11-01-2005, 12:12 PM
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#21 (permalink)
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Skokie, IL 60076
Join Date: Oct 2003
Age: 26
Posts: 16,917
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Re: Tayshaun Signs Extension
Prince is happy to stick around
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Know this up front: Had Tayshaun Prince put himself in the free-agent market, even in a restricted capacity, he would have been offered a deal considerably larger than the five-year extension worth just over $47 million he signed with the Pistons about 4:30 p.m. Monday.
But, at the tender age of 24, Prince understood that whatever additional money he might have made wouldn't have bought him the comfort, security and success he has had with the Pistons.
"Money is not going to make you happy," Prince said hours before signing his new deal.
"It's where you are at, where you are established and where you fit in good with the guys and the organization. Even though I haven't been anywhere else, I feel this is the best place in the NBA.
"It wasn't about becoming a restricted free agent and getting a bigger offer and hoping they would match. It was about trying to get a fair deal done, and they made it happen."
The negotiations ran longer than Prince and Pistons president Joe Dumars expected, but they never turned ugly.
The sides were never more than $5 million apart.
Prince wasn't asking for a franchise-player-type contract. He wasn't asking for the $70 million Joe Johnson got from Atlanta, or the $75 million Tyson Chandler got from Chicago.
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Prince, Pistons finalize extension
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Prince signed a five-year contract extension worth $48 million Monday, making him the third-highest-paid player on the Pistons' roster. The contract includes close to $15 million in performance-based bonuses, a person close to the negotiations said.
In all, Prince could rake in close to $63 million by 2011, when the contract expires.
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