Saturday, July 7, 2007

The Washington Wizards yesterday announced one-year extensions for associate head coach Mike O’Koren and assistant coaches Phil Hubbard and Wes Unseld Jr.

“We are happy that we have retained our coaches,” coach Eddie Jordan said. “Mike, Phil and Wes are veteran NBA coaches who have played an instrumental role in our success.”

Both O’Koren and Hubbard will enter their fifth seasons with the Wizards. Unseld will enter his third season as a coach and his 11th in the organization.

Earlier in the week the Wizards announced the hiring of Tom Thibodeaux. Former assistant Tom Young retired, while Bill Perry — hired last season — was not asked back by the team.

In other news, unrestricted free agent guard DeShawn Stevenson said that he wants to return to the team even though it appears that both sides still are far apart in negotiations.

When told of a published report yesterday indicating that the Wizards had offered him a four-year deal worth $12 million, Stevenson said he was unaware of the offer.

Stevenson, who last season earned just less than $1 million after turning down three-year, $10 million offer last summer from Orlando, is looking for a substantially better payday.

“I’m not going to comment on any offers other than to say that my agent handles that,” said Stevenson, who started all 82 games for the Wizards last season. “I’m happy we’re negotiating. Hopefully we can get to a point where they are happy and I am happy so I can come back and work on my game. I feel like they are going to do everything in their power. But it’s going to have to be good for me and them.”

Last season Stevenson averaged 11.2 points and made a career best 46.1 percent of his field goals. He also averaged a career-high 2.7 assists.

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