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Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Billy King announced today that the Sixers have exercised the fourth-year option on guard John Salmons' contract.

Salmons has averaged 4.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game on 39.3 percent shooting from the field in 141 career games with Philadelphia. During his second NBA season (2003-04), the 6-foot-7 guard played in 77 games and made 24 starts while averaging 5.8 points per game. During the 2004 preseason, Salmons has played in five games, averaging 6.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, while shooting 55.6 percent (10-18 FG) from the field.

A first round selection (26th pick overall) by San Antonio in the 2002 NBA Draft, the 76ers acquired Salmons in a draft-night trade (6/26/02) along with Mark Bryant and the draft rights to Randy Holcomb to the Spurs in exchange for Speedy Claxton. A University of Miami product, Salmons finished his collegiate career as the only Hurricanes' player to finish his career with 1,000 career points (1,287), 600 rebounds (687), 400 assists (433) and 150 steals (192). During his four-year collegiate career, Miami posetd an 86-39 (.688) record.