Posey, Hornets agree to a deal

James Posey, a 6-foot-8 forward who last season helped the Boston Celtics win their first title since 1986, agreed Wednesday to a four-year, $25-million contract with New Orleans, agent Mark Bartelstein said.

Posey also was part of the Miami Heat’s championship squad in 2005-06. His record of playing a prominent reserve role on title-winning squads made him a top free-agent target for the Hornets, who are coming off their best season in franchise history and are looking to contend for a first championship of their own.

The Celtics had hoped to keep Posey, a 31-year-old veteran who has a reputation as a strong defender and who was periodically assigned to guard LeBron James and Kobe Bryant during the postseason.

Posey struggled with the decision. As recently as Tuesday, Posey was signing copies of the Celtics championship DVD for fans.

“It was a really tough decision for him,� Bartelstein said. “Boston was an incredible experience for him every way you look at it. If he was going to leave Boston, he wanted to make sure it was for a team that would compete for a championship immediately and the Hornets certainly are in that world.�

Posey averaged 22 minutes of playing time during Boston’s playoff run, scoring 6.7 points and grabbing 3.6 rebounds per game. Posey averaged 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds during the regular season, his 10th in the NBA.

The Hornets inquired about several free agents, including Corey Maggette, Eduardo Najera and Jarvis Hayes, but as those players signed with other teams it was clear that Posey was the player the Hornets coveted most.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers signed sharpshooter Daniel Gibson to a five-year contract.

Bringing back Gibson, a restricted free agent, was one of Cleveland’s priorities. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The guard averaged a career-high 10.4 points on 43% shooting last season. He sprained his left ankle in a Feb. 20 game at Indiana and sat out 18 games.

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Greg Oden is itching to get his delayed NBA career going, but he’s still forbidden from any basketball action until September.

Oden’s rookie season was over before it even started when he had right knee surgery in September. Recovery can take six months or more, and the Portland Trail Blazers decided their No. 1 pick would sit out the season.

“I’m still rehabbing, but I’m ready to play,� Oden said. “I can work out, I can lift, no five-on-five, no three-on-three. That’s where everything is going, toward me being able to play when the season starts, but I’m ready.�

He said he expects to be cleared to play again in September.

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The Celtics signed free-agent center Patrick O’Bryant, a former first-round pick who played 40 games for Golden State last season. The Celtics did not disclose terms of the deal.

O’Bryant, the ninth overall pick in 2006, averaged 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds a game last season.

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The Toronto Raptors signed Croatian guard Roko Ukic to a three-year deal.

Ukic, who was the Raptors’ second-round pick (41st) in the 2005 draft, played in Italy last season with Lottomatica Virtus Roma. He averaged 11.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 19 games, shooting 54.5% from the field.

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New York Knicks rookie Danilo Gallinari has a sore lower back and is listed as doubtful for the remainder of the Las Vegas Summer League.

An MRI exam revealed no significant findings, and he will rest and get treatments the remainder of the week in Las Vegas before returning to Italy.