Clippers, Kaman agree to extension
Center gets 5-year, $52.5M deal
By Joe Stevens Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:10/28/2006 11:43:21 PM PDT
LOS ANGELES - Chris Kaman signed a five-year, $52.5 million contract extension Friday night and the Clippers scheduled a news conference for today to announce the deal.
The deal was tweaked from the Clippers' original offer of five years and $50 million to also include a $7.5 million bonus if he is traded and incentives that could add about $2.5 million to the contract, a league source confirmed on Saturday.
Kaman's deal is at a number both he and his agent, Rob Pelinka, considered good in light of the contracts of the New Orleans Hornets' Tyson Chandler and Philadelphia 76ers' Samuel Dalembert.
Chandler reportedly signed a six-year, $64 million deal last offseason, and Dalembert reportedly signed a six-year, $58 million contract.
The Clippers had an off day on Saturday. When Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor was reached, he said he and the organization would reserve comment until today's news conference. Calls to Kaman, Pelinka and coach Mike Dunleavy were not returned.
The Clippers, though, released a statement confirming the deal, with Baylor saying, "We are absolutely thrilled to ensure that Chris will be here and staying with the Clippers for a long time to come. He is one of the best young big men in the league, and we feel that he will just continue to get better."
This is another major move for a franchise that once seemed unwilling to spend big money to sign key players. The agreement also shows the Clippers are being more proactive with keeping their own players. When they re-signed Elton Brand and Corey Maggette, the Clippers matched offers from the Miami Heat and Utah Jazz, respectively.
The move also paves the way for the organization to re-sign Dunleavy, who last week said he felt Kaman would take a tweaked deal from the original offer. Dunleavy also guaranteed he wouldn't re-sign by the start of the season. He may be asking for a deal as high as $7 million per season, and the Clippers figure to offer him a contract at around $4 million per season.
Kaman, 24, averaged 11.9 points and 9.6 rebounds last season and is considered among the best centers in the NBA.
As usual the Clippers dont officially release the details of the
contract so Clippers.com just says Kaveman signed..
PS Posting on this was deleted by the Moderators of ISH who
have yet to give this forum a Mod but will delete important posts
like the Kaveman signing? If this was the LAker forum, the fans
would be ready to burn the castle down
Chris Kaman signs multi-year extension
Post was deleted..and here is details from Press Telegram..
