By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
An agreement between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Rudy Gobert is in place.
Gobert, 32, will pen a three-year contract extension worth 110 million dollars, as Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Tuesday evening.
Per his previous contract, the French center will make 43,827,586 dollars during the 2024-25 season. However, he will decline a player option for the 2025-26 season, worth 46,655,172 dollars, to sign a contract extension, which averages approximately 36.6 million dollars per season.
Apparently, the agreement was impacted by the desire of the player to create salary cap space and facilitate potential moves to strengthen the bid to contend for an NBA championship.
The new contract, lasting until the end of the 2027-28 season, includes a player option for the last season and a trade kicker.
Shortly following the news about a contract extension, Gobert posted a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double in the opener of the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season. He added two assists and one block over 35 minutes as the team coached by Chris Finch lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, 110-103, in crypto.com Arena.
Last season, the experienced big became a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, following the nods in 2018, 2019, and 2021 as the rim protector of the Utah Jazz. A three-time NBA All-Star between 2020 and 2022, a member of the All-NBA Second Team in 2017, and placed in the Third Team in 2019, 2020, and 2021, he went into an extended postseason run with the Wolves, reaching the Western Conference Finals of the 2024 NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel.