Okur placed on IL; Pistons sign Hunter

Okur, who did not play in Detroit’s 107-88 win over Chicago on Wednesday, has missed five games this season due to back spasms. He last played on Monday night, scoring four points in 12 minutes of action in a 76-66 win over Philadelphia.

The 6-foot-11 native of Turkey has started 31 of 55 games this season and is averaging 9.9 points and 6.5 rebounds.

Hunter joins the Pistons for the second time this season and third time in his 12-year career. He was traded last week to the Boston Celtics as part of the three-team deal that sent Rasheed Wallace to the Pistons from Atlanta. The Celtics then waived Hunter.

In 11 games with the Pistons earlier this year, Hunter started once and averaged 3.7 points and 1.5 assists. He then spent 39 games on the IL with a strained knee ligament prior to the trade.

The 33-year-old Hunter had played his first seven seasons in the league with the Pistons. He then had stints with Milwaukee, the Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors the last three seasons before again coming to Detroit for the start of this year. He has career averages of 10.3 points and 3.0 assists.