NOVEMBER 1, 10:26am: Only $90MM of Gobert’s $102MM extension is fully guaranteed, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, who tweets that the deal features $3MM annually in incentives.
OCTOBER 31, 6:20pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
4:21pm: The Jazz and Rudy Gobert have reached an agreement in principle on a four-year, $102MM contract extension, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. The projected average annual salary of $25.5MM is quite a leap from the $2,121,287 Gobert is earning this season. There is no word yet on whether the new pact contains any options, player or team.
By locking up Gobert now, Utah will avoid the player hitting restricted free agency next July, where he would have likely been able to land an offer sheet in the $110MM range, Wojnarowski notes. The deal is for slightly less than the max, which will save the Jazz approximately $8MM-$10MM over the life of the pact, the scribe adds. While Gobert almost assuredly preferred to reach an agreement on an extension, he would have been willing to test the waters as a restricted free agent next offseason if no deal was struck, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter link).
Gobert was selected with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft and has quickly developed into one of the most intimidating rim-protectors in the game. The 24-year-old appeared in 61 games a season ago for the Jazz, averaging 9.1 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.5 blocks in 31.7 minutes per outing. His slash line was .559/.000/.569. In three contests this season, Gobert has notched 11.0 PPG, 12.0 RPG and 2.7 BPG.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.