Former Auburn big man Walker Kessler is cashing in.
The Lakers landed Kessler from the Utah Jazz in a blockbuster trade that sent unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, along with first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030, to Utah. After the move, Los Angeles locked him into a 4-year, $130 million deal.
Kessler’s Auburn run was short, but it left a mark. After transferring to the Tigers from North Carolina, he played 34 games in his lone season on The Plains and averaged 11.4 points per game while shooting 61% from the field. He also took home the 2021-22 Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year award and set the program record for blocks in a season with 155.
In the NBA, Kessler has built his reputation on the glass and at the rim. Through four seasons, he has become one of the league’s top offensive rebounders, and in the 2024-25 season with Utah, when he was fully healthy, he averaged over 11 points and 12 rebounds per game. He also came close to 3 blocks per contest, trailing only Victor Wembanyama in that category.
Kessler’s new payday puts him in the same financial neighborhood as his former Auburn frontcourt teammate Jabari Smith Jr., who signed a 5-year, $122 million extension with the Houston Rockets last summer.
The timing matters for Auburn, too. Steven Pearl is in the middle of reshaping the roster after the program missed the NCAA Tournament and won the NIT championship, and he has already added multiple transfer portal pieces and international signings, including Narcisse Ngoy, who the Los Angeles Clippers drafted in the recent NBA Draft.
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