Suns: Diaw to Sign Five-Year Contract

Boris Diaw announced that he has agreed to sign a five-year contract extension with his current club, the Phoenix Suns.

The agreement was confirmed following the Suns’ victory over Sacramento in a pre-season game on Thursday night. The player did not disclosed any terms of the contract but sources close to the signature of the contract claimed the agreement was worth $45 million.

With the new contract, the Suns will lock-in the 6-foot-8 forward under contract through the season of 2011-12. The 24-year-old Frenchman signed with the Suns as part of the trade which sent Joe Johnson to Atlanta a year ago. Since then, he had an outstanding season that earned him the NBA's Most Improved Player award. He moved into the starting lineup replacing injured Amare Stoudemire in the pre-season and averaged 13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists in the regular season.

Diaw expressed his sincere joy of staying with the club where he managed to have a successful season. This season the player recorded four triple-doubles. In 20 playoff games, Diaw's scoring average climbed to 18.7 with 6.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He also established a career-high 34 points, including the winning turnaround jumper, in a 121-118 victory at Dallas in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

During his first two NBA seasons with Atlanta, Diaw had averaged 4.6 points per game. At that time he was only considered little more than a throw-in when Johnson asked to be traded to the Hawks. Coach and general manager Mike D'Antoni has acknowledged that he had no plans to make Diaw a starter until he proved outstanding skills during last pre-season games. The coach also confessed that the offense ran through him more often than not because of his ability to pass and see the court as well as score. He had 16 assists at Golden State on April 14.

Diaw is the second rising young Suns star to get an extension this year. The other player is Leandro Barbosa who signed a five-year, $33 million extension in August. The deal will also keep him under contract through 2011-12 with the Suns.

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About the writer: Nigel Kerry is an American free lance writer born in Los Angeles, California. Kerry writes among others for Sportus.com - Sportsbook reviews, UsBookies.com - Sports Betting Online and Get-best-mortgage-loan.com - Mortgage lenders, get the best mortgage loan

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