Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz holds the ball in Game 5 of the NBA Western Conference First-Round playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at The Field House in Orlando, Florida, August 25, 2020. /CFP
Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz did not ask for a super maximum contact extension, which starts with 35 percent of the salary cap, said ESPN's Tim MacMahon on ESPN Podcast Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective on Thursday.
That's just the most recent interesting twist in contract negotiations between Gobert and Utah.
In the past week, many sports media outlets reported that Gobert wanted a five-year, $228-million deal from the Jazz. Despite the fact that he's qualified for it according to the designated veteran player rule and his important role on the team, Gobert's request put Utah in quite a dilemma.
Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz blocks a shot by Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference First-Round playoffs at AdventHealth Arena in Orlando, Florida, August 19, 2020. /CFP
Gobert's current contract, which is worth about $25.8 million in the 2020-21 season, is coming to an end next summer. If the Jazz do not extend his deal before December 21, the French giant will become an unrestricted free agent. After Giannis Antetokounmpo decided to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks, Gobert will become one of the few big fish on the free agent market and teams with enough salary space will chase him with all kinds of generous offers. The Jazz do not have enough reasons to be confident to compete with the Miami Heat or the Dallas Mavericks.
Meanwhile, Gobert is an integral member of the Jazz. As a two-time Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), the French seven-footer is the pillar of the team's defensive system and one of the major reasons for them never missing the playoffs in the past four seasons. Last season, Gobert's Real Plus-Minus was 4.07, 10th in the league – ninth was Luka Doncic and 11th Jayson Tatum. In the big man circle, only Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic were better than Gobert.
L-R: Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic and Joe Ingles of the Utah Jazz. /CFP
Moreover, the Jazz are in a good position for the competition among second-layer teams in the Western Conference. Their current lineup meets the trend of today's basketball. They have a big-man finisher (Gobert) in the paint, surrounded by two orchestrators (Mike Conley and Joe Ingles), one dead-eye shooter (Bojan Bogdanovic) and a top 10 scorer (Donovan Mitchell) of the league. All four can stretch out the floor and launch offense on screen plays.
On Utah's bench, Royce O'Neale is a first-class wing defender; Jordan Clarkson is a legit candidate for Sixth Man of the Year for his scoring ability. The team also got Derrick Favors back, making sure that they won't have a defensive vacuum under the rim for 48 minutes.
Compared with Utah, the Denver Nuggets watched Jerami Grant, Torrey Craig and Mason Plumlee leave, which made a painful loss defensively. The Dallas Mavericks will have to wait for a period of time until Kristaps Porzingis recovers. Neither the Portland Trail Blazers nor the Golden State Warriors share Utah's bench depth. The Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Pelicans still need time to pull their squads together.
Donovan Mitchell #45 and Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz talk to each other in the game against the Indiana Pacers at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, January 20, 2020. /CFP
Considering all the factors above, the Jazz are looking at their best chance of making the Conference Finals this season. Of course they need Gobert to stay focused on the game, not his contract.
However, Gobert is absolutely not worth a super-max deal, which only players like Stephen Curry, James Harden and Antetokounmpo can sign without people pointing fingers at them.
Moreover, Gobert's playoff performance is not exactly helpful in his contract extension. In the four lost series of Utah, Gobert looked like a broken puppet in front of off-the-dribble shooters like Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, James Harden or big man who can pop out after setting screens like Jokic.
Chris Paul (L) of the Houston Rockets shoots the ball in front of Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Semifinals atToyota Center in Houston, Texas, April 29, 2018. /CFP
They are all in the West, together with more of their kind: Marc Gasol, Anthony Davis, Serge Ibaka, Jamal Murray, Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Porzingis, Devin Booker, D'Angelo Russell, Karl Anthony-Towns and Bradley Beal.
Are the Jazz really paying Gobert over $40 million every year just to watch him become a defensive liability in the playoffs, not to mention that the only thing he does in offense is rolling in to dunk. Gobert is useless on offense once he steps out the paint. He is not a good passer, he has post-up skills or shooting range, he does not even know how to do hook shot.
Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets shoots the ball in front of Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference First-Round playoffs at AdventHealth Arena, September 1, 2020. /CFP
Even if Gobert accepts a smaller contract extension, the Jazz do not have much room to improve because their payroll is already on the edge of explosion thanks to the big deals they gave Bogdanovic and Clarkson. Besides, Mitchell's max contract will start to take effect from the 2021-22 season.
Utah's ceiling is locked from the day they decided to build a team around Mitchell and Gobert. They are good and work hard enough, but their competitors are too much better for them to match.