NBA | James Posey signs with Hornets

NEW ORLEANS — James Posey has won NBA championships with two teams. The New Orleans Hornets hope to be his third.

Posey, a 6-foot-8 forward who last season helped the Boston Celtics win their first title since 1986, agreed Wednesday to a $25 million, four-year 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 looking to contend for a first championship of their own.

The Celtics 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, knowing that joining All-Stars Chris Paul and David West in New Orleans would mean leaving behind Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in Boston, where 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."

Riding the playmaking ability of Paul, who also will play point guard for the United States at the Summer Olympics, the Hornets won a franchise-record 56 regular-season games and the Southwest Division for their first division crown.

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

Notes

• The Cleveland Cavaliers signed sharpshooter Daniel Gibson to a five-year contract. The guard averaged a career-high 10.4 points on 43 percent shooting last season. Gibson was fifth in the NBA in three-point shooting at 44 percent. He was named MVP of the All-Star Rookie/Sophomore game in New Orleans when he made a record 11 three-pointers.

• Free-agent point guard Tyronn Lue has agreed to a $3.9 million, two-year contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, Lue's agent said.

• O.J. Mayo played mostly point guard and struggled early before scoring 14 points in the second half as he and the Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 82-74 in their NBA Summer League finale in Las Vegas. Marcus Williams from Seattle's Roosevelt High School led the Clippers with a game-high 23 points.

• New York Knicks rookie forward Danilo Gallinari, the No. 6 overall pick, has a sore lower back and is listed as doubtful for the remainder of the Las Vegas summer league.

• The Boston Celtics signed free-agent center Patrick O'Bryant, a former first-round pick who played 40 games for Golden State last season.

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