LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers Friday signed swingman Doug Christie, who was a first-round selection of Seattle last June but never signed with the SuperSonics.
Christie, 22, was selected with the 17th pick of the draft.
His rights were traded Monday to the Lakers with center Benoit Benjamin for Sam Perkins.
Christie, a 6-foot-6 swingman, averaged 19.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists for Pepperdine last season. A two-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year, Christie concluded his three-year career at Pepperdine with averages of 16.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
Christie will remain on the suspended list for the next two weeks while learnng the Lakers' system after DATA LOST his eight-month holdout.
'A lot of people say I'm stepping into Magic Johnson's shoes,' Christie said. 'I'm not, he has bigger feet than I do.'
Christie said that negotiations with the SuperSonics 'went sour from the beginning and then dwindled. I thought I was being reasonable.'
