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Thursday, July 19, 2001
Richmond reportedly to sign for minimum
ESPN.com news services
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| Richmond |
LOS ANGELES -- Six-time NBA All-Star Mitch Richmond will play for the Los Angeles Lakers next season, according to a published report.
Ironically, the team Richmond last played for, the Washington Wizards, announced Wednesday that it
signed Tyronn Lue, the third-string
Lakers point guard best known for
blanketing Allen Iverson in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, to a
multi-year contract.
The Los Angeles Daily News reported on Wednesday that the Lakers have received an oral commitment from the 36-year-old Richmond. The deal is believed to be for one year, at the veteran's minimum salary of $1 million.
Richmond must pass a physical exam, and no announcement is expected for several days. Lakers officials, burned last summer when Kendall Gill reneged after making an oral agreement, are remaining quiet on the issue.
Richmond averaged a career-low 16.2 points in just 37 games for the Wizards last season. He was hindered by injuries. But he is a career 39 percent shooter from 3-point range and could be a boost to the Lakers' backcourt.
Richmond has averaged 22.2 points per game in his 13-year NBA career.
Financial terms of Lue's deal with Washington were not disclosed.
Lue, 24, also endured an injury-plagued regular season and averaged
just 3.8 points in 38 games last year. But in the
postseason, the 6-foot, 175-pounder caught the eyes of NBA
personnel with his defensive quickness.
From the middle of the third quarter until late in the overtime
of Game 1 of the Finals, Lue shut down the
NBA's Most Valuable Player as the Lakers erased a 15-point
deficit. Lue played 22 minutes and had five points and five steals in
the Lakers' Game 1 loss, and he added five points in 17 minutes in Game 3.
In Washington, Lue will compete for a starting job with Chris
Whitney. The Wizards have been shopping for a point guard since
waiving Rod Strickland in March.
A 1998 first-round pick of Denver, Lue was sent to the Lakers in
a trade for Nick Van Exel.
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