Newark, N.J. ? NBA veteran Jacque Vaughn on Thursday signed a free agent contract with the New Jersey Nets.

The 29-year-old point guard, who played his first four years in the pros with Utah, played 71 games with Atlanta last season, after playing 80 for Orlando in 2002-03 and 82 for Atlanta in 01-02.

Prior to that, Vaughn played four seasons with the Utah Jazz, who drafted him out of Kansas University in the first round of the 1997 draft.

It’s believe Vaughn signed a one-year contract, but terms were not yet been disclosed.

“Jacque is a welcome addition to our team,” said New Jersey CEO Rod Thorn. “He is a proven NBA veteran who will give us needed depth at the point guard position.”

New Jersey hopes Vaughn will provide productive minutes off the bench to rest Jason Kidd, the All-Star point guard who is recovering from knee surgery.

“He is a veteran who can come in and run the show for us behind J-Kidd,” Nets general manager Ed Stefanski said. “We can’t play J-Kidd the amount of minutes we have in the past, and we know that. This is a decision we made to lessen that load.”

Vaughn averaged 3.8 points and 2.7 rebounds last season. He owns career averages of 4.9 points and 2.9 rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Nets traded Kerry Kittles to the Los Angeles Clippers for a future second-round draft pick. Jersey also signed free agent guard Rodney Buford.

Thorn said the money saved by trading Kittles will be used to fill other needs on the roster.