Rudy Gobert, the NBA man, will sign a five-year $ 205 million extension with the Utah Jazz, he told ESPN after agreeing to the biggest deal for a center in league history.
“It means they believe in me,” Gobert told ESPN. “They believe in what we have built over the years with this whole organization, with Coach [Quin Snyder] and all the boys. It’s an incredible blessing to me. It is a very motivating feeling to know that we all share the same vision and we all share this goal for this state and for this franchise. “
Gobert, 28, was eligible for a $ 228 million supermax extension – identical to the deal Giannis Antetokounmpo just signed with the Milwaukee Bucks – because he is a two-time defensive player of the year and three times All-NBA selection. Gobert said he did not request the full supermax because he wanted Jazz to have the flexibility to continue to build around co-star Donovan Mitchell and himself.
“For me, my goal is to always win a championship,” said Gobert, who has a player option for the fifth season of the deal. “When I talked to my agent before the negotiations started, I decided I didn’t want to ask for supermax. I didn’t want to start negotiations asking for supermax. For me, it was important to show the organization and show the team that it’s not about money. It was it’s about continuing to build what I’ve built and also giving this team and giving me stability and peace of mind so I don’t have to deal with negotiations later.
“I want to win and I feel like leaving this money on the table for the team just to be able to have a better talent around me and Donovan was really important. I want to win and I believe in this group and I believe in this organization and I have I was willing to leave that money on the table for them. “
Gobert’s contract is the third-largest deal in NBA history, behind Antetokounmpo’s newly signed agreement and a $ 206.8 million five-year deal that Washington Wizards goalkeeper Russell Westbrook signed with Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017.
Jazz has blocked both cornerstones of the All-Star franchise in long-term extensions this season. 24-year-old shooting guard Donovan Mitchell signed a maximum five-year extension of his rookie contract worth $ 163 million, with a 30% clause that would increase the total transaction value to $ 195. million dollars if the NBA Team is selected this season.
There were well-documented tensions between Gobert and Mitchell that emerged during the NBA break earlier this year, but both players expressed confidence that they can continue to form a productive professional partnership after discussing their issues before the league resumes. This belief was reaffirmed by their bubble chemistry.
“After all the things that happened in our team and all that, I really wanted to go back to the balloon and see how things went,” Gobert said. “After the balloon, I really felt like I could win a championship with Donovan. I think we’ve both grown a lot and will continue to grow. I’m very excited that we can continue this journey together.”
Gobert became one of the most dominant big men in the NBA during the seven seasons in Utah, which traded with the 27th general election in the 2013 draft to select the 7-foot-1 Frenchman and distributed in what was then called League D for most of his debut season.
“Rudy’s vision as a player on the field through his competitiveness, relentless work ethic and passion and dedication to improvement has been extraordinary,” Snyder wrote in a message to ESPN. “He is an elite player and has an impact on our team in so many ways, with his unique skill set, not to mention his pure will to win. He also has great faith in his teammates and I am even more proud of how Rudy has grown personally and the impact he has had on our community and around the world.His commitment to young people and others has been so satisfying to see and I know will continue to make its mark in significant ways. “
Gobert, who is entering the final season of a four-year, $ 102 million contract, has been an All-NBA national team for three of the last four seasons and has been named the league’s defensive player in 2017-18 and 2018-19. He averaged 14.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game during the four-season Jazz series with berths in the postseason, being a mainstay of the franchise’s transformation into a 25-win team of his rookie year in a perennial playoff team.
“Utah is home to me,” said Gobert, who launched the Rudy’s Kids Foundation in 2017 to help disadvantaged children in Salt Lake City, any other NBA city, and his hometown of Saint-Quentin, France. “I see myself as a loyal person. I’ve had so many people say to me, ‘Why don’t I go to a bigger market?’ “I always tell people that winning a championship in Utah and creating our heritage in Utah would mean so much more.
“I think Donovan thinks the same way, coach Q thinks the same way, [new Jazz owner] Ryan Smith thinks the same. We really want to build something and create something and create our own path. We want to do something that has never happened before, and for me, that’s the interesting part of it. I think we’re going to win a championship in Utah. “
ESPN’s Bobby Marks contributed to this report.