Rudy Gobert's contract looms large over Wolves' future

Gobert has a player option for 2025-26 for $46.65 million

May 30, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) warms up before game five of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports / Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

The Wolves currently have the second-highest payroll in the entire league at just over $200 million, according to USA Today. That places them well above second apron of the luxury tax, which has greatly restricted Minnesota's ability to add pieces to a roster that went the Western Conference finals this season.

With stars like Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid locked in for the foreseeable future, it appears the Wolves’ difficulty in roster building will only continue. However, Rudy Gobert’s impending extension could actually provide some relief to the organization.

According to The Athletic’s John Hollinger, Gobert is eligible for a four-year, $243 million extension. But will Minnesota offer him that kind of money or let the situation play itself out when Gobert has the option to pick up or decline his $46.65 million option in 2025-26?

In a recent look at the next moves to expect across the NBA, Hollinger writes that the Wolves’ situation will be interesting to see if they can “slowly land the plane on the back half of [Gobert’s] career by signing an extension that massages their impending giant luxury tax bill.”

According to Hollinger, the most “palatable exits from their current cap situation” is Gobert opting out of the final year of his current deal and signing for a more manageable number. He notes that a new deal with around $100 million in new money would drop Gobert’s cap number to $32.5 million in 2025-26.

That $14.5 million could be key as Minnesota could also be involved in extension talks with Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.