[TimesPicayune] Hornets sign Smith to three-year deal worth $3.
http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1089188819303050.xml
Hornets sign Smith to three-year deal worth $3.1 million
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
By John Reid
Staff writer
The Hornets signed first-round draft pick J.R. Smith to a
three-year, $3.1 million contract Tuesday.
As the 18th pick, Smith will make $966,800 this season,
$1,039,300 in 2005-06 and $1,111,800 in 2006-07. All
first-round picks have scaled contracts, based on the order
they were selected in last month's draft.
Hornets coach Byron Scott is looking to build a younger, more
athletic team and sees Smith, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard, as a
move in that direction.
The 18-year-old was one of eight high school players selected
in the first round. He has a 44-inch vertical jump, showed range
as a shooter and effectively ran the floor in several postseason
all-star games.
"We obviously were impressed with his basketball skills when we
drafted him, but, after meeting with him and his family, we were
equally impressed with his character," Hornets general manager
Allan Bristow said.
Smith could not be reached for comment, so it's not known when he
plans to move to New Orleans to begin preparing for training camp
in October.
Smith will make his professional debut in the Southern California
Summer Pro League in Long Beach on July 12-18.
Bristow said Smith's teammates include forward David West, the
Hornets first-pound pick of last season, recently acquired guard
Alex Garcia, last month's second-round draft pick Tim Pickett,
Lang and several other free agents trying to make an NBA roster.
Scott will make the trip to evaluate his players, but director of
player personnel Jeff Bower will coach the team.
Smith is the third high school player drafted by the Hornets. In
1996, the Charlotte Hornets drafted Kobe Bryant and then traded him
to the Los Angeles Lakers for center Vlade Divac. Last year, the
Hornets drafted center James Lang, who played at Central Park
Christian School in Birmingham, Ala. But Lang was waived in December
after playing in no regular-season games.
Smith was co-MVP of the McDonald's All-Star Game with Dwight Howard,
who was the No. 1 overall pick by the Orlando Magic.
At St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, N.J., Smith averaged
23.9 points and five steals. He set the school single-season records
for points (700), 3-pointers (108) and field-goal percentage (.541).
The Hornets still are trying to work out a contract agreement with
second-round pick Tim Pickett, a guard from Florida State who was
selected as the 44th overall pick. Unlike Smith, who has a guaranteed
contract, Pickett will have to earn a roster spot during training camp.
Only first-round selections have guaranteed contracts.
. . . . . . .
John Reid can be reached at jreid@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3405.
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 218.166.78.201
Pelicans 近期熱門文章
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章
