New Orleans Hornets sign Lithuania's Macijauskas

Bostjan Nachbar re-signed with the Hornets on Tuesday after coming to New Orleans in a December trade with Houston and enjoying his best NBA season.

Also signing a free-agent contract was Lithuanian Olympic star Arvydas Macijauskas. He scored 24 points in a 104-96 loss to the United States in the bronze-medal game at the Athens Olympics. He also helped Lithuania upset the Americans 94-90 in the preliminary round. He has played professionally in Europe since age 16.

"Signing Bostjan and Arvydas today dramatically improves our team," general manager Allan Bristow said. "Adding them to our roster gives us an immediate boost in scoring and outside shooting, two areas we needed to address this off-season."

Agent Marc Fleisher said last month that Macijauskas settled on New Orleans because he will have an opportunity to contribute from the start.

Nachbar was selected by the Rockets with the 15th overall pick in the 2002 draft. Last season, the Slovenian averaged 7.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 71 games with Houston and New Orleans. He averaged 8.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in his 55 games with the Hornets and led the team in three-point field goal percentage (.371).