The Detroit Pistons have reached agreement with free-agent guard Ben Gordon(notes) and forward Charlie Villanueva(notes), a source with knowledge of the talks told Yahoo! Sports Wednesday evening.
Gordon will receive a five-year contract worth around $55 million while Villanueva’s five-year deal is expected to be worth about $35 million.
Gordon and Villanueva, who played together for a year at UConn, traveled to Detroit on Wednesday morning to meet with Detroit president Joe Dumars and other Pistons front-office officials. They took a tour of the practice facility in Auburn Hills, had lunch with management and both ultimately came to terms on an agreement. Gordon agreed first and Villanueva followed soon after.
The loss of Gordon is a blow to the Bulls, who tried to re-sign the shooting guard. Gordon turned down contract extensions for $54 million and $50 million in the past two offseasons as a restricted free agent. It is believed the Bulls were willing to go to $10 million a season for him, but were outbid by the Pistons.
No free agents can sign until the league-mandated moratorium ends on July 8.
The Pistons also continue to negotiate with one of their own free agents, forward Antonio McDyess.
The signing of Gordon, 26, could make another former UConn player, Richard Hamilton, expendable in a trade. Hamilton, 31, could be used to bring back another low-post presence: perhaps Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer, Los Angeles Clippers’ center Chris Kaman or New Orleans Hornets center Tyson Chandler. Gordon averaged 20.7 points a game last season for the Bulls and 18.5 in his five seasons in Chicago. He was the third pick in the 2004 NBA draft.
Dumars is remaking the Pistons, who are expected to lose Rasheed Wallace to free agency. Dumars fired coach Michael Curry on Wednesday, and ex-Pistons coach Doug Collins is considered the frontrunner for the job. Sources say Collins still has to sell his staying power and stability to Detroit management. Former Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson will be considered, too.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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