Peja casts his lot with Hornets

Finding a sharpshooter was high on the Jazz's priority list when summer shopping for NBA free agents began late Friday night.

By Saturday night, the market's top shooter was off the shelf.

The Associated Press reported late Saturday that 29-year-old Indiana small forward Peja Stojakovic, who had been expected to re-sign with the Pacers, has agreed to terms with the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets.

Stojakovic, a three-time All-Star and longtime Sacramento Kings forward who recently opted out of his contract with Indiana, will sign a five-year deal worth about $64 million with the Hornets, his agent, David Bauman, told AP.

That's more money than the Jazz, who unlike the Hornets are currently over the NBA's team payroll salary cap, would have been able to offer Stojakovic.

"The Hornets are setting their cap room aside for Peja," Bauman said, "and Peja is taking himself off the market."

Like all free-agency commitments this month, the contract cannot actually be signed until July 12 at the earliest.

The surprise agreement topped a madcap Saturday of free-agency deals, none of which involved the Jazz.

According to AP, Dallas guard Jason Terry agreed on a six-year contract to stay with the Mavericks after about 12 hours after the league's summer negotiating period opened.

ESPN.com reported the agreement is believed to be worth more than $51 million to Terry — the University of Arizona product who signed an offer sheet with Utah in 2003 that ultimately was matched by his team at the time, Atlanta.

Also, the Los Angeles Times reported online Saturday night, the Lakers "addressed their need for outside shooting by snatching away a piece from their cross-town rival by agreeing to terms with 3-point specialist Vladimir Radmanovic."

Agreement on a five-year, $31-million contract, the Times reported, apparently came only after the longtime Seattle forward accepted and then rejected the same $31-million package from his most-recent team, the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers, multiple newspapers reported, immediately reacted to having to find a replacement for Radmanovic by agreeing to terms on a four-year, $24-million deal with sharp-shooting Phoenix forward Tim Thomas.