Lakers Sign Kupchak to Contract Extension

The Lakers have signed General Manager Mitch Kupchak to a multiyear contract extension, according to sources within the organization.

Two months after the Portland Trail Blazers and Washington Wizards were denied permission to contact Kupchak regarding openings in their organizations and a month after perennial All-Stars Karl Malone and Gary Payton were added to the Laker roster, Laker owner Jerry Buss moved to keep Kupchak in his front office.

Kupchak was given a four-year deal to lead the Lakers’ basketball operations when his mentor, Jerry West, left the team after the 1999-2000 season. With a year left on that contract, Kupchak, 49, has agreed to an extension believed to be for at least four more years.

Kupchak would not comment on his new contract and the organization made no announcement of it.

Buss, who returned this week from an extended trip to Europe, also is expected to sign Coach Phil Jackson to a contract extension of at least two years, though the previous timetable has been pushed back perhaps a month. Jackson’s original five-year contract with the Lakers expires after this season, and his improved health has freed him to consider a longer commitment, which might not be finalized until early in the regular season.

Jackson intends to leave Los Angeles for Montana soon and not return until mid-September. And although Buss and Jackson hoped to meet to discuss Jackson’s contract, which could be worth more than $8 million per season before bonuses, it is possible negotiations -- thought by many to be a formality -- will not start until next month.

The Lakers are permitted to begin extension negotiations with center Shaquille O’Neal, who could add as many as three years to a contract that runs three more seasons. Because of collective-bargaining restrictions, the contract cannot be made official until October.