Entering the 2025-26 season, the New Orleans Pelicans' front office has assembled what appears to be their deepest and most well-rounded team since Zion Williamson's arrival in 2019. Despite having a solid foundation of players, the NBA’s best front offices are constantly mapping out trades and evaluating different players to enhance their roster every day. With the experience of Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver, I guarantee this is the way they are approaching this season.
So, although it may appear way too early to talk trade targets for the Pelicans, I’m telling you it’s not because those wheels are already turning in the minds of this team's front office. With the 2025-26 season right around the corner, I think Walker Kessler is a name to keep an eye on for Pelicans fans.
Coming into this season, I felt the team's biggest need after the first 40-ish games was going to be a wing for the second unit. I was wrong, just 2 preseason games into the season, we are seeing that Micah Peavy and Saddiq Bey are more than capable of filling that role. So what’s the team's biggest need then? For me, it’s rim protection.
I do really trust the big tandem of Kevon Looney and Yves Missi for this team, with sprinkles of Derik Queen and Karlo Matković, where head coach Willie Green sees fit. However, I think there’s a ton of value in bringing in another big, someone who is going to terrify the opposing team when they are attacking the rim, which is exactly what Kessler does.
Bringing in Kessler would mean farewell for a former lottery pick
To make salaries work in a Kessler deal, Jordan Hawkins would have to be heading to Utah. Now I know so many fans are out on Hawkins as he enters his third year; his efficiency and role continue to shrink, but hear me out. A change of scenery is all this young man needs.
Getting J-Hawk a fresh start on a rebuilding team that is starting to prioritize the three-ball based on their draft picks in Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr. would help him reach his potential.
Attaching a first-round pick in either 2026,2027,2028, or 2029 would sweeten the deal for the Jazz, and I believe it would be enough to pry Kessler away from Utah.
Despite being just 24 years old and coming off a year where he averaged 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game, the Sheriff doesn’t appear to be in the Jazz's long-term plans. If he were, they would’ve likely locked him up to some sort of extension, but they opted against that.
This lack of extension is something that Kessler was openly unhappy about during Media Day, and adds another layer to the idea of the two sides going their separate ways. I look to acquire a player of Kessler value for a decreased price as an unreal buy-low opportunity for this front office, and something they must consider.