Pistons Sign Vaught, Laettner
If Grant Hill is going to take the mantle from Michael Jordan, he'll apparently have some help up front.
A broadcast report says the Detroit Pistons have agreed to terms with free-agent forwards Loy Vaught and Christian Laettner. Vaught reportedly will sign a five-year, $23 million pact, while Laettner will ink a three-year, $18 million deal.
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Vaught, the Los Angeles Clippers all-time leading rebounder, will help ease Hill's responsibilities on the boards. Laettner, Hill's teammate at Duke, could help on and off the court as Hill assumes a more prominent role in restoring the NBA's image following the lockout and Jordan's retirement.
Coming off injury-plagued 1997-98 seasons, both Vaught and Laettner could prove to be big bargains. Vaught played only 10 games due to a degenerative disk in his lower back, while Laettner ruptured his Achilles tendon working out during the lockout.
The prospect of either player being ready to start the abbreviated season was not known, although Vaught is considered much closer than Laettner, who was injured on Sept. 10. Vaught, 30, earned $3.35 million last season.
No transactions can be officially announced until the recently reached collective bargaining agreement is finalized, perhaps as early as Thursday. But team executives have permission to discuss personnel moves.
The 6-foot-9 Vaught, a seven-year veteran, averaged 14.9 points and 10.0 rebounds in 1996-97, his last healthy season, when the Clippers reached the playoffs for the first time in four years.
The 6-11 Laettner, who made $5.35 million in the final year of a six-year contract, averaged 13.8 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Atlanta Hawks. But he lost his starting job to Alan Henderson in the second half of the season.
The third overall pick in the 1992 draft, Laettner, 29, spent his first three-pls seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves before being sent to the Hawks in a four-player trade during the 1996-97 season.
Laettner and Hill were members of Duke's 1991 and 1992 NCAA championship teams. Each has been a member of an NBA "Dream Team."
On Monday, the Pistons added veteran NBA administrator George Irvine to coach Alvin Gentry's staff.
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