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Washington Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed unrestricted free agent center Calvin Booth. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Calvin is a veteran player that adds depth to our frontcourt,” said Grunfeld. “He’s experienced, he’s been a part of winning programs in Seattle and in Dallas, and he’s familiar with Washington having spent time here in the past. We like what he brings to us in terms of size and experience, and we’re pleased to add him to our roster.”

Originally drafted by Washington in the second round (35th pick overall) of the 1999 NBA Draft, Booth has played in 250 games, while making 80 starts, over his six NBA seasons. Booth enjoyed a career-year in 2000-01 for the Wizards and Dallas Mavericks, averaging 5.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.02 blocks in 17.0 minutes per game. During the 2000-01 campaign, Booth was one of three players sent to Dallas in exchange for five players, including current Wizards center Etan Thomas.

A 6-11 center out of Penn State, Booth has career averages of 4.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, and has 10 games of playoff experience to his credit. In 250 career games, Booth has recorded 300 blocks. Last season, Booth appeared in 51 games for Dallas and the Milwaukee Bucks, and averaged 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.

InsideHoops.com Editor's View: Early in his career, Booth blocked lots of shots per minute he was on the floor, and in 2000-01 he led the NBA with 5.71 blocks per 48 minutes. He's had injury problems almost every season of his career. The Wizards are adding him for to play limited minutes off the bench and help with interior defense. In the back of their minds the Wizards can't help but hope Booth emerges into the surprise previous teams thought possible.