John Salmons making about average

The free-agent signings of John Salmons and Drew Gooden should help the Milwaukee Bucks stay competitive in the Eastern Conference next season after the team surprised NBA observers with a dramatic, 12-game improvement in the 2009-'10 season.

Bucks general manager John Hammond made it a priority to re-sign Salmons, who made such a huge contribution to the team's playoff push in the last two months of the season.

Now that more players are signing long-term contracts, a closer look reveals the Bucks signed Salmons and Gooden to deals near the norm for those positions.

According to league sources, Salmons received guaranteed money of more than $33 million over his five-year deal. And Salmons could earn well in excess of that number with non-guaranteed money in the fifth year of the contract.

Salmons will be paid in the $8 million range in the first year of the deal, after he opted out of the final year of a contract that would have paid him $5.8 million next season.

Skiles said Salmons' calm demeanor was important to the Bucks' success, in addition to his ability to sink clutch shots and get to the free throw line.

"When John and Jeff (Weltman) started talking with Chicago (before the trade deadline last season), one thing that stood out is he is serious," Skiles said of Salmons. "Now a lot of players are serious, but John is a true professional. We needed that then, and we need it now. That's why we made this type of commitment to him."



(jsonline.com)