Almost all of the news Auburn University got on past, present, and future athletes was good on Wednesday. Whether it was former players getting paid and upgrading their team, current players arriving on campus, or future players announcing their commitments, it was pretty much all good news.
Well, besides 4-star cornerback Tae Walden choosing the Oregon Ducks. Even still, there was more than enough good news to go around.
Let's take a look at all the good things that happened to the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday:
Lakers land Walker Kessler for massive haul
It became very clear how valuable Walker Kessler is in the NBA on Wednesday. The Los Angeles Lakers sold the farm to land the former Naismith and NABC Defensive Player of the Year in free agency.
The Utah Jazz sent Kessler to LA in a sign-and-trade that landed the big man $130 million over four years. Utah received unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, along with pick swaps in 2028 and 2030.
Now, Kessler will serve as the anchor of the defense for a Lakers team that looks very weak in that area. He'll also find easy buckets aplenty from Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves lobs. Kessler was the perfect pivot complement for LA, though the team becoming a contender now lies on Rob Pelinka finding good wing defenders to cover for Luka.
Good luck with that, Lakers. The former Auburn man was a great start for LA's front office, though, even if their other moves on Wednesday were underwhelming.
Auburn's international basketball recruits arrive on campus
Another big piece of news on Wednesday in Lee County, Alabama, was the arrival of international basketball recruits French big man Narcisse Ngoy, a literal Los Angeles Clippers draft pick from April's 2026 NBA draft, and Lithuanian wing Mantas Rubštavičius.
Ngoy's arrival had taken a while and had many worried about his status. He's a Tiger, and he'll have another international NBA hopeful from abroad joining him.
No worries here. Actually, the opposite. AU got a lot better by adding two pro-adjacent players.
Marquis 'MJ' Evans chooses Auburn over Miami, South Carolina, and Tennessee
4-star EDGE Marquis "MJ" Evans, a Birmingham-area product from Spain Park High School, is joining Alex Golesh's loaded 2027 class. Evans is now the third EDGE in the class and the second-highest rated behind James Pace III.
Evans went with the Tigers over the Miami Hurricanes, South Carolina Gamecocks, and Tennessee Volunteers. He chose home, which is something that probably prevents any flips. Evans' destiny is to run out onto Pat Dye Field wearing the Orange and Blue.
Brendan Valdes is deemed cancer-free
In easily the best news of the day, former Auburn golfer Brendan Valdes was deemed cancer-free after a primary mediastinal lymphoma diagnosis earlier this year, per 247 Sports' Christian Clemente.
Per Clemente, "Valdes is beginning prep to resume his pro career on the Korn Ferry Tour, aiming to be fully back in January."
Here's to Valdes making a full recovery and resuming his golf career after beating cancer. War Damn to that.
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