Walker Kessler is yet to make his preseason debut for the Los Angeles Lakers, but the seven-footer is already making his expectations clear.
The former Utah Jazz center, who joined Los Angeles in a blockbuster sign-and-trade before signing a four-year, $130 million extension, is preparing to take on a major defensive responsibility.
With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves leading the offense, Kessler believes his job will be to organize the team on the other end of the floor.
“Obviously Luka and AR, they’re very special players, especially offensively,” Kessler said after a recent practice. “So them kind of taking the lead of the offense. But I’ve been asked to kind of be the defensive anchor. So that’s going to be my role, to kind of be the linebacker of the defense, kind of take control of that.”
And he plans on making his presence heard.
“Yeah, I talk a lot,” Kessler added. “Yeah, you’ll hear me. I yell a lot.”
Despite being sidelined with a finger injury, Kessler has been encouraged by what he has seen from his new teammates.
The Lakers have opened the preseason with a 2-1 record and currently hold the league’s seventh-best defensive rating.
“I mean it’s frustrating, but it’s also a really positive to see how well they’ve done defensively without me out there,” Kessler said, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Our wing defenders … Matisse [Thybulle] and Ziaire [Williams] and Q [Quentin Grimes] and even Jake [LaRavia] are just great on-ball defenders. And I mean Luka [Doncic] and AR [Austin Reaves] are great off-ball, very smart players.”
The early defensive improvements come after Los Angeles finished last season ranked 20th in defensive rating.
Head coach JJ Redick has also emphasized the importance of rebounding when Kessler is unavailable.
“I think it’s important to have two of the bigger wings out there for rebounding purposes,” Redick said. “That was a concern just coming into the year, trying to be a good defensive rebounding team. What does that look like with Walker not on the court?”
Kessler returned to full practice on Sunday, bringing him another step closer to his first appearance in a Lakers uniform.
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