Chauncey Billups bounced around like a basketball early in his career before finding an NBA home with the Detroit Pistons.
The All-Star point guard now will extend his career with the team he led to the past five Eastern Conference finals.
Billups and the Pistons agreed on a five-year, $60 million contract Tuesday, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.
The person, who requested anonymity because of league rules preventing contract announcements before July 11, said the deal is worth $46 million guaranteed over four years and the fifth year is a team option.
Billups was drafted third overall in 1997 by Boston and was with Toronto, Denver, Orlando and Minnesota within his first four years in the league.
The Seattle SuperSonics appear set to pluck another piece from the San Antonio Spurs.
The Sonics have scheduled a Thursday news conference amid reports that the team has hired P.J. Carlesimo as its new head coach. Team officials refused to comment Tuesday on a report that first appeared on the San Antonio Express-News Web site, which said Carlesimo had been chosen by Sonics ownership.
Carlesimo and former Minnesota coach Dwane Casey have been considered front-runners for the Seattle job. Casey told The Associated Press on Tuesday evening that he was informed by the Sonics they were going with another candidate. Casey said he was not told who the choice was.
“They said they were going in a different direction and that I made it a tough decision,” said Casey, a former assistant in Seattle. “I’m disappointed.”
Seattle general manager Sam Presti, who spent the last seven years working in the Spurs’ organization before becoming Seattle’s GM on June 7, was traveling and unavailable for comment.
