Warriors Sign No. 1 Pick Joe Smith for 3 Years at About $8.5 Million

The Golden State Warriors signed Joe Smith, the No. 1 pick overall in the 1995 NBA college draft, to a three-year contract. Terms were not disclosed, but under the rookie wage scale the agreement is worth as much as $8.5 million.

Smith, a 6-foot-10 center who left Maryland after two seasons, won the Naismith Award as a sophomore. He averaged a team-leading 20.8 points and 10.4 rebounds in helping the Terrapins to the Final Eight of the NCAA tournament.

“We are very pleased to officially welcome Joe and look forward to helping him have a long and productive career in a Warriors uniform,” General Manager Dave Twardzik said.

Smith was the only Terrapin to score more than 1,000 points in two seasons.

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Pig Miller, a strong rebounder who had extensive playing time late in his rookie season with the Lakers, has agreed to terms for the 1995-96 season. The former Michigan State player was a second-round draft choice of the Warriors in the 1994 college draft and was dealt to the Lakers a day later in exchange for a 1995 draft pick.

Laker forward George Lynch underwent minor surgery to remove a screw from his right foot. The screw had been inserted during surgery on June 28 to repair a fracture in Lynch’s foot.

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Free agent Antoine Carr, whose play off the bench helped the Utah Jazz fill a void left by injuries, signed a two-year contract with the team. Carr was expected to back up power forward Karl Malone and provide depth at center, because Felton Spencer is recovering from a torn Achilles’ tendon and first-round draft pick Greg Ostertag is a rookie. Ostertag has not yet been signed.

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The Boston Celtics signed top draft pick Eric Williams from Providence to a three-year contract that his agent says will pay him close to $3.1 million. The Celtics also signed free agent Doug Smith, who was drafted by Dallas in 1991 and has played his entire career with the Mavericks.

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Jerome Kersey was waived by the Toronto Raptors to save $4.1 million in salary obligations for the upcoming season. Kersey, a veteran forward chosen from the Portland Trail Blazers in June’s expansion draft, was the most expensive player on the Raptors’ roster.

Meanwhile, guard Damon Stoudamire, the seventh pick overall in June’s NBA draft, is expected to sign today.

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The Sacramento Kings reached a contract agreement with top draft choice Corliss Williamson of Arkansas. Williamson, the 13th player taken in the NBA draft, will get a three-year contract worth approximately $3.2 million. He underwent back surgery after being drafted and is continuing his rehabilitation.

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The Clippers signed second-round draft choice Constantin Popa, a 7-foot-3 center from Miami, and free agents Keith Tower and Ma Jian. Tower, 6-11, played at Notre Dame and parts of the last two seasons with the Orlando Magic. Ma, 6-7 forward from Utah, played on the 1992 Chinese national team.

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The Phoenix Suns re-signed free-agent Wayman Tisdale to a two-year contract and first-round draft picks Michael Finley and Mario Bennett to three-year deals.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but sources said Tisdale’s deal was worth $6.5 million, Finley’s $2.1 million and Bennett’s $1.7 million.

The Suns also announced the signing of free-agent guard Isaac Burton of Arizona State.

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The Chicago Tribune reported that former UCLA center Jack Haley, who served as a buffer for the volatile Dennis Rodman on the San Antonio Spurs, may continue in that role with the Chicago Bulls. The paper said that Haley was coming to the Bulls as part of the deal involving Rodman and Will Perdue.

Tennis

Top-seeded Jim Courier, coming off a victory at last week’s Swiss Open, defeated Martin Damm of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, in the first round of the Toulouse Open in France. Jan Siemerink of the Netherlands, who lost to Courier in the Swiss final, withdrew from his first-round match against Johan Van Herck of Belgium with an arm injury.

Top-seeded Jana Novotna advanced to the quarterfinals of the $806,250 European Indoors in Zurich, Switzerland, escaping, 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 7-5, against Miriam Oremans of the Netherlands.

Names in the News

UCLA’s Keri Phebus and Jennifer Brundage have been selected the Honda Sports Award winners in tennis and softball, respectively. The Honda Award is given to the best athlete in each of the 11 NCAA women’s sports. . . . Dr. Robert K. Kerlan, known as the “Father of Sports Medicine,” will be honored at a tribute dinner Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton. Proceeds will benefit the USC Center for Arthritis and Joint Implant Surgery. . . . Bill Zaima, in his 16th year as UCLA women’s tennis coach, will retire at the end of the 1995-96 season. He will be replaced by Stella Sampras, 1988 NCAA doubles champion.

The San Jose Sharks signed free-agent defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh to a new contract, the terms of which were not released. Ozolinsh, a 23-year-old all-star, had stayed out of training camp during the contract negotiations. He originally asked for a reported $1.7 million a year for four years, but later dropped the figure to $1.5 million as talks dragged on. . . . Mike Garrett, USC athletic director and Heisman Trophy winner, and Vince Ferragamo, former Ram quarterback, will be inducted into the San Pedro Sportwalk on Oct. 23. . . . Miguel Indurain of Spain won the gold medal in the 42-kilometer individual road race in the World Cycling Championships at Tunja, Colombia.