What is Walker Kessler's upside?

[Hearsky]

I hear you loud and clear amigo! Ilgauskus, Poetl etc.upside really???

Ilgauskas was an absolute stud. I would take Big Z from WK any day.

 

[Elizah Huge]

Eh if you read scouting reports they talk about him being a good shot blocker in part because he is not a leaper. He is tall and long. He stays on the ground and has good timing and stays vertical. I dont know if its relative. I think they actually can measure things like vertical jumps. I mean someone can probably look up his vertical. If you took all the players on the jazz where do you think his vertical would rank just off a guess? i would guess around 12th or something. Out of 15. He can maybe out jump KO, simone,, maybe rudy gay? I just dont think that is one of his strengths. I would guess that if all the jazz players ran a 40 yard dash he would also not be near the top.

That’s the thing so you don’t have to have the best vertical to be athletic.

 

[fishonjazz]

A series of 'Athleticism Tests' are performed at the NBA pre-draft camp combine held annually. The 2022 combine was held from May 16-22, at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in Chicago. See the list of the 2022 participants.

Vertical Jump - no step​

rank	height (inches)	player	position
1	35.5	E.J. Liddell	PF
2	33.5	Jalen Williams	SG
3	33.5	Christian Braun	SG
4	32.5	Justin Lewis	PF
5	32.5	Wendell Moore	SG
6	32	Max Christie	SG
7	32	Ochai Agbaji	SG
8	31.5	Kendall Brown	SF
9	31	Iverson Molinar	PG
10	31	Kennedy Chandler	PG

Vertical Jump - max​

rank	height (inches)	player	position
1	41.5	Kennedy Chandler	PG
2	41	Kendall Brown	SF
3	40	Christian Braun	SG
4	39	Jalen Williams	SG
5	39	Ochai Agbaji	SG
6	38.5	Wendell Moore	SG
7	38.5	Terquavion Smith	SG
8	38	E.J. Liddell	PF
9	38	Iverson Molinar	PG
10	38	Dereon Seabron	SG

3/4 Court Sprint​

rank	time (seconds)	player	position
1	3.07	Max Christie	SG
2	3.07	Gabriele Procida	SG-SF
3	3.07	Ryan Rollins	SG
4	3.11	Jalen Williams	SG
5	3.12	Dereon Seabron	SG
6	3.13	Ochai Agbaji	SG
7	3.14	Terquavion Smith	SG
8	3.14	Julian Champagnie	SF
9	3.15	Alondes Williams	SG
10	3.16	Christian Braun	SG

Lane Agility Drill​

rank	time (seconds)	player	position
1	10.30	Julian Strawther	SF
2	10.46	Andrew Nembhard	PG
3	10.58	Jake LaRavia	PF
4	10.63	Terquavion Smith	SG
5	10.73	Kennedy Chandler	PG
6	10.74	Matthew Mayer	SF
7	10.75	David Roddy	PF
8	10.77	Ochai Agbaji	SG
9	10.81	Dyson Daniels	SG
10	10.82	Max Christie	SG

Reactive Shuttle Run​

rank	time (seconds)	player	position
1	2.81	Dyson Daniels	SG
2	2.89	Jake LaRavia	PF
3	2.89	Kennedy Chandler	PG
4	2.90	Moussa Diabate	C
5	3.01	Collin Gillespie	PG
6	3.02	Andrew Nembhard	PG
7	3.02	Max Christie	SG
8	3.02	Keon Ellis	SG
9	3.02	Leonard Miller	SF
10	3.02	Justin Lewis	PF

I would consider all those players who i know nothing else about to be more athletic than Kessler in the way I use the word "athletic"
Some consider things like timing and coordination to be signs of athleticism but I just dont think that way. A fat golfer has those things but i dont think of a fat golfer as athletic.

 

[fishonjazz]

That’s the thing so you don’t have to have the best vertical to be athletic.

Ya, the way i look at athleticism in regard to the nba is based mostly off of speed and leaping ability. kessler isn't high on my list of nba athletes in those two categories. therefore i dont think of him as very athletic in comparison to his fellow nba peers.
Thats why its subjective. you probably look at other attributes to measure athleticism and think kessler is extremely athletic. We just define athletic differently.

 

[Isaiah 1:13]

Ilgauskas was an absolute stud. I would take Big Z from WK any day.

He was big and strong, I’ll give him that much.

 

[fishonjazz]

He was big and strong, I’ll give him that much.

And very skilled. Great hands, great touch, great feel for the game, good footwork and body positioning. ambidextrious too. High BBIQ. Good timing to block/alter shots. (He was an all star twice. I hope Kessler ends up being an allstar)

 

[Hearsky]

And very skilled. Great hands, great touch, great feel for the game, good footwork and body positioning. ambidextrious too. High BBIQ. Good timing to block/alter shots. (He was an all star twice. I hope Kessler ends up being an allstar)

This. He had bad feet that slowed his career down. His stats didn't reflect his effectiveness.

 

[Jingled]

Walker is super athletic. I’m curious what makes you think he lacks athleticism

I know it's really early into his career, but do you have a player comp for Kessler yet?

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

So I think the future at center is to platoon a few different types of bigs unless you have an absolute all star. On a championship level team I think Kessler is the rim protector traditional big type for 20-25 minutes. You’d mix in a shooting 5 and maybe a guy that’s more switchable that can pose as a 5 and play with the other guys. I think KO, Kessler, Vando might be the center/big trio you will see on some contender… and then they load up on premium talent on the wing/perimeter.

I could see Walker getting 30+ minutes and being similar to Poeltl. Maybe better offensively and maybe slightly worse defensively. He’s been solid out the gate so maybe there is even more there.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

I know it's really early into his career, but do you have a player comp for Kessler yet?

IMO Kessler is a bit of a throwback (as far as true rotation bigs go). He's strictly a rolling, non-shooting big who protects the rim, but not the pogo stick type you find finishing alley oops around the league. Guys with his profile are rarely starters these days.

At some point he's gonna have to develop the ability to make short jump shots.

 

[Swuul]

A series of 'Athleticism Tests' are performed at the NBA pre-draft camp combine held annually. The 2022 combine was held from May 16-22, at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in Chicago. See the list of the 2022 participants.

It might be good to notice that Walker Kessler in fact did not take part in those tests. He was measured for height, weight etc, but due to some minor injury (I don't anymore recall what it was) he did not take part in any of the tests you linked results for.

 

[Mr. T]

He's going to need to get thicker and really get in shape. With more players like Lauri in the league I'm not sure he will make it on finesse. He's gotta be solid, yet lithe.

Based on experiences with Lauri I would say that any form-changing programs should be banned. Bulking up is not something to pursue unless it is the natural progression for Kessler. Kessler has excellent timing with his blocks and any forced changes will likely affect his timing as well as more body-wight will expose to various injuries. I would say with all big men that patience is a virtue; it just takes a longer time for them to build up into a sustainable form.