Raptors Close To Extension With Sam Mitchell: Reports
Posted May 18, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Toronto Raptors are close to re-signing their most significant free agent, something most so-called experts thought was nothing if not unlikely.
According to a slew of reports, NBA Coach of the Year and Raptors bench boss Sam Mitchell is very close to inking a multi-year extension with the club and the contract’s expected to run for three or four years at roughly $4 million a season. Over three years in Toronto the 43-year-old’s had plenty of ups and downs, and in truth more of the latter. But this past season he was at the helm of one of the league’s most impressive turnarounds, as the Raps matched a franchise-high in wins with 47 and reached the playoffs for the first time in five years.
Meanwhile, the Toronto coaching situation has drawn plenty of attention abroad. Mitchell was a guest on ESPN Thursday night and suggested a deal would be announced in about a week, and the New York Post took things a step further, claiming a deal is already in place to lock up the highly-coveted free agent coach, who was rumoured to skip town for Charlotte or Indiana while General Manger Bryan Colangelo brought in Phoenix Suns assistant Marc Iavaroni.
Colangelo has a policy of not discussing pending contract talks, but did say he was optimistic about Mitchell’s return.
