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07-14-2007, 07:56 AM
http://www.contracostatimes.com/warr...nclick_check=1
Warriors reach an agreement with Azubuike
Former D-League star could earn up to $1.5 million with two-year deal
By Geoff Lepper
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Article Launched: 07/14/2007 03:05:19 AM PDT
LAS VEGAS -- The Warriors are ratcheting up the pressure on free-agent forwards Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus by putting a solid backup plan in place.
Kelenna Azubuike, who made his NBA debut with Golden State in January after leading the NBA Development League in scoring, has reached an agreement with the team on a two-year deal worth a potential $1.5 million.
Azubuike will receive the league minimum of $687,456 for this season, said a source with knowledge of the contract terms, and holds the option on a second year worth $797,581. The papers have been drawn up and are just awaiting Azubuike's signature.
"I'm very excited," Azubuike said. "This is where I want to be. I was just hoping they would bring me back."
Azubuike averaged 7.1 points in 41 games for the Warriors, shooting 43.0 percent from 3-point range, the best figure on the team. (Al Harrington shot 43.3 percent on treys for the season but only 41.7 percent after coming to the Warriors in January.)
The continued presence of Azubuike, combined with the addition of rookie draft picks Brandan Wright and Stephane Lasme, gives the Warriors another piece of ammunition in their negotiations with Barnes and Pietrus, both of whom have been apparently unable to find their hoped-for deals with a starting salary of $5.356 million -- the full mid-level salary-cap exception available to many teams.
Azubuike outscored both Barnes and Pietrus on a per-minute basis, and if either member of that pair does
not return, some of the leftover minutes at small forward (or, in Pietrus' case, shooting guard) could fall to Azubuike, a 6-foot-5, 220-pounder who played primarily at shooting guard this past season.
"If that's what coach needs me to do, I feel like I can do that," said Azubuike, who did not play in the next-to-last game for the Warriors' entry in the Vegas Summer League on Friday because of a sprained ankle. "That's what I've been preparing for all summer. I feel like I'll be ready, if I need to."
The deal provides some financial security for Azubuike, who spent a season and a half in the D-League after leaving Kentucky as a junior and going undrafted in 2005. It also gives him some flexibility: He now has two years to establish himself as a hot commodity, but if he can do that in just one season, he can opt to skip out on the second year and test the free-agent waters immediately.
"It's very satisfying," Azubuike said. "After I left the D-League, I promised myself never to go back, just do whatever it takes to not go back."
Contact Geoff Lepper at [email protected].
Warriors reach an agreement with Azubuike
Former D-League star could earn up to $1.5 million with two-year deal
By Geoff Lepper
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Article Launched: 07/14/2007 03:05:19 AM PDT
LAS VEGAS -- The Warriors are ratcheting up the pressure on free-agent forwards Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus by putting a solid backup plan in place.
Kelenna Azubuike, who made his NBA debut with Golden State in January after leading the NBA Development League in scoring, has reached an agreement with the team on a two-year deal worth a potential $1.5 million.
Azubuike will receive the league minimum of $687,456 for this season, said a source with knowledge of the contract terms, and holds the option on a second year worth $797,581. The papers have been drawn up and are just awaiting Azubuike's signature.
"I'm very excited," Azubuike said. "This is where I want to be. I was just hoping they would bring me back."
Azubuike averaged 7.1 points in 41 games for the Warriors, shooting 43.0 percent from 3-point range, the best figure on the team. (Al Harrington shot 43.3 percent on treys for the season but only 41.7 percent after coming to the Warriors in January.)
The continued presence of Azubuike, combined with the addition of rookie draft picks Brandan Wright and Stephane Lasme, gives the Warriors another piece of ammunition in their negotiations with Barnes and Pietrus, both of whom have been apparently unable to find their hoped-for deals with a starting salary of $5.356 million -- the full mid-level salary-cap exception available to many teams.
Azubuike outscored both Barnes and Pietrus on a per-minute basis, and if either member of that pair does
not return, some of the leftover minutes at small forward (or, in Pietrus' case, shooting guard) could fall to Azubuike, a 6-foot-5, 220-pounder who played primarily at shooting guard this past season.
"If that's what coach needs me to do, I feel like I can do that," said Azubuike, who did not play in the next-to-last game for the Warriors' entry in the Vegas Summer League on Friday because of a sprained ankle. "That's what I've been preparing for all summer. I feel like I'll be ready, if I need to."
The deal provides some financial security for Azubuike, who spent a season and a half in the D-League after leaving Kentucky as a junior and going undrafted in 2005. It also gives him some flexibility: He now has two years to establish himself as a hot commodity, but if he can do that in just one season, he can opt to skip out on the second year and test the free-agent waters immediately.
"It's very satisfying," Azubuike said. "After I left the D-League, I promised myself never to go back, just do whatever it takes to not go back."
Contact Geoff Lepper at [email protected].