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Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has re-signed free agent guard Royal Ivey. The deal may just be for one-year and the league minimum, but that hasn’t been confirmed.
On June 15, Ivey declined the player option on his contract for the 2009-10 season, making him an unrestricted free agent.
“We are fortunate to be able to bring back Royal Ivey, an experienced guard with good size who is familiar with our team and core philosophies,” Stefanski said. “Prior to making a decision on signing an additional guard, Coach Jordan expressed his interest in acquiring a player who puts the team first and plays aggressive defense, both qualities embodied by Royal.”
Ivey (6-4/215) appeared in 71 games off the bench for the Sixers last season, averaging 3.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game. For the season, he had 36 steals to 23 turnovers, posting the sixth-highest steal-to-turnover ratio (1.56) of any player in the league.
After averaging just 8.0 minutes per game his first 21 games played last season, Ivey averaged 13.9 mpg over the final 50 games of 2008-09. He recorded career-highs in 3-pointers made (39) and free throw percentage (.791).
Ivey was originally selected by Atlanta with the 37th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. Following three years with the Hawks, he played one season for Milwaukee in 2007-08 prior to signing with the Sixers last summer.
A four-year starter at the University of Texas, Ivey helped guide the Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament each season, including three consecutive Sweet 16 berths and one Final Four appearance. He was a two-time Big 12 Conference All-Defensive team selection and was named third-team All-Big 12 by the media his senior season.
