Avery, Cuban clash on contractBy ART GARCIAStar-Telegram Staff WriterAre the Mavericks and Avery Johnson headed for a quickie divorce because of a contract dispute? Don't count on it.But some doubt has crept into the equation.One month after the grandest season in Mavs history ended in the NBA Finals, talks to extend and/or enhance the contract of the league's most successful young coach have been shelved in what is becoming an increasingly tense clash between Mark Cuban and Johnson's representatives.According to sources, at issue is Johnson's current contract, which has three years remaining at approximately $2.5 million per season. The deal ranks in the bottom third of the NBA's 30 coaches.Each of the other seven coaches who took teams to the Western Conference playoffs last season was paid more than Johnson.Johnson's inexperience -- he served less than one year as an assistant before his promotion late in the 2004-05 season -- explains his current salary. His rapid success, however, would make Johnson a hot commodity able to command big money on the open market.But he's not on the open market.It's not uncommon for coaches coming off successful seasons to have their contracts restructured in "good faith" gestures from the club. Mike Brown (Cavaliers), Eddie Jordan (Wizards) and Byron Scott (Hornets) each signed new deals recently.Jordan is reportedly earning $4 million per season even though he's 53 games under .500 for his career. Former Mavs coach Don Nelson was paid in the neighborhood of $5 million last season in what would have been the last year of his contract.Johnson, 41, led the Mavs to a 60-22 record in his first full season, tying the best mark in team history, and earned Coach of the Year honors. The Mavs reached the Finals for the first time, falling in six games to the Miami Heat.Leading the Mavs to within two wins of the franchise's first championship figured to land Johnson a significant raise instead of just guaranteeing the fourth year of his contract.So far, communication between Cuban and Johnson has been scarce, according to the sources. Cuban and Johnson both declined comment.The sources also said Johnson would be agreeable to an extension with a significant bonus that would up his average salary in line with other top coaches in the $5 million range, but Cuban has kept a hard-line stance by refusing to renegotiate.Negotiations on a new contract between Cuban and the agent for assistant coach Del Harris also have stalled.Even without a new agreement, Johnson isn't considering resigning. He's repeatedly said he's looking forward to next season and has played an active role in the team's off-season moves.Tensions between Cuban and his coach are nothing new in Mavs land. The battle of wills and dollars defined the frosty relationship between Cuban and Nelson.At the base of the Cuban-Nelson conflict were serious personality and communication issues. It isn't supposed to be that way between Cuban and Johnson.Initially labeled as Nelson's hand-picked successor, Johnson won Cuban over with the coaching job he did filling in for Nelson during parts of the 2004-05 season.The fiery coach and the billionaire have continually emphasized their close personal bond. Johnson stressed before the start of the Finals that his success -- and the team's -- wouldn't have been possible without Cuban's support.Despite the criticism Cuban took locally and nationally during the playoffs for his conduct and dealings with the league -- star Dirk Nowitzki recently condemned the owner's behavior -- Johnson continued to publicly back Cuban.Behind the scenes, though, uneasiness seems to be mounting.
Great news! :happy0144: Cuban is so rich though, he'll end up paying him 6 or 7 mil per year. :ranting:
Don't read too much into this, he talked with dallasbasketball.com today. <span style="font-family:Teletype"><span style="font-size:36pt;line-height:100%"><span style="color:#000000">Tense At The Top? </span></span></span><span style="font-family:Teletype"><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><span style="color:#000000">Scoop: Cuban Speaks On AJ Contract </span></span></span><span style="font-family:times"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"> By Mike Fisher -- DallasBasketball.com Mark Cuban does indeed feel some "uneasiness,'' some "tension'' and some "doubt'' regarding the Avery Johnson renegotiation story. But the Mavs owner's negative emotions are not directed at his coach; rather, they are directed at a newspaper tale he views as wildly off-base. "I don't know where (the writer) got that stuff,'' Cuban tells DallasBasketball.com, responding to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's "sources''-driven report that suggests a Cuban-Johnson contract-related rift and is spiced by incendiary catchphrases such as "quickie divorce,'' "doubt,'' "a tense clash,'' "communication is scarce,'' "tensions,'' "uneasiness,'' and "Cuban and Johnson both declined comment.'' Cuban certainly didn't decline comment when DB.com contacted him on Sunday morning. He responded within moments -- and we sensed no "tension,'' "doubt'' or "uneasiness'' regarding communication with Johnson.FISH: 'TALLADEGA NOTS' D-LORD ON DA-FOR-AJ "I talk to Avery every other day. Our relationship is great,'' Cuban said, adding that he and Johnson have wisely kept any re-negotiation talks between management and the coach's representatives. "Any discussions about an extension have been with his agent and have been very friendly.'' One portion of Art Garcia's story is apparently accurate, and notable: Johnson's current contract, with three years remaining at about $2.5 million per season, is at the root of some in-house discussion. Cuban recognizes Avery as a special talent; Johnson, in his first full season as a head coach, guided Dallas to a 60-22 record, a Coach of the Year honor, and a berth in the NBA Finals. Because of all that, and because of the Cuban-Johnson relationship, a re-negotiation request may be merited. Still, Cuban questions the motivation of the story, wondering, "I don't know where he got that stuff. What would be invaluable would be to find out who he talked to. That's the important info.'' Some of this, we suppose, is simply the result of the High Cost of Being High-Profile. As Diana Ross once sang (except, I guess, she never really sang it; Notorious BIG just did some posthumous trickery): "It's like the more money we come across, the more problems we see.'' This weekend, the Cuban-Dan Marino group bidding to buy Cuban's hometown Pittsburgh Penguins was declined. Meanwhile, Cuban's plate is full with contract dealings involving Dirk Nowitzki, who we understand is primed to re-up with his max-out extension when he returns from Europe. We've got an email into Art Garcia, a friend of DB.com who doesn't work his beat with any malice toward the Mavs. We intend on politely asking him whether he drew his impression of "conflict'' from Johnson's side, from management's side, or elsewhere. And we were going to ask him how it is possible to raise this issue without getting a response from the always-accessible Cuban. But just now, Cuban himself provided us with an answer. He has made himself less accessible, he tells us, "since I got tired of them (the mainstream media) talking about everything but basketball.'' Happily, Mark Cuban and Avery Johnson ARE talking. About everything INCLUDING basketball. And, we're betting, are doing so cordially and constructively. </span></span>
That's good to here Rok.I think AVery should be paid as a top coach, but this is where the trouble started with Nellie and Cuban a few years back...I don't think much of this, but I hope it all gets worked out.
Read this story. It looks like Avery isnt worried about re-constructing his contract.http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...de.15a3022.html
he deserves more i think. he just took us to the finals and is a winning coach that we need to stay here in Dallas. I hope it all works out for both sides.
