Auburn basketball fans were as shocked as the rest of the NBA world when they found out that Walker Kessler was part of the package used by the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire Rudy Gobert. The Utah Jazz, who were eliminated in the first round of the 2022 Western Conference playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks, is the new home for Walker Kessler.
Kessler now joins a Jazz team that could be up to something bigger, having recently traded away Royce O’Neal to the Brooklyn Nets for a draft pick, having now traded away several of their biggest contracts. It’s possible that Utah could be looking to get aim for Deandre Ayton sign-and-trade as part of a multi-team deal involving the Phoenix Suns acquiring Kevin Durant.
The seven-foot-one center, for now, will join a promising core that features Donovan Mitchell and should aim to become the shot-blocking force that Gobert was in the paint when he became a former 3x Defensive Player of the Year. Of course, Kessler himself was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, so that’s not something unattainable for the former Tiger.
Auburn basketball fans took to Twitter to react to the shocking blockbuster deal what it means for one of the greatest Tigers big men in program history, having now technically been traded twice already after the Memphis Grizzlies traded away his draft rights on draft night:
Walker Kessler has been on more NBA teams than Michael Jordan and he got drafted 8 days ago
— Kyle (@AllAubarn) July 1, 2022
Walker Kessler to Utah? Alright then. At least he got some memorable pictures from his time in Minnesota… https://t.co/nfownfzTiB
— Jay Phillips (@aubawn) July 1, 2022
Walker Kessler — Grizzlies, Timberwolves and Jazz legend
— Justin Hokanson (@_JHokanson) July 1, 2022
and yet to play a game in the league https://t.co/Jm9xlN9vYG
Walker Kessler has been traded to the Utah Jazz. There is no jazz in Utah. #auburn #wareagle
— War Blogle (@WarBlogle) July 1, 2022
Walker Kessler might be on every Western Conference roster before the season even starts https://t.co/Z1CjDizks4
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) July 1, 2022
Former Auburn basketball Walker Kessler will be a rich man regardless
Wherever he ends up by the time the season actually starts, Walker Kessler will be a highly-compensated professional regardless.
Kessler’s rookie-scale deal is for four years and pays out an upwards of $13 million. NBA contracts essentially lock a player up to the team that drafted him for seven to eight years, but clearly, no player is ever bound to the team that drafted him.