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What is Walker Kessler's upside?

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.
 
Kessler is our VW. Dude's pretty good, aside that his FT suck @ss. Probably couldn't hit the board side of a barn. He's already ahead of rookie rudy by a light year. Jazz might've realized this and said f*** this, we goin' to the finals baby! lol
 
I think we've seen close to his peak. That's when he is playing very well multiple plays in a row. I think he just gets more consistent. I don't see a much bigger ceiling but I'll be glad to be wrong about that.
 
That said his play and especially at his peak play so far has been pretty great. He could be a starter. We have a good combo with him and KO for the center position to bring two different things to that.
 
Ron Mexico said:
I think we've seen close to his peak. That's when he is playing very well multiple plays in a row. I think he just gets more consistent. I don't see a much bigger ceiling but I'll be glad to be wrong about that.
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I mean he's just played his first month in the NBA. Of course he's going to get better. It's silly to assume "Whelp, he played well, I guess that is his ceiling."

Now he may not have the development curve like Rudy Gobert, but very few players do. No reason he couldn't be a better-looking Nurkikc as far as impact if not style goes. . .
 
framer said:
I mean he's just played his first month in the NBA. Of course he's going to get better. It's silly to assume "Whelp, he played well, I guess that is his ceiling."

Now he may not have the development curve like Rudy Gobert, but very few players do. No reason he couldn't be a better-looking Nurkikc as far as impact if not style goes. . .
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He might, I just dont see a high ceiling for him and I think we have seen most of what he can be when he plays consistent, which is pretty solid. I dont think that was different from Nurkic. He showed a lot of things early and got more consistent and reliable, he didnt add a ton to his game. That is often the case with non skill positions/players. Physically he will get stronger and that will help. Its possible he adds some more low post moves and some shooting. I am not high on his shooting ability though. But I think the flashes he has shown have been great.
 
The fact that he has a great BBIQ and seems a hard worker makes me think he will add something to his game every year. If he can do that I think a Gasol brother is an appropriate comp.
 
Tony Jones said:
Walker is super athletic. I’m curious what makes you think he lacks athleticism
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I guess it depends on how one defines athletic. i define it as speed, strength and jumping ability. You know, like combine numbers and such. Now, I haven't seen his combine numbers but i would guess that the testing that shows speed and jumping ability would not be in the 90th percentile. He is probably somewhat strong though due to his size.
I would add that although you chose to quote me, if you look through the thread you will find others that mention his lack of athleticism as well. Even heard the announcers of other teams mention it. (I rarely get to listen to bolerjack)
 
Tony Jones said:
True on the last part, it does seem to be the prevailing opinion on the thread. I’m gonna guess it’s because he’s white, cause he’s one of the best athletes on the team.

He runs the floor as well as almost anyone on the roster and his lateral movement is spectacular for a guy his size. That’s athleticism. He has a great second jump an elite timing. That’s how he blocks and bothers so many shots….there’s nothing unathletic about him
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Ya and like i said, even other teams announcers. I googled some draft profile articles about him coming out of college who also mentioned that he may struggle with the athleticism of the nba due to his lacking. Here is one: https://www.grizzlybearblues.com/20...alker-kessler-memphis-grizzlies-auburn-tigers
wondering if he can maintain with NBA athleticism.

This article shows the best players at different things at the combine. Kessler shows up often for his size but doesn't make any of the lists measuring speed and jumping ability. https://www.topendsports.com/sport/basketball/testing-draft-results-2022.htm

Again, it depends on how an individual defines athleticism. Im totally fine if he fits your description of athletic and would not try to say you are wrong. He just doesn't fit my version of athletic.
I mean if i really want to I could say that when my grandma crochets she is super athletic. She has amazing balance, coordination, endurance, accurracy, motor skills and speed when she crochets. She isn't much of a leaper and cant run very fast though so i wouldnt say she is very athletic.

I do think that he is athletic compared to some guys his size and compared to an average human such as myself. Just that when i think of nba players he isn't near the top of my list of most athletic nba players. I typically think of dudes in the dunk contest when I think of most athletic nba players. So its really just my opinion. We all have one.
 
You know what, on second thought I think he is kind of like a young Dwight Howard.
 
FWIW, I have been one of the biggest Kessler cheerleaders on this site. Been in numerous arguments with people hating on him. I like him a lot. Just dont think he will be entering the dunk contest anytime soon.
 
Tony Jones said:
How high you jump isn’t the barometer of how athletic you are, so that’s probably where the difference is
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Its A barometer. It certainly isn't the only one though. And I never said it was. We are comparing him against nba players however and leaping ability is a common barometer among NBA players imo. And one that isn't his strength.
So when you said there is NOTHING unathletic about him I think maybe that was incorrect. I think his inability to get his feet high off the court is one unathletic thing about him. I also dont think he is speed demon.
 
fishonjazz said:
Its A barometer. It certainly isn't the only one though. And I never said it was. We are comparing him against nba players however and leaping ability is common among NBA players imo. And one that isn't his strength.
So when you said there is NOTHING unathletic about him I think maybe that was incorrect. I think his inability to get his feet high off the court is one unathletic thing about him. I also dont think he is speed demon.
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I don’t know for his size he seems to get off the floor pretty well for blocks and he moves extremely well for a big man. It is all relative.
 
Elizah Huge said:
I don’t know for his size he seems to get off the floor pretty well for blocks and he moves extremely well for a big man. It is all relative.
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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.
 
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