Lakers Not Committed to Walker Kessler's Preseason Debut

The Los Angeles Lakers are not yet committed to whether new franchise center Walker Kessler will make his preseason debut on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors. Kessler has missed all three exhibition games thus far due to a jammed finger sustained during training camp.

“I would say we’re not committed to that,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said Saturday at Lakers practice. Redick explained that Kessler participated in the beginning of Saturday’s practice but re-aggravated the injury during a drill. He was able to complete the rest of the practice session with modifications, avoiding live-action drills.

"We’ll see [Sunday] if he can do live," Redick added. The Lakers have one more exhibition game after Tuesday before their regular season opener on October 21st. This limited time frame puts pressure on the team to evaluate their new acquisition.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding his immediate return, Redick emphasized that Kessler's injury is not a cause for concern. "Yeah, he’s fine,” Redick stated.

In other injury news, Redick indicated that Collin Sexton is progressing slower than Kessler in his recovery from a lower leg issue. Arthur Kaluma was able to practice on Saturday, while Ziaire Williams continues to manage a foot contusion, which Redick also described as not being a concern.

Kessler was acquired by the Lakers in a sign-and-trade deal from Utah, involving two unprotected first-round draft picks and two first-round pick swaps. He was subsequently signed to a four-year, $130 million contract.

Luka Doncic expressed his enthusiasm about sharing the floor with Kessler once he is healthy. "I’m very excited,” Doncic said Saturday. “Obviously, kind of involved, not signing him. but there was a lot of communication with [Lakers general manager and president of basketball operations] Rob [Pelinka] and JJ about him, so I’m very excited to just share the floor with him.”