Arroyo agrees to stay in Utah
Starting point guard to sign a multiyear deal with the Jazz
The Jazz on Wednesday agreed to terms on a multiyear contract with restricted free agent Carlos Arroyo, their starting point guard last season and the starting point for Puerto Rico in the men's basketball tournament at next month's Summer Olympics at Athens, Greece.
The Arroyo deal comes on the heels of two commitments made Monday, one from swingman Gordan Giricek to sign a four-year deal to stay in Utah and the other from Detroit Pistons big man Mehmet Okur to sign a Jazz offer sheet.
ESPN.com reported Arroyo's contract to be worth $16 million over four years. That's roughly the same offer Giricek got.
None of those agreements can be formalized until the NBA's summer signing period opens next Wednesday, but O'Connor — the Jazz's senior vice president for basketball operations — is happy to know yet another name for next season's roster is secure.
"You've got to remember: He was in the league for two years before last season, but he really didn't play much those two years," O'Connor said of Arroyo, who averaged 12.6 points and 5.0 assists in 71 games as a full-time starter. "We thought he did a terrific job for us last year — or else we wouldn't be re-signing him."
It's a biggie but perhaps so big it might not fit quite right.
New Jersey Nets All-Star power forward Kenyon Martin flies in to Utah this morning from Denver, where on Wednesday he met with the Nuggets.
Martin, a restricted free agent seeking a max-deal offer sheet of about $85 million over six seasons from a team with money to spend under the NBA's team payroll salary cap, also will visit Friday with Atlanta.
On one hand, Martin seems reluctant to leave the Nets.
"Sometimes change is good," he said Wednesday to reporters in Denver, "but . . . my No. 1 choice is to stay in New Jersey."
On the other hand, he knows the best way to secure a decent deal is to sign an offer sheet from Denver, Utah or Atlanta — which means risking having to actually play in one of those locales should prospective new Nets owner Bruce Ratner choose not to match.
Ratner has said he wants Martin back, but so far he refused to assure anyone the Nets will match the max.
"New Jersey's my first choice, and I've been there for four years. My family is comfortable there," the Michigan-born, Dallas-reared University of Cincinnati product said Wednesday in Colorado. "But if it's not going to happen, it's not going to happen. I'm not going to lose sleep over it."
The Jazz are shopping for a power forward, and Martin is a dandy. But there are no guarantees Utah will even offer max money.
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