The Utah Jazz couldn’t win Rudy Gobert’s extension

The Utah Jazz didn’t really have much of a choice when it came time to extend Rudy Gobert, but does his long-term commitment bring them closer to a title?

Players eligible for a supermax extension are typically handed that contract as soon as possible and sign it just as quickly. Then again, those same players, from Stephen Curry to James Harden to the recently inked Giannis Antetokounmpo, offer a significant chunk of their influence at the offensive end. The side that has traditionally earned the big bucks is opposite the domain Rudy Gobert has established en route to his eligibility.

Even without a supermax coming his way, Gobert’s time with the Utah Jazz was never in question amid extension talks. Only up for debate was the middle ground the two sides would have to meet on to appease the other. As first reported by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, that compromise turned out to be $205 million over five years.

“What Gobert does so much is raise Utah’s floor,” wrote The Athletic’s Tony Jones. “You can reasonably expect the Jazz to be a 50-win team for as long as he’s in his prime.”

A floor-raiser isn’t exactly the most glowing attribute to assign a player who just inked a nine-figure extension. But that’s exactly the type of impact Gobert has made in Utah and what the franchise has grown accustomed to.

After a postseason drought from 2013-16, the Jazz sought someone to help get them trending in the right direction. While Donovan Mitchell took the torch abandoned by Gordon Hayward, it was Gobert who kept the ship steady during that transitional period and has held that position ever since.

Only once did Utah’s defense slip outside the top three over the last four years thanks to Gobert’s stifling interior presence. He took home two Defensive Player of the Year awards, becoming an All-Star and All-NBA player with averages of 14.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks a game during that span.

The Jazz became fixtures in the Western Conference playoff picture with four straight appearances, even making consecutive second-round appearances in 2017 and 2018.

Teams that build from the ground up as Utah has can’t immediately be thinking title. They have to work in steps. Simply making the playoffs is usually the first. Gobert played a large part in that, earning his four-year, $102 million extension signed in 2016 in the process.

But by raising their floor as a perennial playoff participant, the Jazz are also in the market for ways to expand their ceiling. With a foundational duo in place, they planned to rise above the west once Golden State’s time ran out, only to watch both LA teams and the Nuggets leapfrog them in the standings. They’ve stagnated since with back-to-back first-round exits, including a blown 3-1 lead against their mountain rival in the bubble.

Typically when a title-pursuing team stalls across multiple seasons, the answer lies around the margins. It’s the supporting cast that needs an upgrade because the inherent belief is that if a team thinks it’s good enough to go after a championship, they’ve already checked the ultimate prerequisite, which is star power.

In a data-driven age where everything is quantifiable, defensive efforts are appreciated more than ever before. Thanks to those metrics, Gobert graded out as a superstar in 2020 with top marks in categories like win shares (fifth) and VORP (12th).

But basketball’s most valuable will always lie in the players who produce the components necessary for victories, not those who prevent it. Gobert can set thousands of screen assists and post a sparkling field goal percentage. Limited range and creative constraints will forever keep him from the impact that drives contenders.

Those restrictions weren’t a problem when the Jazz were only just getting comfortable in the playoff picture and Gobert was 46th in individual salary. Utah is no longer content with the pleasantries of familiarity, but the guy masquerading as a leading man just signed the third-biggest contract in NBA history, leaving only so much room for improvement.

Trading Gobert or ultimately letting him walk in the summer of 2021 would’ve likely done more harm for the Jazz than good. There isn’t exactly a return package out there that would bring back commensurate value for an All-Star caliber big and perhaps the league’s top interior defender. All the cap space in the world won’t attract a free agent of or exceeding Gobert’s level to Salt Lake City.

Keeping the asset was the most logical decision for the organization. It also hamstrings them at a time when mobility is necessary.

Donovan Mitchell wasn’t turning down $195 million just to enter restricted free agency and wind up back in Utah anyway. Fast forward to the player option he has in 2025 and Mitchell’s commitment to the team that drafted him might not be as strong if the Jazz have done little to break free from the status quo.

Only two players this century have won Defensive Player of the Year and brought home the title in the same season. This is not to suggest causality, but it’s worth considering what some of the top individual defenders contribute to the ultimate goal when serving as a cog to their team’s success — hence the volume of opportunity to earn the honor — instead of a piece to a larger puzzle.

Ask yourself how coincidental is it that the two exceptions, Kevin Garnett (2008) and Draymond Green (2017), both played alongside Hall of Fame scoring options.

The Toronto Raptors can attest to the growing staleness upper mediocrity brings. The excitement of ending a five-year playoff drought in 2014 soured when it was clear where their ceiling lied after consecutive second-round sweeps several years later.

Toronto saw a rare opportunity that offered one last shot at a title and took it by swapping DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard. Well before the results of the season were determined, it was a hail-mary move they were right to pounce on in an attempt to leap for the stars or tumble to the cellars trying.

Gobert is now the highest-paid center of all time. That’s a lofty standard only a handful of current players can live up to. He isn’t one of them, which means it’s not going to get the Jazz any closer to a title. All Utah can now hope for is the chance to make the blockbuster move that does.