It's been a foregone conclusion for two weeks, but Don Nelson's three-year extension as Mavericks coach should become reality this week, probably before Thursday's NBA draft.

An NBA source said Saturday that the basic language of Nelson's revised contract has been agreed upon and that it is in the hands of Nelson's attorney. All that remains is for the wording of the deal to be agreed to by Nelson's attorney, the source said.

"The lawyers have contracts they're looking at," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said. "There's nothing any different, no new terms, no new details, no deal is completely done."

The deal, likely to be announced by Tuesday, would extend Nelson's coaching contract through the 2005-06 season, running concurrently with the three seasons in which he is to be the Mavericks' general manager. He would earn slightly more than $5 million per season as coach/GM if his salary is unchanged from the past season.

As with the original contract, Nelson would serve as a consultant to the club for five years after the coach/GM portion expires.