The Pacers are one of them; after acquiring Zubac at the trade deadline, they have essentially exited the center market, narrowing the competition — though this hasn’t entirely diminished the leverage of teams with cap space.

ESPN reporter Winhurst has repeatedly pointed out that the Lakers are a logical landing spot for Kessler and questioned whether the Jazz are truly willing to allocate most of their available salary space to three frontcourt players.

The Jazz have already offered massive long-term contracts to Jaren Jackson Jr. ($49 million annually) and Lauri Markkanen ($46.4 million annually). Even though the Jazz publicly say they are willing to match offers, salary cap pressure is clearly significant.

“Restricted free agency is tough,” Winhurst said, “but there’s a narrow path on the far left side. If you’re considered a ‘likely to be signed’ restricted free agent — meaning other teams believe your current team can’t match — you sometimes can secure a contract far beyond expectations.”

Winhurst believes that if market pressure hits the Jazz’s salary cap ceiling, Kessler could become one of those players.