Raptors Reward Sam Mitchell With New Contract
Posted May 22, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The boss is back.
Despite initial speculation that the NBA’s Coach of the Year would be headed to Charlotte or Indiana, the only time Sam Mitchell will be in those cities is when his Toronto Raptors play the Bobcats and Pacers.
Rumours that Mitchell would re-up with the team he’s led for the past three seasons started to swirl last week, and on Tuesday general manager Bryan Colangelo made it official. Mitchell’s multi-year contract was announced Tuesday afternoon, and the 43-year-old will earn a base salary of $12 million over three years, with an option on a fourth and several performance incentives built in.
“It would have been very tough for me to leave because this is a great environment for me to be successful in,” Mitchell said at a conference Tuesday. “This is the place for me.”
Colangelo is confident he made the right move.
“We’ve talked a lot about what’s gone into making this team and I can’t think of a better person than Sam Mitchell to finish the job in terms of bringing us where we need to be,” he said. “Sam is being rewarded with a contract that puts him in the upper echelon of coaches in the NBA and I think it’s just reward for what he’s been able to accomplish in leading this team to our recent success.”
Mitchell promised fans that the best is yet to come.
“The great fans in Toronto have embraced me, and I never imagined being anywhere else. There’s a tremendous commitment within our organization to build a championship caliber team … our players and staff are going to work hard this off-season with the expectation that next season will be the best yet for the Toronto Raptors.”
Mitchell’s current contract was set to expire June 30 and he was the lowest-paid coach in the NBA last season while leading the Raptors to an Atlantic Division title, a franchise-record tying 47 wins and their first playoff berth in five years.
Photo Courtesy Getty Images/Michael Heiman
