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Suns sign top draft pick Lopez
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Robin Lopez, a center at Stanford and drafted in the first round of the NBA basketball draft by the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, is flanked by Suns head coach Terry Porter, right, and General Manager Steve Kerr, left, after being introduced by the team in a news conference Friday, June 27, 2008, in Phoenix.
The Associated Press
The Suns have signed center Robin Lopez, the 15th overall pick in last month’s NBA draft, to a contract.
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Terms of the deal were not released, but Lopez’s salary slot in the collective bargaining agreement calls for him to be paid $1,353,100 this season and $1,454,600 next season. The Suns hold team options for the 2010-11 ($1,556,100) and 2011-12 seasons ($2,385,300), with the Suns’ qualifying offer for a fifth season for 2012-13 sitting at $3,334,930.
Lopez is now clear to take part in the Vegas Summer League beginning this weekend. Assistant Dan Majerle, who is running the team for Phoenix, said his primary goal is to get Lopez and second-year Suns Alando Tucker and D.J. Strawberry as much work as possible. Strawberry will start and see a lot of his time at the point guard position, a spot the Suns would like to see him master.
The first of five games for the Suns is Monday against the Houston Rockets at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Lopez averaged 8.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots in two years at Stanford. His twin brother and Stanford teammate, Brook, was selected 10th in the draft by the New Jersey Nets.
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