McClaren said it was "important" for Williams to be involved in the negotiations, and the rising NBA star used the opportunity to voice some potential concerns. For instance, the team that has become a major player in the Western Conference the past two seasons could look completely different after next summer. That's because coach Jerry Sloan only has one year left on his deal and three key players — Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Kyle Korver — could bolt out of town and from their contracts in 2009.

"It was a good philosophical discussion about the team and the league and Deron's part of bringing championships to Utah," McClaren said. "That is so important to Deron — to win a championship and to be a consistent winner."

Though he wouldn't give details, McClaren said Williams feels good about the Jazz's long-term success, which includes him being a franchise cornerstone. He and the Jazz have until Oct. 31 to work on an extension per NBA rules.

"I think he left (the meeting) feeling very positive about the team and the future, that the fundamentals are in place to bring a championship to Salt Lake City," McClaren said. "If he hadn't, I feel strongly we'd be looking at something a lot differently than what we're talking about."

While some Jazz fans might hope the team secures Williams through the 2013-14 season, it's possible he could follow in New Orleans guard Chris Paul's footsteps and ink a shorter deal with a player-option for another season. Paul signed for three years with a possible fourth at his discretion.

McClaren wouldn't say what the holdup on signing the contract was, nor would he give a timetable. But he and Williams believe "the sooner the better."

"I think it's just kind of healthy to sleep on some of these things sometimes and make sure everybody understands the breadth of all of these issues before you make a decision of this magnitude ... ," he said. "We need to work toward a great resolution. Hopefully, though, we'll have an announcement in the near term."

The Jazz should also be announcing soon who else will join Koufos on their summer-league squad. Utah will begin practices Monday with its new 7-footer, who averaged 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.81 blocks in 37 games at Ohio State last year as a freshman.

"He signed his rookie contract and we'll be moving forward," O'Connor said. "He'll be ready to go for the Rocky Mountain Revue."

The Jazz have the rights for Koufos for four years. That means the dual Greek-U.S. citizen won't be able to play for pro teams in Greece, where he reportedly was offered multimillion-dollar deals out of high school and in college last year, until his obligations with the Jazz expire. That ends speculation that he might end up in Europe before playing in Utah.

Koufos can still play for the Greek national team, which still has a chance to qualify for next month's Beijing Olympics.

Another impending announcement from the Jazz will be whether or not they will match the Washington Wizards' offer sheet for Brown. Though he played in Turkey last season, Utah retained the NBA rights of Williams' former Illinois teammate so he is technically the Jazz's restricted free agent.

Brown, a 6-foot point guard who played for the Jazz in 2006-07 after being drafted in the second round, was offered a deal by the Wizards on Wednesday. The Washington Post reported that it was for two years and only partially guaranteed.

The Jazz, who already have three point guards under contract, have seven days to match it. Brown averaged 12.3 points for Galatasaray Cafe Crown in Turkey last season after scoring 1.9 points with 1.7 assists in 49 games for the Jazz.

"We'll make a decision very, very quickly what we're going to do," O'Connor said.

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E-mail: jody@desnews.com