Sixers make signing of Kwame Brown official

The 76ers on Thursday got center Kwame Brown's signature on a contract that will pay him $6 million over the next two seasons, his agent said.

"It's done. We signed today," Chicago-based Mark Bartelstein said when asked about the status of the deal that Brown and the Sixers agreed to last Friday

Brown, the first high school player taken with the No. 1 overall pick, in 2001, has averaged just 6.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game over an 11-year career. Last season, he appeared in just nine games before suffering a torn pectoral muscle that required season-ending surgery.

Brown was unavailable for comment Thursday.

On Tuesday, Sixers coach Doug Collins said that Brown will open training camp as the team's starting center. That will shift last season's starting center, Spencer Hawes, to forward.

Collins, who coached Brown, 30, during the first two years of the player's career in Washington, wanted to sign Brown at the start of last season. But the Sixers were unable to offer Brown the long-term contact he sought. He wound up signing a one-year deal with Golden State.

Collins emphasized earlier that while Brown's addition would force Hawes over to power forward, Collins doesn't believe the move will be problematic for Hawes.

"When we looked at the Eastern Conference, we looked around to see how many of those 'stretch fours', those guys that you can say are quick and are going to run, are out there," Collins said. "There really aren't a whole lot of guys out there like that.

"As we looked at it, Spencer really wants to float around and be on the perimeter and shoot the ball and stuff," Collins added. "And with our starting lineup we need guys who can shoot the ball like Spencer can."

The other Sixers starters are expected to remain as they were at the end of the postseason, with Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner, and Andre Iguodala playing point guard, shooting guard, and small forward, respectively.