Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Since Rudy Gobert made an All-NBA third team and won the Defensive Player of the Year last year, he is eligible for a five-year, $247 million extension from Utah.
As fat as the check would be for the Stifle Tower, he should not take this deal, nor should the Utah Jazz offer it to him. Both teams in the NBA Finals this past year used a center by committee technique, Raptors using Gasol and Ibaka, Warriors using Looney and Cousins.
This much money should not be wrapped up into a center unless it is the team’s best player. For Utah, Gobert is a huge piece of what they are defensively, but his offensive skill has not quite developed yet. If this was Embiid looking at this deal, I would reconsider signing him, because he adds skill on both sides of the ball.
But for the Jazz, this deal would lock them into defensive-minded Gobert for a long time. He is a very good defender, one of the best, but once again the money seems wild. Utah already has a hard enough time of drawing free agents, paying this money to Gobert would make it more difficult to sign other players, it also could make it difficult to retain some of the key role players that have helped bring success for the Jazz.
For Gobert, the money is great, but to help field a championship contending team around him, he should not take this deal to help the Jazz’s cap situation.