Jerry Sloan, Utah Jazz close to a contract extension
Signing a contract extension with the Utah Jazz is not a new thing anymore for Jerry Sloan, and the veteran head coach will likely get another one this season.
According to reports, the 68-year old head coach is close to signing an extension that will keep him in Utah until after the 2011-2012 NBA season, which will be his 24th season as the team’s
primary bench tactician.
“It’s pretty much done, as far as that’s concerned,” Sloan told NBA.com.”
The Hall of Famer coach, who is the longest-tenured in any of the four major sports in the United States, is set to sign another one-year deal and according to him, the length of the contract
is not delaying the finalization of the deal.
“It's not a big deal; it's not any different than what I've ever done,” said Sloan, who announced the previous agreements after the end of the season. “That's the deal they wanted to do and
I didn't have a problem with it. I've never been one to say I need a 10-year contract.”
Utah Jazz late owner Larry Miller previously said that team will have Sloan as their coach as long as the Hall of Famer coach wants to and is still enjoying what he is doing.
And when asked if he is enjoying this season, Sloan said that he is, because of the new talent in their team, although he refused to answer if he will be excited to come back next season.
“I've got to get through the current season first,” said Sloan, who previously said that he has no desire of working with another team. “That's the only thing I always worry about. If you
don't get through the year first, the contract really doesn't mean anything.”
Sloan has won 1,193 games a coach and is three games away from surpassing Pat Riley’s record, which will make him third in the coach’s career win list, behind Don Nelson and Lenny Wilkens,
who have 1,335 and 1,332 wins, respectively.
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