Bulls sign Rip Hamilton

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Former Detroit Pistons All-Star Rip Hamilton signed with the Chicago Bulls, the team announced Wednesday night.

He is expected to practice with his new team on Thursday, according to a league source.

Photo Gallery: Rip Roarin'

Rip Hamilton joins the Bulls after years of winning at UConn and Detroit. Gallery»

"We are excited to welcome a player, and person, with the credentials of Richard Hamilton to our organization," said Chicago Bulls general manager Gar Forman. "Rip has been a winner at every level. His resume speaks for itself, and we are confident that he will be an excellent fit with our team, both on and off the floor."

The Pistons waived Hamilton, 33, on Monday after nine seasons in Detroit.

Terms of the deal were not announced, although the Chicago Tribune reported Hamilton will sign a two-year deal for $10 million, and the third year is a team option with partial guarantees on $5,150,000.

The Bulls had been looking for a shooting guard who could create his own shot and help share the offensive burden with Derrick Rose. The lack of another scorer was widely viewed as the main reason the Bulls couldn't get past the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.

Neither Keith Bogans nor Kyle Korver was able to consistently hit shots as defenses collapsed on Rose.

Hamilton was the leading scorer on the Pistons' 2004 championship team and appeared in three All-Star Games.

"Rip is a winner," Rose said recently. "I can't say nothing bad about him.

Hamilton had a falling out with Pistons coach John Kuester, who was fired after last season, and was benched for a large part of a seven-week period. He averaged 14.1 points last season, which was his lowest output since his rookie year.

"He's got a championship. It's great. He knows how to win. He came from winning programs (also winning an NCAA title at Connecticut). And if he comes along, I know that we'll be happy to have him."

"He's been a talented player in the league for a long time," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said on Tuesday. "He's been around. He's got great experience. I know when we played against him he was hard to guard."