Maroon87
10-12-2006, 03:40 PM
DALLAS -- Avery Johnson, who guided the Dallas Mavericks to the cusp of an NBA championship, reportedly has agreed to a five-year, $20 million contract extension.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Thursday that Johnson and billionaire owner Mark Cuban have agreed on a new deal that could keep Johnson on the sideline through the 2010-11 season.
"This is just another sign that Mark and I are committed to work with each other," Johnson told the newspaper. "We have laid the foundation of where we want to go. We haven't gotten there yet, but we're both committed to do whatever it takes -- however long it takes -- to get there."
According to the report, the deal gives Johnson a salary commensurate with his achievements and experience. His first deal was worth approximately $10 million for four years, in the lower third among coaches but fair for a coach with no previous experience.
Johnson, 41, showed that experience didn't matter much. He went 16-2 after replacing Don Nelson for the final 18 games of the 2004-05 season and guided the Mavericks to a 60-22 mark last season, which matched the best record in franchise history and earned him 2006 NBA Coach of the Year honors.
"Any individual reward that I receive is a product of the players' commitment to our vision, their commitment to defense and being unselfish on offense," Johnson told the newspaper. "That's the reason I'm in the position I'm in."
"The Little General" also directed the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals appearance. Dallas eliminated nemesis and defending champion San Antonio in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals, winning Game Seven on the road in overtime in one of the great series in league history.
After dispatching Phoenix in six games in the conference finals, the Mavericks won the first two games of the NBA Finals over the Miami Heat and held a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 3.
But Dallas lost that game and did not win again, losing the series in six games amid a series of distractions.
According to the report, negotiations on an extension stalled this summer before Cuban and Johnson worked out this deal.
One of just two players under 6 feet to play 1,000 NBA games, Johnson became an assistant to Nelson before the 2004-05 season and coached a handful of games before replacing him.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Thursday that Johnson and billionaire owner Mark Cuban have agreed on a new deal that could keep Johnson on the sideline through the 2010-11 season.
"This is just another sign that Mark and I are committed to work with each other," Johnson told the newspaper. "We have laid the foundation of where we want to go. We haven't gotten there yet, but we're both committed to do whatever it takes -- however long it takes -- to get there."
According to the report, the deal gives Johnson a salary commensurate with his achievements and experience. His first deal was worth approximately $10 million for four years, in the lower third among coaches but fair for a coach with no previous experience.
Johnson, 41, showed that experience didn't matter much. He went 16-2 after replacing Don Nelson for the final 18 games of the 2004-05 season and guided the Mavericks to a 60-22 mark last season, which matched the best record in franchise history and earned him 2006 NBA Coach of the Year honors.
"Any individual reward that I receive is a product of the players' commitment to our vision, their commitment to defense and being unselfish on offense," Johnson told the newspaper. "That's the reason I'm in the position I'm in."
"The Little General" also directed the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals appearance. Dallas eliminated nemesis and defending champion San Antonio in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals, winning Game Seven on the road in overtime in one of the great series in league history.
After dispatching Phoenix in six games in the conference finals, the Mavericks won the first two games of the NBA Finals over the Miami Heat and held a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 3.
But Dallas lost that game and did not win again, losing the series in six games amid a series of distractions.
According to the report, negotiations on an extension stalled this summer before Cuban and Johnson worked out this deal.
One of just two players under 6 feet to play 1,000 NBA games, Johnson became an assistant to Nelson before the 2004-05 season and coached a handful of games before replacing him.