Rudy Gobert agrees to a maximum contract extension with Utah Jazz for 5 years and $ 205 million

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NBA giant Rudy Gobert will sign a five-year contract extension with $ 205 million at the Utah Jazz, he told ESPN after agreeing to the largest contract for a center in the history of the league.

“It means they believe in me,” Gobert told ESPN. “They believe in what we have built up over the years with this entire organization, with the coach [Quin Snyder] and all the boys. For me it has been an incredible blessing. It is a very motivating feeling to know that we all share the same vision and that we all share this goal for this state and for this franchise. “

Gobert, 28, was eligible for a supermax extension worth $ 228 million, identical to the deal Giannis Antetokounmpo just signed with the Milwaukee Bucks, being a two-time defensive player of the year and an All-NBA three times. selection. Gobert said he had not requested a full supermax because he wanted the Jazz to have the flexibility to keep building around him and Donovan Mitchell.

“My goal is always to win a championship,” said Gobert, who has a player option for the fifth season of the contract. “When we spoke to my agent before the negotiations started, I decided I didn’t want to ask for the supermax. We didn’t want to start the negotiations by asking about the supermax. For me it was important to show the organization and the team that it wasn’t about money. It was about continuing to build and giving me the stability and peace of mind that I wouldn’t have to negotiate later. “

“I want to win and I’m looking forward to putting this money on the table for the team so I can have more talent around me and Donovan was really important. I want to win, I believe in this group and I believe in it. this organization. I was willing to put that money aside. on the table in front of them. “

Gobert’s contract is the third-largest deal in NBA history, behind Antetokounmpo’s newly signed deal and a five-year, $ 206.8 million deal signed by Washington Wizards point guard Russell Westbrook with the Oklahoma City Thunder . in 2017.

The Jazz closed both franchise cornerstones off-season with extended renewals. Security guard Donovan Mitchell, 24, signed a maximum five-year extension to his rookie contract for a guaranteed value of $ 163 million, with a 30% escalator clause that would increase the deal’s total value to $ 195 million. if he is selected for an All-NB team this season.

There was well-documented tension between Gobert and Mitchell that surfaced during the NBA hiatus earlier this year, but both players expressed confidence that they could continue to form a productive professional partnership after discussing their issues prior to the restart of the competition. That belief was reaffirmed by their chemistry in the bubble.

“After all the things that happened within our team, I really wanted to go back to the bubble to see how it went,” said Gobert. “After the bubble, I really felt like I could win a championship with Donovan. I think we have both grown a lot and we will continue to grow. I am very excited that we can continue this journey together.”

Gobert has become one of the NBA’s most dominant big men during his seven seasons in Utah, acting for the 27th pick in the 2013 draft to select the 7-foot-1 Frenchman and assign him to what he was then called League D for most of its rookie season.

“It was tremendous to see Rudy evolve as a player on the pitch through his competitiveness, his tireless work ethic and his passion and dedication to improve,” Snyder wrote in a text message to ESPN. He is an elite player and influences our team in many ways with his unique skills, let alone his sheer will to win. He also has great confidence in his teammates and what they achieve. I am even more proud of how Rudy Het has grown and the impact it has had on our community and the rest of the world. It was very gratifying to see his commitment to youth and others and I know it will continue to make its mark in a meaningful way. ”

Entering the final season of a $ 102 million four-year deal, Gobert has been an All-NBA pick in three of the past four seasons and was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2017-18 and 2018. -19.

He averaged 14.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game during the Jazz’s four-season series of postseason spots, a mainstay of the franchise’s transformation from a 25-win team in its rookie year to a perpetual playoff team.

“Utah is my home,” said Gobert, who founded his Rudy’s Kids Foundation in 2017 to help underprivileged children in Salt Lake City, all other NBA cities and his hometown of Saint-Quentin, France. “I see myself as a loyal person. A lot of people have said to me, ‘Why don’t you go to a bigger market?’ I always tell people that winning a championship in Utah and creating our legacy here would mean so much more.

“I think Donovan thinks the same way, Coach Q thinks the same way, [el nuevo propietario del Jazz] Ryan Smith he thinks the same way. We really want to build and create our path. We want to do something that has never happened before, and for me, that’s the exciting part too. I think we’re going to win a championship in Utah. “

Bobby Marks ESPN contributed to this report.

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