The Clippers completed what might be their final roster move of the summer Tuesday, signing point guard Pablo Prigioni to a one-year contract for the veteran’s minimum of $981,000.

Prigioni, 38, and the Clippers had agreed to the deal in principle nearly two weeks ago.

“I didn’t even consider to choose another team or to go back to Europe,” Prigioni told the Clippers’ team website Tuesday. “I said, ‘I want to go there [to Los Angeles].’ This is a perfect team.”

Prigioni impressed the Clippers with his defensive tenacity in the playoffs last season while playing for the Houston Rockets. The 6-foot-3 Prigioni forced three turnovers in the Rockets’ Game 7 victory over the Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals.


The move gives the Clippers 14 players under contract for next season, one below the NBA maximum. Coach Doc Rivers recently said he liked preserving roster flexibility in case his team wanted to add another player.

Prigioni, a native of Argentina, has spent the majority of his career overseas before signing as a free agent with the New York Knicks in July 2012. He spent 2 1/2 seasons with the Knicks before they traded him to the Rockets in February. The Rockets subsequently traded Prigioni to the Denver Nuggets last month as part of a deal featuring Ty Lawson.

The Clippers were able to sign Prigioni after he cleared waivers. He has career averages of 3.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 17.7 minutes per game.

Prigioni gives the Clippers a pure ball-handling backup to point guard Chris Paul. Austin Rivers, who spent the second half of last season as Paul’s backup, can also play shooting guard.