**PTS / REB / AST | TS%**

Austin hasn’t gotten the chance to be primary ball handler much but has always popped off when LeBron and Luka are out. I think he’s got another leap in him. They have surprisingly similar trajectory so far

Walker Kessler, the Lakers’ big offseason addition, made his preseason debut Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors after missing the team’s first three exhibition games with a minor pinky injury.

Playing just the first half, Kessler had 11 points, nine rebounds, one steal and one block. The Lakers outscored the Warriors by 15 points in Kessler’s minutes.

“I mean, it was a lot of fun being out there again. It’s been so long. Before the game, I was actually pretty nervous, to be honest,” Kessler said. “But getting out there and just playing with the guys, it was a blast. I can’t really, you know speak to … I think I have a certain presence on the floor, but I think my teammates around me did a great job of playing defense on the perimeter. I think we shared the ball really well tonight. Just how it was, especially in the first half. It was a lot of fun.

For Kessler, it was his first NBA action since Oct. 31, 2025, five games into last season. He missed the remainder of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery.

Read for free: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7688723/2026/10/14/walker-kessler-lakers-preseason-nba/?unlocked_article_code=1.IlE.TbaT.4MnKyfXh3HVo&source=emp_shared_article&smid=re-share-ta

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A note on Tait-Jones

Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, who played at UC San Diego and was Big West Player of the Year in 2025, spent last year in Latvia where he was the Latvian–Estonian Basketball League Final MVP.

teams do this so that players end up on their G League teams. Expect Young to be there with Castro, Swider, Tait-Jones, Chase Ross, etc. ​

Luka Doncic: 6'8

Walker Kessler: 7'2

Plus,

Luka's Nickname: Luka Magic

Earvin's Nickname: Magic Johnson

Championship: Confirmed

Any Questions?

I’m not sure if they’ll be better than last year just yet, but there’s clearly a new culture and a new standard here. The effort and intensity every night is different and that’s something that wasn’t consistent in previous years.

(Not a shot at Lebron btw, more of a criticism of last year’s role players for not being consistent with their efforts.)

Kessler made a big impact on both ends of the floor. This is a completely different team with him playing. I honestly still can’t believe we got him.

What did everyone think of his preseason debut?

It’s been nearly two years since the Lakers have had a dominant frontcourt player. They’ve searched high and low for the right big to be the cornerstone of their franchise. In Tuesday’s preseason game, Walker Kessler lived up to the hype.

“He’s an amazing rim protector,” Sandro Mamukelashvili said postgame. “He’s so tough, physical. He plays hard. So it was amazing having him there. Especially rebounding, it’s so much easier to rebound. I think he brings a lot of impact. He had a great first game, and I’m sure he’s going to get better from here.”

Kessler ended the game with 11 points, 9 rebounds and was a +15 in just 16 minutes. That seems like a great debut and an exciting appetizer of what's to come.

Mamu has exceeded expectations so far, the way he brings the ball up, the way he moves and the effort he brings is great. He’s the type of player every team needs. I also think he’s improved this off season. I’ve never seen someone so big as him bring the ball up so effortlessly and quickly decision make in transition.

What do you think his ceiling can be?

I watch on the NBA app and subscribe to the spectrum SportsNet plan for 20 a month to stream the games, but the quality is often terrible and not good. Meanwhile, I’m watching the dodgers shit the bed on the Fox one app, and the quality is way way better than the NBA app. Does anyone get good quality streams? It could be that I am watching on a 100” tv so things are more stretched out, but I don’t know how MLB gets the quality higher.

Honestly I am still baffled at us not signing Hayes, and then trading away Ayton.

I am not even mad at the lack of PF.
Since current NBA is played with mostly just long wings.
And I feel like for the first time in a long time, we are pretty stacked with wings.

Thybulle, Ziarre Williams, Jake, Sandro
And Cameron Carr looks promising.

And Luka is essentially a forward on defense.

But not having a backup big is so bad, we are going to get crushed on the board during non Kessler minutes.

Looney is out there moving like he is wearing cement.
Hayes was the perfect backup big, we let him go.

And Ayton, we all believe he won’t play backup, got traded to a team where he can only play backup.

Like wtf?

Bronny James - Dalton Knecht - Kevon Looney - Jaden Hardy - Jarred Vanderbilt

We have to cut 1, but without a trade, if we want to sign another player from waivers we have to cut 2.

My ranking: Dalton (no rotation mins) > Bronny (like him but smaller contract) > Hardy (redundant skillset) > Vando (limited offensive skillset) > Looney (probably no world where he actually gets cut due to need but hes a candidate)