Celtics sign two players

Bryant Stith has gone from the Nuggets to the Celtics

The Boston Celtics have signed guards Bryant Stith and Chris Herren from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for guard Robert Pack and forward Calbert Cheaney.

The deal was completed earlier in the month but could not be announced before, since Pack was traded on 16 August to Boston by the Dallas Mavericks.

According to NBA rules, the Celtics then had to wait 60 days before completing any subsequent deal involving Pack.

All four players then had to spend the first half of training camp working out on their own before the deal was announced.

Injuries

Stith, 29, was limited to 45 games due to injuries last season and averaged just 5.6 points.

A first-round pick in 1992, Stith spent his first eight years with Denver and averaged a career-best 14.9 points in 1996-97.

He has career averages of 10.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 458 games.

Herren, 25, averaged 3.1 points, 1.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in just over 13 minutes per game last season.

Limited

Pack, 31, was limited to 29 games last season, also because of injuries and averaged 8.9 points and 5.8 assists.

He will be returning to Denver, where he spent three seasons and helped the Nuggets upset Seattle in the first round of the 1994 play-offs.

Cheaney, 29, averaged 4.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 67 games with the Celtics last season.

A first-round pick by Washington in 1993, Cheaney averaged a career-high 16.6 points with the-then Bullets in 1994-95. He signed as a free agent with Boston in August 1999.