Top overall pick Markelle Fultz signed a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, the team announced on Saturday.
The 76ers also confirmed the signings of free-agent guard J.J. Redick and forward Amir Johnson.
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Top overall pick Markelle Fultz signed a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, the team announced on Saturday. The 76ers also confirmed the signings of free-agent guard J.J. Redick and forward Amir Johnson.
Financial terms of Fultz's deal were not disclosed by the team, which pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Boston Celtics prior to the draft to allow Philadelphia to move up two spots to own the top pick for the second consecutive year.
"Markelle Fultz possesses elite basketball skills, instincts and talent which prompted us to move up to No. 1 and add him to our talented young core of players," Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said. "At only 19 years of age, the sky is the limit for Markelle and we could not be happier to have him join our Sixers family."
Philadelphia selected Fultz out of Washington in last month's draft after taking LSU standout Ben Simmons with the top overall pick in 2016.
A 6-foot-4, 195-pound guard, Fultz averaged team highs of 23.2 points and 5.9 assists to go along with 5.7 rebounds during his one season with the Huskies. He was just the second NCAA freshman to average 23 points, five rebounds and five assists per game since 1992-93.
Fultz was a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, which has been presented annually to the outstanding collegiate basketball player of the year since 1976.
The 33-year-old Redick averaged 15 points and two assists per game last season for the Los Angeles Clippers. He shot 43 percent from 3-point range in 78 regular-season starts in 2016-17 and at 42 percent in 11 NBA seasons has the 14th-highest percentage in league history.
"We are really excited to add one of the game's truly elite shooters in J.J. Redick, who should fit perfectly with our pace-and-space offense," Colangelo said. "J.J. works as hard as anyone in the league to get open looks, but his job will be made easier with the playmaking and facilitating mindset of players like Joel Embiid, Markelle Fultz, Dario Saric and Ben Simmons."
The 6-9 Johnson, a 12-year veteran, has played in 745 career games (461 starts) with Boston, Toronto and Detroit. He averages eight points, six rebounds and one assist while shooting 57 percent from the field in his career.
"Amir Johnson is an ideal veteran addition for our young basketball team," Colangelo said. "Amir is that iron horse type of producer who impacts a team in so many positive ways on the court, but his value will also be felt in the locker room and in our community."