Charlie Villanueva Tweets He'll Sign with Pistons

Charlie Villanueva tweets he'll sign with Pistons
by Larry Lage | The Associated Press
Monday July 06, 2009, 9:53 PM

DETROIT - Charlie Villanueva posted a message on his Twitter account, informing his followers he will sign with the Detroit Pistons.

"It's a clear summer day in LA. I got my workout this morning," Villanueva tweeted Monday. "Now I'm off to Motor City: the process continues... physicals, signing on Wed."

He and Ben Gordon agreed to five-year contracts with the Pistons, a person with the knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press last week, for at least $35 million and $50-plus million, respectively.

"Well I'm a Piston," Villanueva posted under his "CV31" screen name on July 2. "Long day yesterday, but got it done, God is good.

"Deeeeeeetrooooooiiiiittttttt basketballllllllllllll."

The Pistons were allowed to begin negotiations with free agents on July 1, but the league prohibits its teams from announcing deals until the moratorium period ends Wednesday.

Villanueva played for the Milwaukee Bucks last season and Gordon was with the Chicago Bulls.

Both helped Connecticut with the national title in 2004.

"Last time I teamed up with BG we won a championship in 2004," Villanueva tweeted last week.

Villanueva created a stir last season when he posted a message during halftime of a game with the Bucks on Twitter and got a stern lecture from Bucks coach Scott Skiles, who thought it gave the impression that Villanueva wasn't focused.

Thanks to the publicity, the list of followers who subscribed to Villanueva's Twitter feed quadrupled in just over 24 hours, going from about 1,600 subscribers to nearly 7,000. On Monday night, he had nearly 40,000 followers.