National Basketball Association News
Warriors sign Nellie to new deal
Sep 17, 2007, 12:22 GMT
Oakland, CA - The Golden State Warriors and head coach Don Nelson have officially agreed to a new contract.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the San Jose Mercury News reported on Friday that Nelson, who led the Warriors to a stunning first-round upset of the Dallas Mavericks in last year's playoffs, restructured the final two years on his current deal.
The paper also reported that Nelson's salary will increase from $3.1 million to $5.1 million this season. In return, the final year of his deal is now a team option rather than guaranteed money.
'We think Don is a great coach,' said team president Robert Rowell. 'His style has always been well accepted by players and is a natural fit for our team. I know that everyone is anxious and looking forward to the exciting, successful brand of basketball that he will once again orchestrate for our team and our fans.'
The 67-year-old Nelson is in his second stint as head coach of Golden State and last season went 42-40, good enough for second place in the Pacific Division and the club's first playoff appearance in 13 years. After knocking off Dallas in the opening round, the Warriors went on to lose to the Utah Jazz in five games in the Western Conference semifinals.
'I'm really excited about the beginning of training camp in a couple of weeks,' said Nelson. 'I can't wait to get back in the gym, back to work and watch this team continue to grow. I'm optimistic that we can capitalize on some of our momentum from last season and build on that in 2007-08.'
Nelson, who is second winningest coach in league history with 1,232 victories is entering his 29th season in the NBA.
© 2007 The Sports Network
