NBA : Rudy Gobert agrees to 5-year, $205 million extension with Utah Jazz

All-NBA big man Rudy Gobert will sign a five-year, $205 million contract extension with the Utah Jazz, NBA insider Shams Charania broke the news first. The deal includes player option for fifth year.

The French man created history after agreeing to the largest deal for a center in league history. Gobert spoke to media after agreeing the new deal, “It means that they believe in me,” Gobert told ESPN. “They believe in what we’ve been building over the years with this whole organization, with Coach [Quin Snyder] and all the guys. For me, it’s an incredible blessing. It’s 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 supermax extension worth $228 million — 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-time All-NBA selection. Gobert said he did not request the full supermax because he wanted the Jazz to have flexibility to continue building around co-star Donovan Mitchell and him.

The kid from Saint-Quentin is staying in SLC ❤️ pic.twitter.com/z6gtZrb5yv

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) December 20, 2020

“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 we spoke with my agent before the negotiations started, I decided that I didn’t want to ask for the supermax. We didn’t want to start the negotiations by asking for the supermax. For me, it was important to show to the organization and show to the team that it wasn’t about money. It was about continuing to build what we’ve been building and also give this team and give myself the stability and the peace of mind to not have to deal with the 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 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 was willing to leave that money on the table for them.”

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

Rudy Gobert wrote a heartfelt Letter to Utah fans :