CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 21 -- Veteran shooting guard Hersey Hawkins, who was waived Tuesday by the Chicago Bulls, decided to return to a former team Thursday when he signed on with the Charlotte Hornets. Terms of his contract were not disclosed.
The 33-year-old Hawkins spent two seasons with the Hornets earlier in his career, averaging 14.4 points for them in the 1993-94 campaign and 14.3 points in 1994-95. He fills a void for Charlotte, which has been shopping for a scoring guard since losing free agent Eddie Jones this offseason.
The 6-3 guard was acquired by the Bulls from the Seattle SuperSonics prior to last season for Brent Barry, but he became expendable in Chicago when the Bulls signed free agent shooting guard Ron Mercer in August.
The Chicago native, who grew up just blocks from the United Center, started 49 of 61 games last season and averaged 7.9 points per contest. On Dec. 10, a left calf injury forced him to sit out a game against Cleveland, snapping his 527-game ironman streak.
Hawkins spent his first five NBA seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and two with the Hornets before being dealt to Seattle in June 1995. He was an All-Star in 1991 with the 76ers and helped the Sonics reach the NBA Finals in '96.
