Blaylock To Get Extension

The Atlanta Hawks and NBA steals leader Mookie Blaylock agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension, the team said.

Blaylock, a 30-year-old point guard, will sign the contract Tuesday. The 6-foot-1 Blaylock averaged 17.4 points, 5.9 assists, 5.3 steals and a league-best 2.7 steals a game last season. He would have been a free agent after the season.

The NBA is delaying approval of the seven-year, $63 million contract free agent forward Brian Grant signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, pending a hearing to determine the status of Chris Dudley.

The league is investigating whether the Trail Blazers tried to circumvent the salary cap by renegotiating Dudley’s three-year $13 million contract to a one-year contract for the NBA minimum of $272,250.

With the new contract, any team that acquires Dudley in a trade with the Trail Blazers could re-sign him for any amount without regard to the salary cap. Teams can re-sign players for any amount.

Atlanta Hawks center Dikembe Mutombo will lead three other NBA players and one from the WNBA on an eight-day goodwill trip to South Africa beginning Tuesday. The group will give youth clinics.

Rusty LaRue, with 16 points, led four players in double figures as the United States defeated Argentina 91-78 in the semifinals of the Tournament of the Americas in Montevideo, Uruguay. The U.S. team remained in first place in the semifinal round.