AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Richard Hamilton will be with Detroit for a while.
The Pistons said Tuesday they re-signed the restricted free-agent guard to a seven-year, $62-million contract that was agreed upon last month.
"I wanted to be here and they wanted me here," Hamilton, 25, said. "The big thing was feeling like a family here, feeling wanted. It feels like home."
President Joe Dumars, who traded Jerry Stackhouse to Washington last summer for Hamilton, said it was a good day for the team to be able to secure Hamilton long term.
"Rip came here last year and he felt like he had a lot to prove," Dumars said. "We traded away a guy who had been established here for a while for Rip, and there were a lot of questions surrounding Rip when he came here. I think it is safe to say that he answered all of those questions that everyone had about him."
Hamilton led the Pistons by averaging 22.5 points during their postseason run to the East final.
TIMBERWOLVES: Thieves broke into Rod Strickland's suburban Washington home and made off with a huge haul, including several of his basketball jerseys. Authorities said burglars stole Strickland's jerseys from the Heat, Spurs, Trail Blazers, Wizards and Timberwolves. Also taken was a retro Washington Bullets jersey.
Strickland's new SUV and numerous electronics items also were missing from the ransacked home. The break-in is believed to have happened between July30 and Aug.7. Strickland offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, but police said they had no leads.
TRAIL BLAZERS: Arvydas Sabonis is retiring. Again. The 7-foot-3 center told his agent, Chicago-based Herb Rudoy, it was unlikely he would return to the NBA this season because he wants to spend more time with his family in Lithuania. Sabonis was scheduled to be in Portland for a team physical this week but stayed home. The Blazers and Sabonis have until Friday to sign a deal that would guarantee his salary for next season.
Portland can trade his rights before then, giving the team that acquires him some salary-cap relief. Sabonis was set to make $7-million in the second year of a three-year deal he signed before last season. Sabonis, 38, has retired before, sitting out the 2001-02 season when he also cited a desire to spend more time with his family.
BRYANT CASE: Racist fliers were scattered on lawns and windshields in Eagle, Colo., where Lakers star Kobe Bryant is to go on trial on sexual assault charges. A white supremacist group, the National Alliance, acknowledged leaving the fliers and said they were in response to the Bryant case. He said other fliers would be distributed as the case continues. Bryant, who is black, is charged with assaulting a white 19-year-old hotel worker at a resort in nearby Edwards in June. He has said the sex was consensual.
SAN ANTONIO 87, SEATTLE 77: Lauren Jackson set a league record with her seventh consecutive double double, but it was not enough to help the host Storm. Jackson finished with 32 points and 18 rebounds.
NEW YORK 74, CONNECTICUT 73: Crystal Robinson made one free throw with 2.1 seconds left after a technical foul was called for an illegal timeout to lift the visiting Liberty. Robinson finished with 21 points for New York, which rallied from a 17-point deficit.
WASHINGTON 84, INDIANA 80: Chamique Holdsclaw scored 19 for the visiting Mystics, who overcame a 14-point deficit. Tamika Catchings had 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Fever.
