Re:All the whining about Gaston

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

** You can now add Mike Bibby ( no surprise) to the Kings bringing their 
total salaries to over $70 Million.



Thursday, August 15
Updated: August 16, 8:38 AM ET
 
Bibby agrees to seven-year, $80M deal
ESPN.com news services

    
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- <A HREF="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3245";>Mike Bibby</A>, the point guard who became a star during 
the <A HREF="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=sac";>Sacramento Kings</A>' run to the Western Conference finals, has agreed to a 
new seven-year, $80 million contract with the Kings.

        
    Bibby   


Bibby, a restricted free agent, arrived in Sacramento last summer in a trade 
with the Grizzlies for <A HREF="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3250";>Jason Williams</A>. 

The Kings will announce the signing at a news conference Friday in Las Vegas 
at The Palms casino, which is owned by the Maloof family. Brothers Joe and 
Gavin Maloof also own the Kings.

Though Bibby was never seriously thought to be leaving Sacramento, his 
signing keeps the entire nucleus intact from the team that finished with the 
NBA's best regular-season record.

The Kings also added <A HREF="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3256";>Keon Clark</A> on Wednesday, signing the highly regarded 
free agent forward to a one-year deal for their $4.5 million salary-cap 
exception.

Bibby averaged 13.7 points and 5.0 assists during the regular season, 
seamlessly making the transition from lowly Vancouver to high-flying 
Sacramento, which won its first Pacific Division championship with Bibby 
starting 80 games.

He then elevated his game to remarkable levels in the playoffs, averaging 
20.3 points per game as the Kings stretched the Lakers to seven games in the 
conference finals.

Bibby scored 29 points in Game 7, capping a string of 10 20-point games in 
the Kings' final 11 playoff contests. In Game 5, he hit the game-winning 
jumper with 8.2 seconds left.

With Bibby in charge, Sacramento was second in the league in scoring at 104.6 
points per game. The Kings didn't miss a beat from the previous three 
seasons, when they were among the league's most exciting teams with Williams 
running the show. The team also improved its defense, allowing just 97 points 
per game.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.