Hornets sign Thornton; Davis, Bass testing market

• By GARY LANEY
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Jul 9, 2009 - Page: 1C

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While two NBA veterans from Baton Rouge and LSU are still looking for a home via free agency, another former Tiger signed with a team Wednesday.

Shooting guard Marcus Thornton signed with the New Orleans Hornets, the team announced. The 2009 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year was a draft-day acquisition of the Hornets after he was picked by the Miami Heat with the 13th pick of the second round.

New Orleans signed both of its draft acquisitions Wednesday. Darren Collison, the point guard from UCLA the Hornets selected with the 21st pick of the first round, also signed.

Collison and Thornton are both on the Hornets’ roster for the Las Vegas NBA Summer League, which starts Sunday when the Hornets play San Antonio.

“We’re excited to have Darren and Marcus officially signed so they can start their NBA careers,” Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower said in a news release. “We look forward to their Hornets debut in summer league and watching them develop as we head toward the start of the regular season.”

Thornton averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists as a senior. The Baton Rouge native will continue playing in Louisiana as he has most of his life. Thornton played at Tara High before his one stint away from Louisiana, two years at Kilgore Community College in Texas. He transferred from Kilgore to LSU for the 2007-08 season.

“I’m excited for Marcus, excited for his family,” said LSU coach Trent Johnson, who coached Thornton in his senior season with the Tigers. “I know Marcus is a very family-oriented person and now he can provide a better life, a better lifestyle for them. Now he has to understand that he has to deliver. He has to perform.”

Thornton was recruited to LSU and played one season under John Brady.

While Thornton has a team, Baton Rouge natives and former LSU stars Glen Davis and Brandon Bass are still looking.

Davis, a power forward who completed his second NBA season with the Celtics in 2009, is a restricted free agent whose future with the Boston Celtics looks murky after the Celtics signed free agent Rasheed Wallace from Detroit on Wednesday.

Another team reportedly interested in Davis, San Antonio, moved in another direction Wednesday, signing veteran big man Antonio McDyess, also from Detroit. San Antonio is trying to replace two big men, Fabrico Oberto and Kurt Thomas. Both were dealt away in the trade that brought forward Richard Jefferson to the Spurs in June.

The holes in the Pistons roster could make Davis, who backed up Kevin Garnett at power forward last season and averaged 16 points and six rebounds while starting for the injured Garnett in the playoffs, a target for Detroit.

If the Pistons don’t pursue Davis, they could pursue Bass, the Dallas Mavericks backup power forward who has been productive in the last two seasons in an off-the-bench role. Bass, an unrestricted free agent, averaged 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds last season for Dallas, the most productive of his four NBA seasons.