Newz Forum: BASKETBALL: Blount agrees to six-year, $41M deal with Celtics

Center Mark Blount agreed Thursday to re-sign with the Boston Celtics, agent Mark Bartelstein told ESPN Insider Chad Ford. The contract, according to Bartelstein, will be for six years, $41 million.

Blount, an unrestricted free agent, was wooed by several teams, notably the Heat and 76ers, but in the end felt like he needed to return to Boston.

"I think Danny [Ainge] and Doc [Rivers] did a great job of convincing him that he would be part of great future in Boston," Bartelstein told Ford. "They stepped up to the plate offering their full mid-level exception and I think at the end of the day, Mark felt like they really wanted him the most."

Blount's contract also includes a 15-percent "trade kicker," meaning that if Blount is traded at any time during the length of the contract, he will receive an additional 15 percent of his remaining salary on top of the salary, a source told ESPN's David Aldridge.

The Sixers made Blount an offer last week, hoping he would want to be reunited with his former Celtics coach, Jim O'Brien, who is now Philadelphia's head coach.

The Sixers may now turn their attention to free-agent forward Brian Skinner, a former 76er who played in Milwaukee last season.

Blount came on in the second half of the season for Boston and established himself as one of the top big men available in free agency. He averaged 10.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and shot 56.6 percent from the field last year.

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