The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have signed forward/center Antonio McDyess. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
McDyess, 6-9, 245 lbs., has spent the past five seasons with the Detroit Pistons. Last year he appeared in 62 games (30 starts), averaging 9.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 30.1 minutes while shooting .510 (268-525) from the field and .698 (60-86) from the foul line. As a starter McDyess averaged 12.1 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.17 blocks in 34.9 minutes compared to 7.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 0.47 blocks in 25.6 minutes in 32 games off the bench. For the season he posted a team-high 16 double-doubles and pulled down 10-or-more rebounds in 31 games.
In the playoffs, he averaged 13.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in 34.0 minutes in the Pistons first round series with Cleveland. At the beginning of the season McDyess was traded to Denver as part of the Allen Iverson/Chauncey Billups deal on Nov. 3, but re-signed with Pistons on Dec. 9 after being waived by the Nuggets. During that stretch he missed 17 games.
Originally selected by the L.A. Clippers with the second overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft (draft rights were traded to Denver), McDyess has played for four different teams over his 14-year career (Denver, Phoenix, New York and Detroit). He was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 1999 (Denver) and was selected to the All-Rookie First Team in 1996 (Denver). In 2001 he was named an NBA All-Star (Denver). McDyess was also a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team that captured the gold medal at the Sydney Olympics.
For his career, McDyess has appeared in 865 games, averaging 13.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists 29.4 minutes. He averaged double-figure scoring in his first seven seasons, highlighted by a career-high 21.2 points per game in 1999 with the Nuggets. During the 2000-01 season he averaged 20.8 points and a career-high 12.1 rebounds in 70 games with Denver. McDyess has scored in double figures in 554 of his 865 career games (64.1%), including 90 consecutive from 4/19/98-1/28/00. The former University of Alabama standout has posted 40-plus points in three games, including a career-high 46 vs. Vancouver on 2/28/99, nine 20-plus rebound games and five 20-20 games.
