Warriors, Nelson Yet To Agree Oon Contract

OAKLAND -- Barely a month remains until the Warriors' 2007-08 training camp is scheduled to begin, and negotiations between the team and coach Don Nelson remain as they have for weeks: stalled out.

The two sides are scheduled to talk in the next few days with hopes of jump-starting a process that is threatening to fracture the franchise's most successful team in more than a decade. Golden State has secured the commitment of almost every key player from last season's 42-40 club, but without the man who got the best out of mercurial stars such as Stephen Jackson and Baron Davis, it might be all for naught.

"I have a lot of respect for (Warriors president) Bobby Rowell. Our talks are not over and I'm hopeful we can get it done," said John O'Connor, Nelson's attorney.

The only firm offer on the table is not going to get it done. The Warriors have suggested replacing the three-year contract worth $9.3 million in guaranteed salary that Nelson signed in August 2006 with new terms that call for $5.1 million in base salary and an additional $1.5 million in difficult-to-achieve bonuses for each of the next two seasons.

The sticking point is the team's desire to hold an option on 2008-09, while Nelson wants that base salary also to be fully guaranteed. To this point, neither side has formally broached the topic of a partial guarantee on that final year. Nor have there been any counteroffers to the team's initial proposal.

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source : contracostatimes.com