The Chicago Bulls are set at point guard after signing Josh Giddey to a four-year, $100 million contract. The franchise expects a significant jump from Matas Buzelis in his second NBA season. Decision-makers will get a peek at what Coby White looks like with that pair as he enters the final year of his deal.
The next logical step is to add a shot-blocking, rim-running big man, and the perfect one will be on the market next offseason in Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler.
Per Tony Jones of The Athletic, the Jazz and the 24-year-old couldn't reach an agreement on a contract extension, which means he'll enter next summer as a restricted free agent. That opens the door for Chicago to make him a can't-refuse offer to try to bring him from Utah to the Windy City.
Chicago Bulls should make a push to sign Walker Kessler
At almost 35 years old, Nikola Vucevic isn't the long-term answer for Chicago in the front court. Zach Collins is serviceable but a career backup. Jalen Smith and Lachlan Olbrich are nothing more than end-of-bench rotation players.
Kessler is every bit of 7-feet and 245 pounds with a massive 7'6" wingspan. He's posted 2.3, 2.4 and 2.4 blocks per game, respectively, in his three NBA seasons. The No. 22 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft has swatted 465 shots in just 196 career games. That archetype would mesh perfectly with the Bulls' current core.
Despite standing 6-foot-8, Giddey is a poor point-of-attack defender. White is equally poor on that end of the floor. Buzelis is 6-foot-10, but his physical profile points to an explosive combo forward rather than a typical big man. Kessler would be the perfect shot-gobbler at the basket to cover for Giddey and White and would allow Buzelis, who led the team in blocks last season as a rookie, to clamp down on the opposition's best wing/forward and remain a game-changing help defender.
Chicago just experienced what restricted free agency can be like in today's NBA during its contract standoff with Giddey, but the Bulls will be able to do what no team could with the Aussie this summer and back up the Brinks truck to lure Kessler out of Utah -- Chicago is expected to have the most cap room of any team in the league in 2026.
That means the front office can afford to go all-in on Kessler as an RFA, and, considering their desperate need for a center of Kessler's profile, there's no more logical way to spend it.