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By DOUG ALDEN AP Sports Writer
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Matt Harpring is staying with the Utah Jazz, agreeing to a multiyear deal with the team Tuesday.
"Matt is a bottom-line person. He listened (to other teams) and he was flattered, but he didn't want it to drag on," Atlanta-based agent Richard Howell said.
Terms of the deal, which can't be formally completed until July 12, were not announced. Kevin O'Connor, Jazz vice president of basketball operations, said he couldn't comment on the deal because of league rules.
O'Connor has been focused on getting Harpring, a restricted free agent when he signed with Utah in August 2002, to stay in Utah. Harpring has averaged 14.9 points with the Jazz and his grit and versatility have made him a favorite of coach Jerry Sloan.
At 30, Harping is the oldest player on the Jazz, who wanted to keep him on a roster that also includes forwards Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur and point guard Deron Williams. The Jazz haven't reached the postseason since 2003, the last season of the John Stockton and Karl Malone era and Harpring's first year in Utah.
Harpring felt the Jazz, who went 41-41 last season, were serious about improving and that was a factor in his choice to stay, Howell said.
"He and his wife felt good about the decision," Howell said.
The Deseret Morning News first reported the deal on its Web site Tuesday morning.
After starting last season slowly following offseason knee surgery, Harpring averaged 12.5 points and 5.2 rebounds while playing 71 games.
Harpring was the 15th pick overall in the 1998 draft and played his first two seasons in Orlando, then played a year each in Cleveland and Philadelphia before ending up with the Jazz four years ago.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-07-04-06 1140MDT
