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Irvine, Pistons continue negotiations
Posted: Thursday May 18, 2000 06:46 PM
DETROIT (AP) -- George Irvine wants to be the Detroit Pistons' head coach, and the club wants to clear the "interim" from his title. But reaching contract terms has been anything but a slam dunk, Irvine's attorney said Thursday. "I don't think we're at a close stage at all about terms," Keith Glass said by telephone from his New Jersey office. "The good thing is that we're talking. There's no breakdown in that. "We'd use the word 'cordial' but not 'close,'" Glass said, adding that talks are hung up on "differences in terms of value." "We haven't come to an agreement on major terms," Glass said. He did not elaborate on whether that meant money, the contract's length or both. Regardless, he said he isn't pressed about getting a deal done. "I think that negotiations are never about time; I measure them by tone," he said. "I'm hoping that we can move this thing along a little bit and get to the point where we can put this behind us." No one appears to want that more than Irvine. "Both sides want it to get done," he said from his California home. "I'm confident something will get done, but I'm not sure of the timetable. "The important part was them wanting me and me wanting to coach. Those two things have been settled." Beyond that, he refused to discuss negotiations in detail, saying only that he seeks a contract in line with those of other head coaches. Pistons executives did not return telephone messages Thursday, when one report quoted former Piston Joe Dumars -- the club's vice president of player personnel -- as saying Irvine would be signed to a three-year contract within days. That's unlikely, Glass and Irvine say. "When they say they're days away I don't know what they mean," Glass said. "I'm surprised to see that the Pistons are saying we're so close. I don't consider us close at all. Irvine has been the Pistons' interim coach since Alvin Gentry was fired March 6. Irvine said then he wasn't interested in the full-time job, only to change his mind after the Pistons went 14-10 -- 7-5 away from the Palace -- under his watch before being swept by Miami in the playoffs' first round. Last week, Irvine said abruptly being elevated as Gentry's replacement was "really difficult." The timing left him "not too enthused" about guiding the team that he said faced an arduous stretch. But Irvine's change of mind about the coaching vacancy was inspired by the way the Pistons responded under him. "I think we're on the right track as far as how we need to play, what we need to do to win, what we need to do to improve," he said. "To be able to start at the beginning of the season is a lot easier." Irvine was an assistant with the Golden State Warriors for two years and worked for 16 years in the Indiana Pacers' front office. He also played in the ABA.
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