Spurs Trade the Rights to Curley, a Draft Pick to Get Elliott Back

The San Antonio Spurs re-acquired forward Sean Elliott on Tuesday when they sent the rights to first-round draft pick Bill Curley and a 1997 second-round draft pick to the Detroit Pistons.

The Spurs traded Elliott to the Pistons last year for forward Dennis Rodman, who led the NBA in rebounding at 17.3 per game. The Pistons later tried to trade Elliott to the Houston Rockets for Robert Horry, but the deal was called off when Elliott failed a physical because of a kidney injury.

Elliott, a restricted free agent, was expected to sign a multiyear deal with the Spurs beginning at about $1.35 million and allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent next season, according to Tuesday’s San Antonio Express-News.

Elliott played in 73 games last season and averaged 12.1 points. He has a 14.3 scoring average for his five seasons in the NBA.

The 6-foot-9 Curley was the 22nd overall pick in the June draft after finishing second on Boston College’s career scoring list with 2,102 points and second in rebounding with 996.