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.

"I think they (Boozer, Okur and Korver) pretty much knew I was gonna be here. I don't think that was ever in doubt," Williams said. "They know that I love it here. They know that this is where I want them to be with me, and hopefully those guys can win a championship with me.

"But, at the same time," he added, "you can't, he (O'Connor) can't predict what people are going to do — if people are going to opt out, if people are going to go somewhere else. That's really out of his hands."

Then there are financial matters.

By signing the deal he did, Williams will be either 28 or 29 when he is eligible for a new contract that could be for max money and up to six years.

Had he taken the five-year extension, he'd be 30 then.

"When you're 30, that's not really a good age," Williams said. "It seems like that's a little frowned-upon. It seems like you're going down from there."

The Jazz nonetheless tried to persuade Williams to sign the five-year extension by suggesting that if his current deal expires before a new collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and its players association is reached, negotiations on that front could mean Williams is eligible for a smaller piece of salary-cap pie in the fifth year than what he is entitled to under the current arrangement.

"We talked about all of that," said agent Bob McClaren, who suggested that's one reason negotiations didn't wrap up sooner.

"The owners are more for cutting back the max salaries, but I wasn't really concerned about (that)," Williams added. "I mean, that played a little part in me thinking more toward the five-year deal. But in the end I just went with my gut feeling."

That was three plus the option, which if exercised would mean Williams has at least an eight-year stay in Utah — including the next five.

"I felt that five years was a long time — five years was enough time to accomplish what we want to accomplish," Williams said. "And a lot of things can change in five years. A lot of things can go right, a lot of things can go wrong."

"He does think this team is going to be a good team for some time, and he expects to continue to play at a high level," McClaren added. "If that happens — if he will be successful, and the team will be successful — hopefully we will do this again in five years."

Decision made, then.

Though not without much consternation.

"He always wanted to do this," McClaren said of the three-plus-one, "but he was very open to the other options that were out there."