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Free agent guard returns to Atlanta

Atlanta Hawks President Stan Kasten announced today that the organization has signed free agent guard Jacque Vaughn. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.

Vaughn returns to the Hawks after a one-year stint with the Orlando Magic, where he appeared in 80 games and averaged 5.9 points, 2.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 21 minutes. He had 48 starting assignments and saw increases in all of his statistical categories (6.6 ppg, 3.5 apg, 1.7 rpg and 1.0 spg in 24.7 mpg). Vaughn posted season highs in scoring (16) at Dallas and in assists (11) at Cleveland.

Entering his seventh NBA season, Vaughn has career averages of 5.1 points and 2.9 assists in 386 games, while shooting .437 from the field and .779 from the FT line. A member of the Hawks during the 2001-02 campaign, he was the only player to see action in all 82 contests, posting career highs in points (6.6 ppg), rebounds (2.0 rpg) and assists (4.3 apg).

Vaughn was originally a first round pick (28th overall) of the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Draft. He spent four seasons in Utah before coming to Atlanta and saw action in the 1998 NBA Finals series against the Chicago Bulls.

The four-year letterwinner from Kansas earned second team All-America honors in his final two years with the Jayhawks, and was named the Big Eight Conference's Player of the Year in 1996.