The Minnesota Timberwolves plant the French big man for the long haul! The 4x DPOY Award winner Rudy Gobert withstands criticisms and extends his stay with the Wolves, but at what cost? Heading into the 2024 off-season, critics were all over Gobert, pinpointing his shortcomings as a defender, especially after his match-up with Nikola Jokić in the postseason. Despite all the scrutiny, the franchise went on to trust him and extend his contract for three more years.

Is that it? Or did the big man sacrifice the dough to aid Alex Rodriguez & Co.? Let’s find out. Rudy Gobert came into the side ahead of the 2022-23 season with four years left in his previous contract that offered an average salary of $41 million. Heading into the 2024-25 season, the star center had a $46.6 million player option available. Surprisingly, the hooper declined it and signed a three-year contract worth $110 million, per Shams Charania, with an average salary of $36 million.

Why did he sacrifice $10 million with his latest contract? There’s a high possibility that this fresh contract could be a helping hand to the team’s tax situation. Without a doubt, the Wolves are way above the tax slab. In fact, second in the league, paying about $51 million in the previous season. Moreover, Jon Krawczynski, a veteran reporter covering the Wolves, said that the Minnesota side is prepared to pay the tax for the current season as well, considering the team’s lofty championship aspirations.

Last season, Anthony Edwards and Co. made a deep playoff run, reaching the Conference Finals for the first time in two decades. Now, the team has made two big changes to the roster, replacing their trusted hooper Karl-Anthony Towns with Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. This abruptly hints that they are least worried about the tax penalty. However, at the same time, the front office seemingly gets help from Rudy Gobert, as he agreed to sacrifice at least $5 million annually for the next three years.

Amid the paycheck sacrifice, will Rudy Gobert shut down his critics?

Undoubtedly, Rudy Gobert is one of the important assets for the Wolves, especially during the regular season. It’s unfair to judge his skills only after his match-up with Nikola Jokic. The 7 ‘1 well-built big man can be a pure menace to the rim, rejecting buckets. The big man recorded 162 blocks in the previous season, averaging 2.1 blocks per game.

However, this wasn’t enough for the critics, especially Shaquille O’Neal, as he constantly went after him. Even during the Paris Olympics, the Frenchman went through a lot of scrutiny. Teaming up with Victor Wembanyama, fans had a lot of expectations for the Twin Towers to dominate the court. Unfortunately, Vincent Collet had other ideas, as he benched Gobert for a majority of the minutes.

Following that, the trolls doubled down further on the big man. Shaq said, “If you sign a contract for [$250 million], show me you’re 250… So you got guys like him that f— the system over and they’re making all this money and they can’t f——g play. So I don’t respect guys like that.” and even called him the “worst.” Even though Rudy Gobert called out Big Diesel with a tweet, the hooper needs to prove it on the court, which he most likely will.

For those thinking about the Wolves’ ownership battle, a recent update via Shams suggested that the community should witness a decision “within a month”.

“And what’s interesting is I’m hearing that Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore have $940 million sitting in a JP Morgan account to be wired to Glen Taylor to finish this purchase of the team. Not only to get just their 60-70% share but to buy the team 100% in full from Glen Taylor,” Charania concluded.