Re: Wesley..

[Mike Dynon <mdynon@ix.netcom.com>]

RAMANI_R@bentley.edu wrote:
> 
> Whoever was scared that the Hornets will use their cap space to get David
> Wesley..don't.
> 
> Hornets made space by trading for Royal and Eddie Johnson. But Rice is
> eligible for contract extension and Divac is in his final year of his contract.
> With the inflated contracts and Rice and Divac playing the best in there years,
> I think the Hornets can only offer little to Wesley.
> But then now that I think about it, New York this year spent 24,999,999.99 to
> sign free agents and used the Larry Bird excemption to sign its returnees..
> 
> Hey..so maybe there is a chance that Wesley might go to the Hornets
> 
> Ritesh Ramani


This item appeared in today's NBA column of the Dallas News:

****
Making a point

Boston's David Wesley makes $350,000.

He will shatter that figure when he becomes a free agent at the end of 
the season.

"I got my opportunity to play here," said Wesley, who averages 16.4 
points, 7.4 assists and 2.32 steals for the Celtics. "I want to
come back here. But then, it's one of those situations you don't know 
which way they are going to go."

The Celtics want to resign Wesley. But the price will be steep.

Wesley is a proven point guard who will draw strong interest on the open 
market. A figure to keep in mind is the six-year, $24 million deal
Chris Childs signed with the Knicks.

"He walked into a gold mine," Wesley said. "It was a fortunate situation 
for him. It does take a little luck and timing.

"Hopefully, that will happen to me. Hopefully, the Celtics think I'm 
comparable to him. I think I'm a better player than him. But it
depends on what they think."

What Houston and New Jersey must think is they made a mistake in not 
signing Wesley earlier in his career when they had the chance.

"I felt like people assumed I would always be a backup, and probably some 
felt like I would never make it," Wesley said. "I'm sure they thought I 
would be a backup or fizzle. I don't think a lot of teams think I can 
shoot the ball or handle the ball.

"But everytime I go out, I play hard and let them know I deserve to be 
here."

****
It sounds like Wesley has already decided what the Celts' offer should 
be.

Mike Dynon