Rob Babcock has positioned himself to make a huge splash 18 months from now: he'll have money and roster spots galore to go out shopping as an NBA general manager putting the finishing touches on his franchise remake.

But will he have a coach?

Sam Mitchell, trying to turn a young, inexperienced, small roster into something that can be competitive every night, will have his contract expire after the 2006-07 season, just when Babcock will be out from under more than $20 million (all figures U.S.) in salary obligations and ready to make a splash in the free agent market.

And while there are those in the organization who privately think the contract disparity is unfair ? Babcock has a year longer left on his deal than Mitchell has on his ? there seems to be no move towards changing things.

"If we execute this plan, I'm very confident we'll be around for a long time," Babcock said in a recent interview. "Right now, we're not concerned about his contract or my contract. You focus on (the team improving) and the contract stuff will take care of itself."