10 eventual free agents who could change the shape of the NBA

8. Rudy Gobert (2021)

By virtue of being the league’s back-to-back reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert is eligible to sign a supermax extension this offseason with the Utah Jazz.

But will the Jazz want to commit up to nearly a quarter-billion dollars to him over the next half-decade, particularly if his relationship with Donovan Mitchell remains on rocky ground?

In mid-March, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reported Mitchell was “extremely frustrated” with Gobert in the wake of his careless behavior prior to his COVID-19 diagnosis. According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, the two “did not speak to each other for a month,” but executive vice president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey said they’re now “ready to put this behind them, move forward, act professionally.”

The Jazz may be reluctant to ink Gobert to an extension before seeing how his relationship with Mitchell plays out over the coming months. If they’re unwilling to offer him a supermax, both sides may decide it’s best to move on when he becomes a free agent in 2021.

Gobert won’t offer much outside the paint offensively — he’s made exactly zero shots from beyond 10 feet this season — but he’s a paradigm-shifting player on defense. Opponents are shooting 12.3 percentage points below their average within six feet of the basket against Gobert, which is one of the league’s best marks this season.

The Houston Rockets demonstrated during last year’s playoffs how small-ball can be an antidote for Gobert, as drawing him out of the paint on defense greatly diminishes his effectiveness. But as one of the league’s most feared defensive stalwarts, he should have a robust free-agent market in 2021 if the Jazz don’t sign him to an extension beforehand.