SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, July 27 (AFP) - The Utah Jazz officially announced the signing of forward-center Mehmet Okur Tuesday after National Basketball Association champions Detroit decided not to match his offer sheet.
The six-year deal is reportedly worth 50 million dollars.
A native of Turkey, Okur has shown the ability to play both inside and outside in two years as a reserve with the Pistons. He averaged 9.6 points and 5.9 rebounds in 71 games last season.
The Jazz tried to rebuild their frontcourt with restricted free agents, signing Okur and forward Carlos Boozer to extravagant offer sheets.
The Cleveland Cavaliers also opted not to match Utah's six-year, 68 million-dollar offer to Boozer, one of the best young power forwards in the league.
Okur and Boozer add some beef to the frontcourt of the Jazz, who saw All-Star Andrei Kirilenko and Matt Harpring often overmatched at power forward last season.
Entering the offseason, the Pistons wanted to re-sign both Okur and Rasheed Wallace. They were successful in signing Wallace, but the oversized offer to Okur forced the Pistons to pursue free agent forward Antonio McDyess, who signed a four-year, 23 million-dollar deal.