Posted on Thu, Jul. 24, 2008
We all knew the 76ers were negotiating to sign a couple of guards. But we didn't know about this one.
Not Andre Iguodala or Lou Williams, their restricted free agents.
Royal Ivey.
The Sixers have reached an agreement with the 6-4 backcourt player, who spent last season with the Milwaukee Bucks and the first three seasons of his career with the Atlanta Hawks.
Ivey, 26, will not officially sign a minimum-salary contract until Monday, which is believed to be for 2 years and include a significant guarantee. The league minimum for a player with four seasons of service is $854,957.
The Sixers see Ivey as an off-the-bench complement to Williams because of his size and defensive ability. He averaged 5.6 points and 2.1 assists in 75 games last season, making 20 starts. He entered the league in 2004-05 as a second-round draft choice of the Hawks.
"He's a very tough kid who is better offensively than people think," said Keith Glass, Ivey's agent. "His defense and aggressiveness tend to overshadow his offense, but he's gotten better offensively each year."
Ivey scored 1,036 points in four seasons at the University of Texas, completing his career as the Longhorns' all-time leader in starts (126 of 133 games). With him, the Longhorns went to four NCAA Tournaments, reaching the Sweet 16 three times.
With Ivey, the Sixers will have nine players under contract. *
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