Utah Jazz sign Deron Williams to extension

On the day the Jazz signed their franchise point guard to a contract extension that could keep him in Utah through 2013, general manager Kevin O'Connor thought back to three-plus years ago.

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.

He was flustered that Jazz coach Jerry Sloan didn't use him more as a rookie, so much that Williams admitted Friday he couldn't have cared less then if Sloan continued to coach the team or not.

"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."