Ex-Spur Charles Smith gets multi-year deal

[timvp]

Trail Blazers Sign Juan Dixon and Charles Smith to Multi-Year Contracts
August 4, 2005


Free agent Guards Juan Dixon and Charles Smith have signed multi-year contracts with the Portland Trail Blazers. Both signings were announced today by the team's General Manager John Nash and terms of the contracts were not given.

The 6-3 Dixon, appeared in 63 games for the Washington Wizards last season, averaging 8.0 points, 1.8 assists, and 1.9 steals. Dixon played in ten playoff games during the 2005 post season averaging 11.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 21.9 minutes per game.

Dixon was selected in the First Round, 17th pick overall, by the Washington Wizards in the 2002 NBA Draft. A three year starter at the University of Maryland, Dixon led Maryland to the NCAA National Championship his senior year and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Final Four.

Dixon was voted First Team All-America by the Associated Press, and received Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year honors his senior year. Dixon is the only player in NCAA history to ac ulate 2,000 points, 300 steals and 200 three-point field goals. Dixon finished Maryland’s all-time leading scorer (2,149 points) and second all-time in steals with 333.

The 6-4, 200-pound Smith re-joins the Trail Blazers after spending last season with Scavolini Pesaro in the Italian League. Smith played for Portland during the 2002-03 season, playing a total of 13 minutes in three games and spending 79 games on the injured list.

In 32 games last season, Smith averaged a Euroleague best 22.2 points per game and added 3.7 rebounds per contest. In 2003-04, Smith played two games for Makedonikos Kozani in Greece and 37 games with Virtus Bologna in Italy, averaging 24.3 points per game in the Italian League.

Overall, the 29-year-old Smith has played in 120 NBA games with four different clubs – Miami (1997-98), Los Angeles Clippers (1997-98, 1998-99), San Antonio (2001-02) and Portland. His best season was with the Spurs where Smith played in 60 games and averaged 7.4 points per game. Smith played four years collegiately at the University of New Mexico and finished as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,993 career points.

http://www.nba.com/blazers/news/Trai...148140-41.html

[T Park]

Congrats to Spidah.

Obviously the hip thing was bull .

Or a Modesto make up.

[mattyc]

Portland? Poor Spider.

[MI21]

Cool.

Congrats to he with the 11ft wingspan.

[samikeyp]

Glad to see Spider get paid.

[spur219]

Hopefully Dixon will get his chance to play in Portland. I have always liked the way he plays.