LAS VEGAS -- Walker Kessler, the biggest prize of the Los Angeles Lakers' free agency class this summer, said Monday that he has been medically cleared following shoulder surgery and is eager to play alongside Luka Doncic.
Kessler, 24, landed a four-year, $130 million contract with the Lakers earlier this month as part of a sign-and-trade agreement with the Utah Jazz. The Lakers sent two unprotected first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps to the Jazz to acquire the 7-foot-2 Kessler, one of this year's most coveted restricted free agents.
"It makes you feel a certain way when you know an organization believes in you," Kessler said. "With what [the Lakers] have invested, they're showing that belief, in a monetary value. Not just with money, but in [draft] assets. If I know they have that belief in me, I'm going to run through a brick wall for them. That's how I've been wired my whole life."
Kessler added that the complex restricted free agency process "isn't the most fun thing ever" but said that ending up with the Lakers after four years with the Jazz was "how it's supposed to be." The Lakers' top summer priority was upgrading the center position to provide a target at the basket for Doncic and to improve the team's interior defense.