Rudy Gobert: Utah Jazz Season In Review

Apr 15, 2020, 6:33 PM | Updated: Apr 24, 2020, 3:39 pm

Rudy Gobert - New York Knicks - Utah Jazz...

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) goes up for a dunk over New York Knicks guard Elfrid Payton (6) as the Utah Jazz and the New York Knicks play an NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. Courtesy of Deseret News.

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BY BEN ANDERSON, KSL SPORTS

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The NBA is in a standstill as a result of the coronavirus outbreak that has sidelined professional sports across the globe. With 18 games left to play in the regular season for the Utah Jazz, and a date with the postseason on the line, it’s unclear when or if the season will return.

With game action in a holding pattern, it’s an ideal time to look at each player on the Jazz roster and how they have performed this season. Have they exceeded or failed to meet expectations, have they improved their game, remained steady, or seen a decrease in their level of play. Finally, how will they impact the team when games return, whether that’s to finish the 2019-20 season, or to begin the 2020-21 season.

The order of player evaluations will be done by jersey number, starting with the team’s lowest, and working to the team’s highest number.

Rudy Gobert – 27 – Center

Stats: 15.1 ppg. 13.7 rpg, 1.5 apg: .698/.621

From a distance, there’s an argument to be made Rudy Gobert has taken a step back in his career at the age of 27. The French center has seen a drop in his points, assists, and blocks per game, while his Defensive Real Plus-Minus rating has dropped from last season.

Rudy Gobert calls game with an amazing recovery and block at the rim. He had 22 points, 17 rebounds, 5 blocks and was 8-8 from the field. Rudy is the best defensive player in the #NBA and should be in the #NBAAllStar game. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/p2QVKgTvhl

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) January 26, 2020

Also, it seems unlikely the Jazz big man will repeat as Defensive Player of the Year for a third consecutive season with both Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo garnering buzz throughout the season as the favorites to win the award.

Truthfully, Gobert has turned in another terrific season for the Jazz and possibly the best of his career.

Gobert’s drop statistically is a result of the Jazz adding forward Bojan Bogdanovic and guard Mike Conley, both of whom find touches more easily in the team’s system, decreasing Gobert’s numbers. Despite fewer touches, Gobert is averaging a career-high in field goal percentage at .698, good for second in the NBA.

Rudy Gobert fakes the pin down and finishes with a dunk to earn your Heads Up Play of the Day! pic.twitter.com/yWET7hOuao

— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 11, 2020

With the Jazz dropping from a top-three defensive team from last season to 11th this season, it would be easy to point the finger at Gobert as a result of the drop back. After all, Gobert is the team’s best defender and his previous defensive awards have been earned in large part because of the team’s defensive ranking.

Though the Jazz have seen a dip in defensive efficiency, Gobert is still the league’s top defender according to ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus. Gobert’s 3.23 DRPM rating is nearly a full point ahead of Los Angeles Clippers guard Patrick Beverley (2.58) who ranks second.

Most importantly, Gobert has helped lead the Jazz to their best record through 64 games for more than a decade, positioning the team for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. As a result, Gobert earned his first All-Star nod from the league’s coaches.

Rudy Gobert is an All-Star. Watch what he did on both ends of the floor tonight and tell me I'm wrong. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/BUHIxs0wiS

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) January 3, 2020

Though Gobert continues to help the Jazz on the floor, his season may now be remembered most as the face of the coronavirus outbreak that sidelined the NBA and his ensuring spat with All-Star teammate Donovan Mitchell after the two tested positive for COVID-19.

Gobert’s cavalier attitude towards the virus drew the criticism of the public and from Mitchell after the two were forced into quarantine after their positive tests. As a result, Jazz fans have felt forced to choose sides between the team’s two franchise pieces.

In that regard, Gobert may deserve some criticism for his season overall by bringing unneeded drama into the locker room. It also may impact his long term standing on the roster.

Is the relationship between Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell – which took a hit after Gobert's initial actions around COVID – improving? Gobert shares that the two have begun talking again. pic.twitter.com/joKHqonnyj

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 13, 2020

Gobert has one more season left in his current contract with the Jazz and barring injury, is well worth the $26.5 million salary owed to him next year. Beyond that, Gobert’s pricetag will become a major talking point for the Jazz as they approach the summer of 2021 when Gobert will hit the free-agent market.

As a result of Gobert’s All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year nods, he’s become eligible to sign a supermax contract with the Jazz worth roughly $250 million over five years.

Though Gobert is unquestionably one of the league’s premier players, can he earn a contract that averages out to $50 million per season?

Even if Gobert continues his high level of play, the league around him may change enough during the life of his next contract to make his salary hit more difficult to swallow.

Rudy Gobert with Taylor Rooks speaking about mending his relationship with Donovan Mitchell. (🎥: _jwager8) pic.twitter.com/ogEgSUW6Tq

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) April 13, 2020

The Jazz are already struggling to defend small-ball teams that can spread the floor with all five players on the floor, despite Gobert’s terrific defensive instincts, his effectiveness decreases the further he’s pulled away from the rim.

Within two seasons, every team will have a sharpshooting three-pointer threat that can play the center position to combat players like Gobert. Can the Jazz afford to pay him more than 35 percent of their salary cap for the next half-decade?

What if he and Mitchell continue to find themselves at odds? Is Gobert alone worth souring the team’s relationship with the most marketable player in franchise history who is still several years from hitting his prime with the team?

More simply, would Gobert’s $50 million per season average be better spent on a series of different players interested in playing alongside Mitchell and with coach Quin Snyder?

The Jazz will have to answer those questions in the next 15 months and the feud between Gobert and Mitchell has only complicated the issue.

Overall, Gobert has had another terrific season for the Jazz and will finish as a finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year award, if not win it outright. If the NBA season fails to return as a result of the pandemic, Jazz fans will enter the summer with a bad taste in their mouth despite Gobert’s All-Star selection.

The Jazz will almost undoubtedly bring Gobert back to the roster next season, unless they decide they would prefer to not pay him in the summer of 2021 and choose to maximize his trade value a year out from his full free-agency.