Guard Matt Carroll and the Charlotte Bobcats came to terms on a six-year, $27 million contract.
Agent Paul Nadel said Wednesday that Carroll is expected to sign the deal next week when he returns from a trip to China.
Carroll, signed by Charlotte out of the NBA’s developmental league midway through the 2004-05 season, quickly became a key contributor. A 3-point specialist, he averaged nine points in 25 games to close that season, then 7.6 points the following year.
Last season, Carroll averaged a career-high 12.1 points and shot 42 percent from 3-point range, moving into the starting lineup late in the season.
“I’m very excited about Matt being back in the fold,” Bobcats coach Sam Vincent said. “The guys who are part of this thing last year and have gotten us to this point are special to this organization. The more of those guys that we can keep around, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Carroll, who was undrafted out of Notre Dame, was cut by New York, Portland, San Antonio and Golden State.
But his game blossomed while playing for Roanoke in the NBDL. He averaged more than 20 points a game before he was signed by Charlotte.
Carroll said late last season that he wanted the security of a long-term deal. Carroll received some interest from other teams, but the Bobcats were the only team that could have offered him a six-year contract, the maximum length allowed under the collective bargaining agreement.
“He’s very excited,” Nadel said. “This is where he wanted to be.”
SuperSonics: Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, the second and fifth overall choices in last week’s NBA draft, signed contracts with the team.
Durant is a 6-foot-9 forward who earned Associated Press college player of the year honors in his one season at Texas. He also won the Adolph Rupp Trophy, the Naismith Award and the Wooden Award.
Green, a 6-9 forward from Georgetown, was named to the AP All-America third team this year.
Wizards: Guard Juan Carlos Navarro, 27, whose rights are owned by Washington, will be allowed by his Spanish club to leave for the NBA.
Navarro is one of the Spanish league’s best shooters from behind the 3-point arc, boasting a 40 percent career average.
Knicks: The sexual harassment case against New York coach and general manager Isiah Thomas is expected to go to trial in September.
In January 2006, ex-Knicks senior vice president Anucha Browne Sanders filed suit against Thomas.
She contends the Hall of Famer subjected her to “demeaning and repulsive behavior,” including unwanted sexual advances.
Her suit alleged that Madison Square Garden fired her after she went through internal channels to address the matter.
