The Timberwolves and center Rudy Gobert have agreed to a three-year, $110MM extension, Shams Charania of ESPN tweets.
It’s an unexpected development, considering Minnesota traded away Gobert’s frontcourt partner, Karl-Anthony Towns, this offseason at the start of Towns’ max extension.
Gobert, 32, is scheduled to make $43,827,587 this season on his current deal. He had a $46,655,173 option for the 2025/26 season, so Gobert declined that option and took a smaller annual average in order to lock into two more years. The final season in the extension will include a player option, Charania adds (Twitter link). The extension will also include a trade kicker.
Minnesota will get some cap relief with Gobert declining that option, giving it more flexibility to make moves next offseason. Julius Randle and Naz Reid, the team’s other main frontcourt players, could possibly become free agents if they decline their options next summer.
Gobert is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, the fourth time he’s won the award. After a rocky first season with the organization following the blockbuster deal between Minnesota and Utah, Gobert settled in last season and played an integral role on a team which reached the Western Conference Finals.
Gobert is also one of the more durable players in the league by current standards. He hasn’t appeared in fewer than 66 regular-season games since the 2018/19 season.
Last season, he made 76 starts and averaged 14 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. He also started 15 postseason games, averaging 12.1 points and 9.8 rebounds.
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