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Sources: Michele Roberts to seek new deal as executive director of union

With an original four-year agreement set to expire in September, Michele Roberts plans to seek a new contract as the executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, sources tell ESPN.

Roberts plans to send a formal letter of her intentions to the union's executive committee in the near future, sources said.

Roberts had strongly considered staying in the NBPA's executive director role for only the length of her original contract -- and expressed that to the union's senior membership -- but has recently decided to pursue a longer tenure, sources said.

NBPA president Chris Paul played a significant part in Roberts' hiring in July 2014 and he has built a strong working relationship with Roberts.

Roberts, 62, became the first female head of a sports labor union after a successful career as a trial lawyer. She inherited an NBPA in disarray in the aftermath of the acrimonious exit of her predecessor, Billy Hunter.

With a labor agreement signed through 2024, changes to the NBA's early entry rule -- known as the one-and-done rule -- is the next significant negotiation that Roberts and the union has with the NBA.

In the aftermath of a Hunter-era rife with nepotism and questionable financial practices, Roberts has restored order and a stronger relationship with the union's rank-and-file players. Johnson has been able to recruit the NBPA's top players into leadership roles on the executive committee, including LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Pau Gasol and CJ McCollum.

Roberts earns a base salary of $1.2 million annually, including several hundred thousand dollars in potential annual bonuses.