Sexton questionable, Kessler irreplaceable: the Lakers open the year with no center depth to spare

Collin Sexton is listed as questionable heading into the opener, and on its own that would be a minor preseason footnote. On this roster, it lands differently. The Lakers enter 2026–27 with Walker Kessler as their only center who has logged meaningful minutes — no viable backup, no safety net behind him. I wrote in October that cutting Dalton Knecht was the front office doubling down on Kessler as a one-man solution at the five. That bet looked aggressive then. With Sexton's status uncertain and the injury list already moving before tip-off, it looks thinner now.

The center situation is the sharpest edge of a broader fragility. Kessler's shoulder cleared in time for training camp, and the Lakers paid four future first-round picks to get him here. He has to stay healthy. There is no Plan B on the depth chart — the next center with any real playing time simply does not exist on this roster. If Kessler misses even a week, the Lakers are sliding Mamukelashvili or LaRavia into uncomfortable spots, which is not a rotation adjustment so much as a structural collapse.

Sexton's questionable tag is a separate thread, but it matters for the same reason everything matters on a thin roster: there is no slack. Reaves and Doncic will carry the offensive load regardless, and Grimes and Thybulle give the backcourt some body count. But the guard depth behind that top two is already modest. Adding a health question to it on day one is not the start the organization needed, particularly with ownership in transition and the front office still finding its footing.

The next ten days will tell you a lot about how this team absorbs adversity. My read: they can manage a short Sexton absence. A Kessler absence of any length is a different conversation entirely.