This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Free-agent point guard John Lucas III has reached an agreement to join the Utah Jazz, his agent told The Salt Lake Tribune.
The Jazz had actively courted Lucas for more than a week, flying him to Orlando during summer league, where he met with coach Tyrone Corbin and Jazz executives. He will become the second point guard on the roster, behind rookie Trey Burke.
Terms of the deal were not known, but the minimum salary for a five-year veteran is $1,027,424 and indications are that Lucas will receive more. When the deal is finalized, the Jazz will have added six new players this season. In addition to Lucas, the Jazz traded for Burke and Rudy Gobert on draft night, and added Richard Jefferson, Andris Biedrins and Brandon Rush via a trade with Golden State.
With the current roster, Lucas stands to serve as Burke's primary backup, likely with aid from off-guard Alec Burks. One wrinkle, however, would be whether the Jazz sign second-round pick Raul Neto. Neto, a Brazil native who was acquired on draft night from Atlanta and is under contract with a club team in Spain, played well at the Orlando Pro Summer League and may be more NBA-ready than the Jazz anticipated.
Lucas, 31, played last season with Toronto, but has also spent time with the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls. He was out of the league from 2008 to 2010, and also spent time in Italy, Spain, China and the D-League.
Lucas played at Baylor before transferring to Oklahoma State. He has career averages of 5.1 points and 1.5 assists and has never played in more than 63 games or averaged more than 14.8 minutes per game.
He is the son of former NBA player and coach John Lucas.
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