The deal is done. Officially.
Avery Johnson will be Alabama's next basketball coach and the details are now final, AL.com learned. The deal is for six years and close to $18 million.
"It's a wrap," Johnson told AL.com.
News of a verbal agreement leaked Sunday afternoon after Alabama athletics director Bill Battle traveled to Dallas to meet with Johnson on Saturday. The deal was finalized Monday evening.
"Coach Johnson has an impressive record from the professional ranks, as both a player and a head coach," Battle said. "His personal history is a testament to what character, enthusiasm, perseverance, talent and intelligence can do. He has shown fortitude and skill in every opportunity.
"I am confident that Avery will provide our student-athletes with the best qualities of leadership: commitment, hard work, enthusiasm, poise, confidence, and pride. I am very excited about having Avery join the Crimson Tide family. Not only do I believe that he will be an excellent head coach, but I am also convinced that he will be a tremendous example to our student-athletes in all areas on and off the court."
Alabama is expected to formally introduce Johnson, 50, in a Wednesday news conference. The news officially closes a coaching search that spanned 22 days after Anthony Grant was fired March 15.
The deal still requires approval from the UA Board of Trustees' compensation committee.
Johnson, 50, was making approximately $4 million a year when he was fired by the Nets in 2012. He's been out of coaching since then, working as an NBA analyst for ESPN.
In parts of seven seasons coaching professionals, Johnson compiled a 440-254 record with the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets.