Lakers agree to terms with G Sasha
Vujacic
(Wire) - Lakers restricted free agent
guard Sasha Vujacic has agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract
after emerging last season as a key member of the Western Conference
champions.
“We felt Sasha made great progress in this past year, and our coach
showed great confidence in playing him the second half of the season,”
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said Friday in confirming the
agreement, first reported by the Riverside Press-Enterprise. “Assuming
he continues to work as hard during the offseason as he has in the past,
I don’t see any reason that trend wouldn’t continue.”
The 24-year-old Vujacic averaged a career-high 8.8 points, 2.1 rebounds
and 1.0 assists in 72 games this season, and 8.1 points 2.2 rebounds and
0.8 assists while playing in all 21 playoff games.
Vujacic drew national attention June 10, scoring a career playoff high
20 points including a crucial 3-pointer with a little under two minutes
remaining in the Lakers’ 87-81 victory over the Celtics in Game 3 of the
NBA finals.
The Lakers had made Vujacic a $2.6 million qualifying offer, and he
reportedly was considering playing in Europe. Kupchak said he didn’t
know if that sped up negotiations.
“I think in this type of environment with restricted free agency, it
could drag on and on,” he said. “If anything, they needed to know where
we stood. There is a real competitive environment outside of the NBA
now, and it could be short-lived. We don’t know. But we would not have
done anything that we didn’t think was a prudent business/basketball
decision.”
Josh Childress announced earlier this week he was leaving the Atlanta
Hawks for Greek club Olympiakos, reversing the course of the many
international stars who have signed with the NBA. Agent Jim Tanner said
Childress was guaranteed about $20 million after taxes, and that
Childress could opt out of the contract after each year.
The Lakers will hold a press conference Monday at team headquarters in
suburban El Segundo to officially announce the signing.
The Lakers made Vujacic, a 6-foot-7, 205-pounder from Slovenia, the 27th
overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft. Vujacic averaged 2.9 points in 35
games as a rookie, 3.9 points in 82 games in his second professional
season, and 4.3 points in 73 games in 2006-07.
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