The Minnesota Timberwolves have undergone a significant amount of change in the last four weeks. Moving off Karl-Anthony Towns and bringing in Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, the Wolves made a tough decision in the name of looking to the future and keeping their championship window open for as long as possible.
Now, they have made another such move on the night of the 2024-25 season opener. Just before tipoff in Los Angeles against the Lakers, Shams Charania reported that the Timberwolves had officially signed Rudy Gobert to a three-year, $110 million contract extension. The four-time Defensive Player of the Year will now officially be on board for the long run in Minnesota.
While this may have seemed like an odd time for the deal to be announced, the long-term ramifications of bringing Gobert back are certainly significant. In agreeing to the extension, Rudy declined what would have been a $46.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season. Instead, he will earn a yearly salary between $30 and $40 million, giving the Timberwolves' front office more leeway in their pursuit to also re-sign Naz Reid.
Rudy Gobert will decline his $46.6 million player option for next season and replace it with a starting salary in the $30-$40 million range. The deadline to opt in-and-extend was yesterday.
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) October 23, 2024
This will give the Minnesota Timberwolves more flexibility to re-sign Naz Reid next… https://t.co/ksqwxppaUf
The Timberwolves can now re-sign Naz Reid more easily
This detail makes Gobert's extension a massive win for the organization and for their chances of keeping a championship-level roster intact for as long as they can. With Karl-Anthony Towns now out of the picture, Naz Reid becomes that much more important to Minnesota's mission statement. We still have yet to see all the ways Chris Finch will utilize Reid alongside Randle and Gobert, but the chance for him to step into an even bigger role is there.
Getting Naz back in a Timberwolves uniform was always of the utmost importance, and we know that it was a near-impossibility had KAT remained with the team. Moving off Towns and subsequently getting a new, affordable deal for Gobert opens up the doors for the Wolves to get their beloved backup center a new extension in short order.
Yes, Anthony Edwards remains the best player on this team, and Minnesota is adding to their collection of young talent as well. But Naz Reid is becoming an absolute foundational member of the Timberwolves, and having the reassurance that signing him just got easier should be a big weight lifted off the fanbase's shoulders.