Wizards give Grunfeld extension

"Ernie has done an outstanding job in his tenure with the Wizards and is most deserving of this extension," said team owner Abe Pollin. "From his first day, Ernie has worked tirelessly to improve our team, and everything he has done has been with an eye toward our long term success. I’m proud of the direction our team is going, and with two consecutive playoff appearances behind us, our future looks extremely bright."

Within just over a year after joining the organization on June 30, 2003, Grunfeld had signed free agent guard Gilbert Arenas and acquired forward Antawn Jamison.

Grunfeld, who has held an executive position for an NBA team for the last 16 years, was a front office executive with the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks before coming to Washington.

After being drafted in the first round of the 1977 NBA Draft, Grunfeld played nine seasons with the Bucks, Kansas City Kings and Knicks.

"I’m honored and flattered with Mr. Pollin’s confidence and trust in what we’ve done," said Grunfeld. "Mr. and Mrs. Pollin have been great owners and are extremely supportive of all that we’ve tried to accomplish, and I feel that we are positioned very well to be an extremely competitive team for years to come. I enjoy working with everyone in this organization. My family and I have really enjoyed our time in Washington and we have become part of the community. We’ve enjoyed getting to know the extremely knowledgeable and supportive fans that attend our games, and I’m very excited about the future of this organization."