Lakers Free Agent Campbell Signs Deal With Timberwolves

Free agent forward Tony Campbell, a member of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 1988 NBA championship team and a key performer during the 1989 Finals, today signed a four-year contract with the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves.

Monetary terms of the deal were not announced.

Campbell, 27, played for Timberwolves coach Bill Musselman in 1987-88 when the two were with the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Assn.

Campbell, the 1984 Big Ten player of the year while at Ohio State, led the CBA in shooting both from the floor (.647) and free-throw line (.861) and scored 23.7 points, third in the league, before being signed by the Lakers on March 30, 1988.

He averaged 11 points over Los Angeles’ final 13 regular-season games and then played in 15 playoff games as the Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons for their second straight NBA title.

Last season, Campbell averaged 6.2 points in 63 regular-season games. During the championship series, he shifted to guard after both Magic Johnson and Byron Scott suffered injuries and scored in double figures in three of four games. He scored 15 points in Game 2. The Lakers were swept by the Pistons.

Campbell has also played for the Pistons, who drafted him in the first round in 1984, and was briefly with the Washington Bullets.