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By T.A. BADGER, Associated Press Writer
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Before last season, the San Antonio Spurs wanted to push Tony Parker aside to make room for Jason Kidd at point guard.
This week the Spurs made a big commitment to the 22-year-old Frenchman: a six-year contract extension reportedly worth $66 million.
The deal was finalized late Monday night, within a few hours of the league's signing deadline. Had an agreement not been reached, Parker would have become a restricted free agent at the end of this season.
``I'm very, very happy. There has been a lot of stress the last couple of days, and I'm just so happy it's hard to express in words,'' Parker said Tuesday at a news conference. ``The last two or three days I thought it was finished and was not going to happen.''
For San Antonio, the signing locks up the team's top three players -- Parker, two-time MVP Tim Duncan and Argentine guard Manu Ginobili -- for the rest of the decade.
Duncan signed a seven-year, $122 million deal last year, while Olympic gold medalist Ginobili agreed in July to a six-year pact estimated at $52 million.
Negotiations between the Spurs and Parker bogged down as the signing deadline approached, and on Monday, an agreement did not look likely.
Team chairman Peter Holt had dug in his heels on his offer of $64 million over six years, while Parker gradually lowered his price to $66 million in an effort to get the deal done.
``It was just time for me to make the right decision, and I'm glad I did,'' Holt said. ``Tony is a key component to our success over the last three years. I started looking at that and realizing how important he is to this team.''
Parker, who is close with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, said publicly that he wanted to stay with the Spurs. He said his agent, Marc Fleisher, had urged him to test his value on the free-agent market.
``Every year we are going to play in the playoffs and every year we have a shot to win the championship,'' Parker said. ``That's most important for me. It's not making $85 million and playing for the Hawks or the Clippers and be sad every day.''
Popovich, who led the effort to land Kidd after the 2002-03 season, helped to persuade Holt to sign Parker. So did Duncan, and Parker is eager to show his appreciation.
``I'm just going to pass him the ball a little bit more,'' Parker said.
The Spurs drafted Parker, then 19 and playing in France, in 2001.
As the youngest player ever for San Antonio, the team planned to bring him along slowly. Five games into the 2001-02 season, however, he took over at point guard.
He made the All-Rookie team in 2002, and was the team's second-leading scorer behind Duncan when the Spurs won the NBA championship in 2003.
Parker has averaged 13.1 points and 5.0 assists per game in his three-year NBA career.
http://img.***BLOCKED***/albums/v194/dmxinsd/buttrock.gif
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Before last season, the San Antonio Spurs wanted to push Tony Parker aside to make room for Jason Kidd at point guard.
This week the Spurs made a big commitment to the 22-year-old Frenchman: a six-year contract extension reportedly worth $66 million.
The deal was finalized late Monday night, within a few hours of the league's signing deadline. Had an agreement not been reached, Parker would have become a restricted free agent at the end of this season.
``I'm very, very happy. There has been a lot of stress the last couple of days, and I'm just so happy it's hard to express in words,'' Parker said Tuesday at a news conference. ``The last two or three days I thought it was finished and was not going to happen.''
For San Antonio, the signing locks up the team's top three players -- Parker, two-time MVP Tim Duncan and Argentine guard Manu Ginobili -- for the rest of the decade.
Duncan signed a seven-year, $122 million deal last year, while Olympic gold medalist Ginobili agreed in July to a six-year pact estimated at $52 million.
Negotiations between the Spurs and Parker bogged down as the signing deadline approached, and on Monday, an agreement did not look likely.
Team chairman Peter Holt had dug in his heels on his offer of $64 million over six years, while Parker gradually lowered his price to $66 million in an effort to get the deal done.
``It was just time for me to make the right decision, and I'm glad I did,'' Holt said. ``Tony is a key component to our success over the last three years. I started looking at that and realizing how important he is to this team.''
Parker, who is close with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, said publicly that he wanted to stay with the Spurs. He said his agent, Marc Fleisher, had urged him to test his value on the free-agent market.
``Every year we are going to play in the playoffs and every year we have a shot to win the championship,'' Parker said. ``That's most important for me. It's not making $85 million and playing for the Hawks or the Clippers and be sad every day.''
Popovich, who led the effort to land Kidd after the 2002-03 season, helped to persuade Holt to sign Parker. So did Duncan, and Parker is eager to show his appreciation.
``I'm just going to pass him the ball a little bit more,'' Parker said.
The Spurs drafted Parker, then 19 and playing in France, in 2001.
As the youngest player ever for San Antonio, the team planned to bring him along slowly. Five games into the 2001-02 season, however, he took over at point guard.
He made the All-Rookie team in 2002, and was the team's second-leading scorer behind Duncan when the Spurs won the NBA championship in 2003.
Parker has averaged 13.1 points and 5.0 assists per game in his three-year NBA career.
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