Walker Kessler Hype & Appreciation Thread

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Basically what both of you are saying is pretty much accurate. Almost same thing in different words.

I think it's less being scared of going to the stripe and just being scared of missing a shot or getting blocked.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

When Walker learns how to not to be a liability on offense he can be very good.

At some point other teams are going to start intentionally fouling him. The Jazz offense is becoming that good.

We're pretty much already at that point. The guys only pass the ball to Walker near the basket when it's an open dunk. You know he's gonna get fouled otherwise.

 

[fishonjazz]

We're pretty much already at that point. The guys only pass the ball to Walker near the basket when it's an open dunk. You know he's gonna get fouled otherwise.

Actually he gets the ball on the perimeter quite often. Almost always a handoff happens soon after. Occasionally he gets it in the corner for a three point attempt.

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[Tremendous Upside]

Actually he gets the ball on the perimeter quite often. Almost always a handoff happens soon after. Occasionally he gets it in the corner for a three point attempt.

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Yes, that's why I said "near the basket". He's not gonna get hacked on the perimeter, so it's safer to give him the ball there.

Or... at least we haven't yet seen him get fouled away from the basket. But in the playoffs, Hack-a-Walker will probably be on the menu if it's a way to put him on the FT line and take the ball away from the Jazz.

 

[fishonjazz]

Yes, that's why I said "near the basket". He's not gonna get hacked on the perimeter, so it's safer to give him the ball there.

Or... at least we haven't yet seen him get fouled away from the basket. But in the playoffs, Hack-a-Walker will probably be on the menu if it's a way to put him on the FT line and take the ball away from the Jazz.

Cy post spoke intentionally fouling him. (hack a Kessler) so I thought that is what we were talking about.
Would be a better strategy to do it on the perimeter. Do it when he is near the basket (where he shoots something like 70% I'm sure) and you risk a 3 point opportunity.

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[Tremendous Upside]

Do it when he is near the basket (where he shoots something like 70% I'm sure) and you risk a 3 point opportunity.

Kessler needs to go up a lot stronger to get those and-ones. Right now you just wrap him up and he can't score.

 

[fishonjazz]

Kessler needs to go up a lot stronger to get those and-ones. Right now you just wrap him up and he can't score.

Do you think he is more likey to get an and one further away from the basket? I have seen him get and ones before on dunks. Never on a jumper though.

I do agree that kessler isn't Shaq though.

Expecting Kessler to score when a player wraps him up is kinda dumb. He can go up as hard as anyone in the league but if he gets wrapped up he isn't going to score. Foul anyone in the league hard enough and they won't score.

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[fishonjazz]

Kessler leads the NBA in blocks per possession. Wemby is number 2. Lopez is number 3.

Kessler is third in the NBA in blocks per game. This is despite averaging 5 fewer minutes than Wembanyama (1st) and 8 fewer than Brook Lopez (2nd).

Walker only gets 4.3 fouls per 100, which is actually on the lower end for the top 10 in blocks per 100. Pretty amazing for a young guy.
Wemby only gets 3.7 fouls per 100, easily the lowest in the top 10. Crazy ****.

Wemby only contests 8.9 shots/game, compared to 11.6 for Kessler and 17.2 for Lopez. This could show how willing players are to even attempt a shot in these players area.


Wemby is going to be the reason Kessler can't win dpoy awards on the future lol. Wemby is really good defensively.
There is only one guy over 31 in the top 35 players in blocks per 100. Brook being #2 at 35 years old is just insane.
Kessler is simply an amazing paint defender.

Everyone knows I love me some Kessler. But the free throws and lack of offense in general makes me wonder if he should be part of the core going forward. I'm torn. Elite defenders like him are hard to come by but he has fatal flaws. I wonder what we could get in a trade for him. Young guy with an elite skill who is on a cheap contract and probably won't demand huge money on his next one would seemingly have some value but I don't know much about these things. @Handlogten's Heros @Saint Cy of JFC @Elizah Huge if we were to put him on the trade market would he have a lot of value?

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[Saint Cy of JFC]

I


Wal

Kessler leads the NBA in blocks per possession. Wemby is number 2. Lopez is number 3.

Kessler is third in the NBA in blocks per game. This is despite averaging 5 fewer minutes than Wembanyama (1st) and 8 fewer than Brook Lopez (2nd).

Walker only gets 4.3 fouls per 100, which is actually on the lower end for the top 10 in blocks per 100. Pretty amazing for a young guy.
Wemby only gets 3.7 fouls per 100, easily the lowest in the top 10. Crazy ****.

Wemby only contests 8.9 shots/game, compared to 11.6 for Kessler and 17.2 for Lopez. This could show how willing players are to even attempt a shot in these players area.


Wemby is going to be the reason Kessler can't win dpoy awards on the future lol. Wemby is really good defensively.
There is only one guy over 31 in the top 35 players in blocks per 100. Brook being #2 at 35 years old is just insane.
Kessler is simply an amazing paint defender.

Everyone knows I love me some Kessler. But the free throws and lack of offense in general makes me wonder if he should be part of the core going forward. I'm torn. Elite defenders like him are hard to come by but he has fatal flaws. I wonder what we could get in a trade for him. Young guy with an elite skill who is on a cheap contract and probably won't demand huge money on his next one would seemingly have some value but I don't know much about these things. @Handlogten's Heros @Saint Cy of JFC @Elizah Huge if we were to put him on the trade market would he have a lot of value?

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So you think he's a future DPOY but wouldn't demand huge money?

 

[fishonjazz]

I


Wal
So you think he's a future DPOY but wouldn't demand huge money?

IDK. I actually @ you to find out what kind of value you think he has. (Your pretty worthless and snarky response was perfect. I expected nothing else when I @ you)

Also I literally said I don't think he is a future dpoy. Wemby has that locked up imo. Plus his offense might limit his minutes to where he can't be dpoy. Just saying that I think typically dudes who lead the league in blocks and have amazing advanced defensive stats are typically in the conversation for dpoy. Maybe I'm wrong though.

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[Elizah Huge]

Kessler leads the NBA in blocks per possession. Wemby is number 2. Lopez is number 3.

Kessler is third in the NBA in blocks per game. This is despite averaging 5 fewer minutes than Wembanyama (1st) and 8 fewer than Brook Lopez (2nd).

Walker only gets 4.3 fouls per 100, which is actually on the lower end for the top 10 in blocks per 100. Pretty amazing for a young guy.
Wemby only gets 3.7 fouls per 100, easily the lowest in the top 10. Crazy ****.

Wemby only contests 8.9 shots/game, compared to 11.6 for Kessler and 17.2 for Lopez. This could show how willing players are to even attempt a shot in these players area.


Wemby is going to be the reason Kessler can't win dpoy awards on the future lol. Wemby is really good defensively.
There is only one guy over 31 in the top 35 players in blocks per 100. Brook being #2 at 35 years old is just insane.
Kessler is simply an amazing paint defender.

Everyone knows I love me some Kessler. But the free throws and lack of offense in general makes me wonder if he should be part of the core going forward. I'm torn. Elite defenders like him are hard to come by but he has fatal flaws. I wonder what we could get in a trade for him. Young guy with an elite skill who is on a cheap contract and probably won't demand huge money on his next one would seemingly have some value but I don't know much about these things. @Handlogten's Heros @Saint Cy of JFC @Elizah Huge if we were to put him on the trade market would he have a lot of value?

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I’m not entirely sure. I haven’t thought about it much but I think a Kessler/Giddey swap makes sense basketball wise for both teams and I think it is pretty close value wise as well.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I wouldn't trade Walker. There's still hope for him and I wouldn't give up on him being a competent offensive player after one bad off-season. .

 

[fishonjazz]

He’s in the 98th percentile of opponent FG% on shots he defends (which means other players shoot way below average when they challenge him).

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[Tremendous Upside]

I wouldn't trade Walker. There's still hope for him and I wouldn't give up on him being a competent offensive player after one bad off-season. .

I certainly didn't expect him to be a competent offensive player this season. Last year made it clear that he has a loooong way to go.

However, you need to see SOME improvement from a young player. Kessler didn't improve his strength, his free throws or his attitude in the offseason. To me it seems he doesn't have any fire in him. You can punk him, you can intimidate him, and you can take him out of his game. That's normal for many rookies, but when it's the exact same problem in year 2, you start to raise your eyebrows a bit.

Not everyone needs to be Collin Sexton. And Kessler does his main job well. But in the long run it's not enough, he's too one-dimensional to be a starter.

He needs to work. Hard.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I certainly didn't expect him to be a competent offensive player this season. Last year made it clear that he has a loooong way to go.

However, you need to see SOME improvement from a young player. Kessler didn't improve his strength, his free throws or his attitude in the offseason. To me it seems he doesn't have any fire in him. You can punk him, you can intimidate him, and you can take him out of his game. That's normal for many rookies, but when it's the exact same problem in year 2, you start to raise your eyebrows a bit.

Not everyone needs to be Collin Sexton. And Kessler does his main job well. But in the long run it's not enough, he's too one-dimensional to be a starter.

He needs to work. Hard.

Team USA was a big mistake

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Team USA was a big mistake

You can say that, but just the fact that it apparently had such a demoralizing effect on him speaks volumes about Walker's mental make-up.

Some other player would have come out of that experience with a huge chip on his shoulder, determined to show that Kerr made a mistake not playing him. Kessler felt sorry for himself and lost all his confidence.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Kessler leads the NBA in blocks per possession. Wemby is number 2. Lopez is number 3.

Kessler is third in the NBA in blocks per game. This is despite averaging 5 fewer minutes than Wembanyama (1st) and 8 fewer than Brook Lopez (2nd).

Walker only gets 4.3 fouls per 100, which is actually on the lower end for the top 10 in blocks per 100. Pretty amazing for a young guy.
Wemby only gets 3.7 fouls per 100, easily the lowest in the top 10. Crazy ****.

Wemby only contests 8.9 shots/game, compared to 11.6 for Kessler and 17.2 for Lopez. This could show how willing players are to even attempt a shot in these players area.


Wemby is going to be the reason Kessler can't win dpoy awards on the future lol. Wemby is really good defensively.
There is only one guy over 31 in the top 35 players in blocks per 100. Brook being #2 at 35 years old is just insane.
Kessler is simply an amazing paint defender.

Everyone knows I love me some Kessler. But the free throws and lack of offense in general makes me wonder if he should be part of the core going forward. I'm torn. Elite defenders like him are hard to come by but he has fatal flaws. I wonder what we could get in a trade for him. Young guy with an elite skill who is on a cheap contract and probably won't demand huge money on his next one would seemingly have some value but I don't know much about these things. @Handlogten's Heros @Saint Cy of JFC @Elizah Huge if we were to put him on the trade market would he have a lot of value?

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Yeah he’d have a bunch of value. I wouldn’t really put him out there. If you want to pivot I think it’s a draft night deal.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Yeah he’d have a bunch of value. I wouldn’t really put him out there. If you want to pivot I think it’s a draft night deal.

To expound on why this is… you don’t want to accumulate a ton more picks in volume. So on draft night you can likely swap Walker for a top ten pick (especially in this draft) and get one prime prospect/piece for your trouble. I don’t think he needs to be moved at all. I think he may top out as a high level guy who plays 28 a night… some nights the matchup will require 32 and sometimes 24.

 

[HermanG]

Kessler leads the NBA in blocks per possession. Wemby is number 2. Lopez is number 3.

Kessler is third in the NBA in blocks per game. This is despite averaging 5 fewer minutes than Wembanyama (1st) and 8 fewer than Brook Lopez (2nd).

Walker only gets 4.3 fouls per 100, which is actually on the lower end for the top 10 in blocks per 100. Pretty amazing for a young guy.
Wemby only gets 3.7 fouls per 100, easily the lowest in the top 10. Crazy ****.

Wemby only contests 8.9 shots/game, compared to 11.6 for Kessler and 17.2 for Lopez. This could show how willing players are to even attempt a shot in these players area.


Wemby is going to be the reason Kessler can't win dpoy awards on the future lol. Wemby is really good defensively.
There is only one guy over 31 in the top 35 players in blocks per 100. Brook being #2 at 35 years old is just insane.
Kessler is simply an amazing paint defender.

Everyone knows I love me some Kessler. But the free throws and lack of offense in general makes me wonder if he should be part of the core going forward. I'm torn. Elite defenders like him are hard to come by but he has fatal flaws. I wonder what we could get in a trade for him. Young guy with an elite skill who is on a cheap contract and probably won't demand huge money on his next one would seemingly have some value but I don't know much about these things. @Handlogten's Heros @Saint Cy of JFC @Elizah Huge if we were to put him on the trade market would he have a lot of value?

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Im not selling him unless the offer is great. He is our only true big, and even if the FT or the offense never comes around he has a positive impact on the court.

The question for me is not whether he is a keeper, but rather whether he is a 35, 25 or 15 mpg guy in the long run.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Im not selling him unless the offer is great. He is our only true big, and even if the FT or the offense never comes around he has a positive impact on the court.

The question for me is not whether he is a keeper, but rather whether he is a 35, 25 or 15 mpg guy in the long run.

If you regularly play over 30mpg, you can't be a one-dimensional specialist. Right now Walker is far from that level IMO.

He's a 20-25 minute guy at this point.