Warriors should look to extinguish 7-foot hole with recent Rookie of the Year candidate

Since the Golden State Warriors traded James Wiseman at last year's mid-season deadline, the franchise has failed to possess any player on their roster standing above 6'10".

Not that Wiseman was providing anything substantial anyway, but it does illustrate a major hole for the Warriors who have been susceptible to the league's dominant big men. Take three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, for example, who averaged 31.8 points, 13 rebounds and 9.8 assists in four games against Golden State this season -- numbers that were all above his season averages.

The reported availability of Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler should intrigue the Golden State Warriors given their lack of genuine size

It remains to be seen whether Golden State will address their lack of genuine size this offseason, or if they're comfortable with young center Trayce Jackson-Davis whose athleticism can somewhat compensate for his 6'9" height.

If the Warriors do want to pursue a genuine seven-footer though, there may be suitable options available on the trade market. Milwaukee Bucks center and 2021 NBA champion Brook Lopez may be their best option as proposed here, but perhaps they could also go to the other side of the experience spectrum with one of the league's best young shot-blockers.

According to Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer on Friday, "rival teams believe Utah is willing to engage in trade talks that would part ways with Jazz second-year center Walker Kessler." That's quite a shocking development given Kessler was All-Rookie First Team and third in Rookie of the Year voting just over 12 months ago.

While most of his numbers actually dropped slightly in his second season, Kessler still averaged 8.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 23.3 minutes per game. Should he be truly available at a reasonable price, the Warriors should certainly hold some interest in the 7'1" big man whose still under team control for a further two seasons at less than $8 million total.

Having two young centers in Kessler and Jackson-Davis on the same roster could be a little awkward, but the risk would be mitigated given the pair's measly salaries. Head coach Steve Kerr often liked to have multiple center options available back in the Kevin Durant era, and having both Kessler and Jackson-Davis would likely ensure 48 minutes of strong center play. Additionally, it could also lessen the burden on Draymond Green needing to play at the five more than he otherwise would.

Adding Kessler would likely mean the end for veteran big man Kevon Looney, but the three-time champion may be a trade piece anyway with the Warriors expected to fully guarantee his $8 million deal for next season.