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The Milwaukee Bucks have signed Damir Markota to a multi-year contract, General Manager Larry Harris announced today. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“Damir is a skilled, young player who we felt fortunate to acquire on draft night,” said Harris. “Having followed his professional career in Europe, we believe he has the necessary tools to be a productive NBA player. He will have every opportunity to continue his development by competing at the NBA level.

“Similar to Ersan Ilyasova, our second round pick last season, Damir may very well get added playing experience with our D-League affiliate in Tulsa,” Harris added.

The Bucks acquired the draft rights for Damir Markota from the San Antonio Spurs on June 28, 2006, in exchange for the better of Milwaukee’s two second round draft picks in the 2007 NBA Draft. Milwaukee previously owned two second round picks for next year’s draft - their own pick and a pick obtained from the Houston Rockets (they received Houston’s 2007 second round pick on February 24, 2005 along with a 2006 second round pick and Reece Gaines from the Rockets in exchange for Mike James and Zendon Hamilton).

Markota, selected 59th overall by the Spurs in the 2006 NBA Draft, averaged 8.3 points and 4.4 rebounds last season for Cibona Zagreb of the Adriatic League. The 20-year-old Markota is a native of Croatia and made his professional debut with Cibona during the 2001-02 season at the age of 16. The 6-10 forward has been a member of the Croatian Junior National Team and the Croatian Under-20 National Team. He averaged 5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds during the 2003 World Junior Championships and averaged team highs of 18.3 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists in the 2005 U20 European Championships held in Moscow, Russia.

Discuss Markota and the team on the Milwaukee Bucks message board.