Utah Jazz sign Deron Williams to extension
It was the month before the 2005 NBA Draft, and the Jazz were pondering the possibilities if they could just move up — which they indeed did — and pick as high as No. 3 overall.
Chris Paul? Deron Williams? Which way to go?
"We had a choice, and we made a choice," O'Connor said. "And the choice has exceeded our expectations."
That choice was Williams, who on Friday signed a three-year, roughly $50 million extension beyond next season with a player option for the 2012-13 season that could be worth another $20 million or so — the same deal Paul recently signed with the New Orleans Hornets.
In the three years since the draft, Williams has gone from frustrated rookie reserve to a Team USA point who'll play at next month's Summer Olympics in China.
The University of Illinois product also has helped the Jazz to five playoff series over the past two seasons, which went a long way toward the awarding of his max-money extension.
But the road there wasn't always smooth.
"I probably would have hoped he was gone already," Williams said. "But now I hope he stays."
In fact, Sloan's presence — more precisely, its relative uncertainty in seasons beyond the next — was a critical factor among several that Williams weighed while deciding to take a three-year-plus-the-option extension rather than the maximum-allowed five-year extension.
"That plays a lot into it as well, because Jerry's a great coach and is a winner. That's all that's on his mind, is winning basketball games," he said of Sloan, who is heading into his 21st season as head coach of the Jazz. "That's what's on my mind, and that's why I like him so much, and that's why we get along.
"And you don't know how many years he's going to be coaching for. You know, he pretty much takes it one year at a time," Williams added. "And that definitely has an effect in the back of my mind — that he might not be here, and you don't know who's gonna come in after him if he decides to leave in the next couple years."
Another reality Williams considered is that All-Star power forward Carlos Boozer and starting center Mehmet Okur both can opt out of their contracts after next season, and backup shooting guard Kyle Korver has an early termination option that he can exercise in 2009 — leaving future makeup of the Jazz roster much in flux.
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