Boris Diaw has agreed to a US$45-million,
five-year contract extension with the Phoenix Suns, a source told
The Associated Press on Thursday night.
The team would not confirm the signing but scheduled a 4 p.m. ET
news conference on Friday.
The deal was finalized on Thursday, according to a person with
knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be identified because
the team was not scheduled to officially announce the extension
until Friday.
The agreement will keep the six-foot-eight forward under contract
through the 2011-12 season. It was first reported by Phoenix radio
station XTRA Sports late Thursday afternoon.
Diaw declined to comment before Thursday night's pre-season game
against Sacramento.
The 24-year-old Frenchman came to the Suns as part of the trade
that sent Joe Johnson to Atlanta a year ago and responded with a
standout season that earned him the NBA's Most Improved Player
award. He moved into the starting lineup in place of injured Amare
Stoudemire in the pre-season and averaged 13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds
and 6.2 assists in the regular season.
Diaw's season included four triple-doubles. In 20 playoff games,
Diaw's scoring average climbed to 18.7 with 6.7 rebounds and 5.2
assists.
He scored a career-high 34 points, including the game-winning
turnaround jumper, in a 121-118 victory at Dallas in Game 1 of the
Western Conference finals.
In his first two NBA seasons with Atlanta, Diaw had averaged 4.6
points per game, and he was considered little more than a throw-in
when Johnson asked to be traded to the Hawks. Coach and general
manager Mike D'Antoni has acknowledged that he had no plans to make
Diaw a regular until his skills became apparent last pre-season.
Eventually, the offence ran through him more often than not
because of his ability to pass and see the court as well as score.
He had 16 assists at Golden State on April 14.
Diaw was captain of the French national team that finished fifth
at the world championships this year in Japan.
He is the second rising young Suns star to get an extension this
year.
Leandro Barbosa signed a $33-million, five-year extension in
August, a deal that also keeps him under contract through 2011-12.
