NEW ORLEANS -- James Posey has won NBA championships with two teams. The New Orleans Hornets hope to be his third.
Posey, a 6-foot-8 forward who last season helped the Boston Celtics win their first title since 1986, agreed Wednesday to a four-year, $25 million contract with New Orleans, agent Mark Bartelstein said.
Posey also was part of the Miami Heat's championship squad in 2005-06. His record of playing a prominent reserve role on title-winning squads made him a top free-agent target for the Hornets, who are coming off their best season in franchise history and looking to contend for a first championship of their own.
The Celtics hoped to keep Posey, a 31-year-old veteran who has a reputation as a strong defender and who was periodically assigned to guard LeBron James and Kobe Bryant during the postseason.
Posey struggled with the decision, knowing that joining All-Stars Chris Paul and David West in New Orleans would mean leaving behind Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in Boston, where as recently as Tuesday Posey was signing copies of the Celtics' championship DVD for fans.
"It was a really tough decision for him," Bartelstein said. "Boston was an incredible experience for him every way you look at it. If he was going to leave Boston, he wanted to make sure it was for a team that would compete for a championship immediately and the Hornets certainly are in that world."
|
|
| James Posey brings his two rings to New Orleans to work on a third. (Getty Images) |
New Orleans beat Dallas in five games in the opening round of the playoffs and came within a victory of reaching the Western Conference finals, losing to San Antonio in a seven-game, second-round series.
The Hornets' weakness was an inconsistent bench.
Posey, meanwhile, averaged 22 minutes of playing time during Boston's playoff run, scoring 6.7 points and grabbing 3.6 rebounds per game. Posey averaged 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds during the regular season, his 10th in the NBA.
Shortly before the draft, the Hornets traded away their only selection, the 27th overall pick, to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for $3 million in cash with the stated purpose of using that money toward a proven player in free agency who could help them win right away.
The Hornets inquired about several free agents, including Corey Maggette, Eduardo Najera and Jarvis Hayes, but as those players signed with other teams it was clear that Posey was the player the Hornets' coveted most.
With the money they received from Portland, combined with the savings that came from not having to shell out guaranteed money to a first-round draft pick, the Hornets were able to offer a generous enough deal to bring Posey to New Orleans.
