Howard, Nelson Sign With Magic

The Orlando Magic signed Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson, their two first-round draft picks, to three-year contracts Wednesday.

Howard, the No. 1 pick overall, is an 18-year-old forward who played at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy last season. He was the first of eight high school players taken in the opening 19 picks of the draft. Three of the last four No. 1 picks have been players jumping directly from preps to pros.

The rookie scale under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement calls for the No. 1 overall pick to earn a little more than $11.2 million over the life of the contract, and almost $3.5 million this season.

The 6-foot-11 Howard won the 2004 Naismith Award given to the nation’s top high school player. He finished his prep career with 2,146 points, 1,728 rebounds and 811 blocked shots in 129 games.

Nelson, Associated Press’ player of the year, led Saint Joseph’s to a 27-0 regular season and 30-2 overall record, averaging 20.6 points and 5.3 assists a game. He was drafted 20th overall by Denver, which shipped his rights to Orlando for a future first-round pick.

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Free-agent point guard Rafer Alston agreed to a six-year contract worth up to $30 million with the Toronto Raptors, his agent said.

“We do have an agreement and Rafer is thrilled,” said Paul Nadel.

Alston played for the Miami Heat last season, averaging 10.2 points and 4.5 assists. He shot 37.1% from three-point range.

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The Golden State Warriors signed first-round draft pick Andris Biedrins. The 6-11 forward from Latvia, the 11th overall pick in last month’s draft, will play with Golden State’s summer league team in Long Beach next week.

Biedrins, 18, signed a three-year deal worth about $4.5 million, with a rookie season salary of $1.4 million.

The Warriors also hired Russell Turner as the fourth assistant coach on Mike Montgomery’s staff. Turner, an assistant to Montgomery at Stanford for the last three seasons, joins Terry Stotts, Mario Elie and Keith Smart.

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The Sacramento Kings signed draft picks Kevin Martin and Ricky Minard.

Martin, the 26th overall pick, signed a three-year contract worth $2.34 million, including $726,700 as a rookie. The 6-7 guard averaged 23.3 points last season as a junior at Western Carolina.

Minard, the 48th overall selection, is Morehead State’s career scoring leader.

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The Indiana Pacers signed David Harrison, the last player selected in the first round.

Harrison, a 7-foot, 285-pound center, signed a three-year deal worth about $2.2 million, with a rookie season salary of $696,300.