The Detroit Pistons took another step toward ensuring they will have players to replace their aging frontcourt.

The Pistons and Jason Maxiell agreed on a $20 million, four-year contract extension, a basketball official told The Associated Press yesterday on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been signed.

The 25-year-old Maxiell is in the final year of his contract and decided to stick with the team that drafted him 26th overall in 2005 instead of becoming a free agent after the season.

He had career highs last season, averaging 7.9 points on 54 percent shooting along with 5.3 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 21.5 minutes per game.

The 6-foot-7, 260-pound forward is one of the Pistons' top reserves and likely will have a larger role in the years to come.

OVER AND BACK

Lakers: Los Angeles signed Andrew Bynum to a contract extension yesterday, removing the possibility the 21-year-old center would become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bynum, the 10th overall pick in the 2005 draft, will make $2.8 million this season.

Trail Blazers: After missing all of last season because of knee surgery, Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden injured his foot in his first regular-season NBA game Tuesday and will be sidelined two to four weeks.

The team said that MRI and computerized axial tomography scans confirmed Oden has a mid-lateral foot sprain.

Isiah Thomas: A newly released police report indicates the person who called 911 about an overdose at Isiah Thomas' home believed the victim had stopped breathing.

The patient's name is redacted from the Town of Harrison report, which was released last night under a Freedom of Information request from The Associated Press.

Authorities have not publicly identified Thomas as the accidental overdose victim, but a person familiar with the case, speaking on condition of anonymity because the police report had not been released, confirmed to the AP that it was Thomas.