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Bucks sign first-round pick
MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Bucks have signed first-round draft pick Joe Alexander to a multi-year contract, the team announced Tuesday.
The Bucks did not disclose financial terms, but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the deal guarantees the eighth overall pick $4.15 million over the first two years. Per the NBA rookie salary scale, the team holds options for the third and fourth years of the deal, at $2.3 million and $2.9 million, respectively.
The 6-foot-8 forward from West Virginia was to begin practice Tuesday with the Bucks' summer league team, which will play five games in Las Vegas starting Saturday.
Alexander joined the Bucks following a three-year collegiate career at West Virginia. The 21-year-old forward earned first-team All-Big East Honors during the 2007-08 season and was named an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press.
During the 2008 NCAA tournament, Alexander averaged 18.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks while helping the 10th-seeded Mountaineers reach the Sweet Sixteen. West Virginia's run included a second-round upset of second-seeded Duke.
The junior forward led West Virginia in scoring (16.9 points per game, eighth in the Big East), rebounding (6.4) and blocked shots (1.5, eighth).
Alexander was born in Taiwan and also spent time in China and Hong Kong as he lived abroad for the first eight years of his life. He will become the first Taiwanese-born player to play in the NBA.
Associated Press
Milwaukee Bucks top draft pick Joe Alexander signed with the team today.
