With everything going on this month in regard to Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap and Mehmet Okur, Ronnie Price nevertheless only had to wait two weeks to have his free-agent fate resolved by the Jazz .
"It still was a tough two weeks, but I kept my mind off of it," Price said in a Thursday conference call. "We had been talking and kind of had got an idea that the Jazz had wanted me back and I wanted to be here." The former Utah Valley star made it official Tuesday when he re-signed with the Jazz . According to a league source, Price signed a two-year, $2.63 million deal in which he will make $1.25 million this season and $1.38 million next season.
With Price signed through the 2010-11 season, the Jazz can look forward to having a point guard rotation of Deron Williams, Price and first-round draft pick Eric Maynor for the next two seasons, barring a trade.
"I'm going to approach the season the same way," said Price, who backed up Jason Hart and Brevin Knight his first two years with the Jazz . Price averaged 4.0 points and 2.1 assists in 52 games last season.
"I think that when my name was called, I tried to the best of my ability to do my job and played as hard as possible and I tried to do the things that were needed on the court at the time.
"I'm not going to change my mentality as far as who I am and what I think I can bring to a team. I'm still going to have the same aggressive defensive mentality and just have a more successful next two years."
Although he received interest from other teams, Price's first preference was to remain with the Jazz . "Of course the best situation would be staying here," said Price, who broke into the NBA with Sacramento after going undrafted in 2005.
Price also reflected on his breakthrough in the fourth quarter of the Jazz's Game 5 playoff loss to the Lakers, a performance that earned Jazz coach Jerry Sloan's respect as well as possibly Price's new contract.
"The fact that coach Sloan respected my attitude towards that game, maybe the heart or energy that I showed, that felt good to hear come out of his mouth," Price said. "That season's over with, now we've got a new year coming up, and hopefully a more successful year." Alt Heads:
Price happy about return
