In three years in Utah, Williams has helped the Jazz re-establish themselves as consistent winners and made himself into an Olympic athlete and, as of Friday, a max-contract player in the NBA.

Imagine what he might do with another five years.

That's the window he's giving himself to "accomplish what we want to accomplish," Williams said, while outlining how near the Jazz are to winning a championship - that would be "very close," by his calculation- and explaining the mathematical formula he's using to describe what's ahead before he even turns 30.

He'll play this season under his original contract, then the new deal will kick in for the 2009-10 season. It's valid for three years, plus an option year, so Williams labels it a four-year deal.

Suddenly, it's 2013.

"That's five years," Williams said, "which is a long time,"

Sure is, especially when the Jazz intend to win right away.

Jazz officials want credit for the aggressiveness and foresight involved in owner Larry H. Miller's promising as much as $70 million to their point guard as they look to the future, yet they also want to make clear they will be keeping score during the 2008-09 season.

"I get a little bit frustrated when we're all talking about what's going to happen after this year - which I understand," said general manager Kevin O'Connor. "But our focus is on this year coming up now, and we'll see what happens."

Williams' contract extension "shows [Miller's] commitment to putting an elite team on the floor," O'Connor said. "He doesn't mind spending the money; he doesn't mind stepping out to do it."

Friday's developments, while hardly unexpected, do remove one critical variable from the Jazz's list of issues. Other personnel questions will surface next summer; Williams knows that, O'Connor knows that, everybody knows that.

"You can't predict what [teammates] are going to do," Williams said. "I still think this franchise is headed in the right direction."

Williams trusts O'Connor to keep surrounding him with talent, and he's also willing to play point guard on and off the floor - whether that means convincing forward Carlos Boozer to stay beyond next season, advising O'Connor about players around the league when asked and helping to attract free agents.

"I think I can do a good job of recruiting guys," Williams said, "try to get 'em here, try to get over that stereotype that Utah's not a great place to live."

He's probably too busy to run for governor, though.

Williams and the Jazz have come a long way together in three years, from the days during his rookie season when he stewed about coach Jerry Sloan's handling of him to their surprising Western Conference finals appearance in 2007 and their continued growth this past season, even if the Los Angeles Lakers shrouded some of that advancement.

"About halfway through those three years, the light really came on," said Bob McLaren, Williams' agent.

The '07 playoffs "really lifted this team up to a different level," McLaren said, "and since then, they've played at that level or above and just gotten better and better and more confident as a team."

When the Jazz made him the No. 3 pick in the draft, Williams thought of highly drafted busts in NBA history. "I didn't want to be one of those guys," he said.

No worries there.

Friday, he thought of players who were spoiled by big contracts and said, "I don't want to be one of those guys who people say, 'He's stealing money.' "

That won't happen.

So not long after next month's Olympics, Williams and his Jazz teammates will resume their climbing pursuits. He's not planning to wait until the end of this five-year period for his team to do something special, either. Jazz management would certainly sign off on that approach.