An hour or so after the season ended, Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas lobbied hard for an extension for coach Eddie Jordan. Arenas made it known he wouldn’t want to play for another coach in Washington.
The Wizards say he won’t have to. At least not for another few seasons. General Manager Ernie Grunfeld said Jordan will get an extension. His contract was set to expire after this season. Jordan led the Wizards to consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since 1988.
“He’ll be our coach for next year and for years after that,” Grunfeld said Tuesday. “I like the job Eddie has done. We’ve made real progress. We’re headed in the right direction.”
No contract extension has been signed, but Grunfeld said talks are ongoing — and have included owner Abe Pollin. Jordan, hired in the summer of 2003, is the NBA’s fourth longest-tenured coach, trailing only Jerry Sloan in Utah, Gregg Popovich in San Antonio and Jeff Van Gundy in Houston.
Grunfeld also said the Wizards have made a tender offer to restricted free agent Jared Jeffries, which gives them the right to match any offer he receives this summer. Grunfeld has long said they’d like to retain Jeffries.
Also, Arenas missed a court hearing in Miami and had a warrant issued for his arrest. However, the Wizards contacted Judge Samuel Slom and told him Arenas had never received a written notice regarding the court date. The date has been rescheduled.
Arenas was arrested last month on a disorderly conduct charge in Miami after he got out of a car on a busy street to stand by teammate Awvee Storey as he was being arrested.
