KP
Starter
Sunday July 24, 2005
By Marc Narducci
Inquirer Staff Writer
The 76ers have secured their center of the future.
Samuel Dalembert came to terms with the team on a new six-year contract late last night. Marc Cornstein, the agent for Dalembert, confirmed that it is a six-year deal, but would not give contract figures. The deal is believed to be for more than $50 million.
"The 76ers were very aggressive and made a concentrated effort to get this done," Cornstein said. "They were very proactive, and it shows how much they wanted to get this deal done."
NBA teams can't officially sign free agents until the moratorium is lifted on Thursday at 6 p.m. Under NBA rules, the Sixers are prohibited from commenting until the contract is signed.
The 6-foot-11 Dalembert, 24, was a restricted free agent, which means the Sixers had the right to match offers from other teams.
Sixers president and general manager Billy King did not want to risk getting into a bidding war with Atlanta - or any other NBA team. King had said since the start of negotiations that he would sign all three of his restricted free agents. He proved true to his word.
Swingman Kyle Korver and guard Willie Green also came to terms on six-year contracts recently; those deals totaled more than $44 million.
Dalembert averaged 8.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.68 blocks last season. He enjoyed a strong playoff series against the Detroit Pistons, averaging 11.6 points and 12.8 rebounds.
--sounds like the super high contract wasn't exactly accurate, still they are paying him an awful lot.
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