I guess 6 pts/gm does not=$3m. It = $4! Still don't love Wal-TUH

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Green pulls back Waltah: Celts' bigger offer keeps McCarty

Celtics Notebook/by Steve Bulpett
Sunday, July 20, 2003







Walter McCarty said he wouldn't sign with the Celtics for the veteran minimum.
And he ultimately didn't have to.




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The free agent forward and the club have agreed on a three-year deal that will
pay him a total of $4.1 million. McCarty came to the decision late Friday
night after a meeting with Jim O'Brien.

``We talked about a lot of things - about life and about the game of
basketball,'' said McCarty. ``We just kind of came to some conclusions about
what's important. It wasn't just a money thing. I have money and I've been
smart with my money. It was about being with the team I wanted to be with.
I've been well supported by the people here, and it was hard to think about
going somewhere else and trying to build up what I already have. I love
Boston. I love being here.

``A key factor for me was playing for Obie. I've been able to work for him a
long time and we've developed a great relationship. And I wanted to keep
playing with (Tony) Delk, Antoine (Walker), (Tony) Battie, Paul (Pierce), Mark
Blount and Eric Williams. I think we have something great going here and I
didn't want that to end.''

Neither did the Celtics, who at first had hoped to lure McCarty back for the
$876,000 minimum for a player with seven years' experience.

``Walter is a really good get for our team,'' said director of basketball
operations Danny Ainge, who was informed of McCarty's decision yesterday
morning. ``He's such an important part of what the team has done the last few
years, and the coach loves him. Jim O'Brien's the happiest guy in Boston
today.''

McCarty's signing doesn't necessarily end the Celts' pursuit of Mike Batiste
and John Wallace.

``For right now it does, but not completely,'' Ainge said before the Celtics'
89-80 loss to Atlanta in Summer League action last night at UMass-Boston.
``We'll see if anything else transpires with other players on the roster. So
that process is slowed down, but the possibility isn't eliminated.''

The club is now hoping to land another point guard. Travis Best is scheduled
to meet with the team tomorrow or Tuesday.

'Toine deal on hold

Word is Walker is unhappy that Ainge has stated publicly that the club won't
be extending his contract this summer, but the response from inside is that
Walker can avoid such team pronouncements if he stops asking for one publicly.

'Toine has two years left and his only hammer is he can opt out after this
season. But Ainge doesn't believe Walker will walk away from $14.625 million
for 2004-05 (he gets $13.5 million this year).

``No, I'm not concerned about that,'' Ainge said. ``I'm not worried about it
right now. It's not even an issue right now.''

He likes the fact Walker has dropped 17 pounds since the end of the season,
and noted that if his play so warrants, ``I can sign Antoine any time I
want.''

Ainge insists there is no contradiction in him saying he's not trying to trade
Walker while trying to entice free agent power forwards Karl Malone and Juwan
Howard.

``I think that, as you see in the NBA right now, there's a lot of power
forwards playing center,'' Ainge said. ``So when you don't have centers, you
play with power forwards. I believe in the best basketball players, no matter
what position they play. I'm not caught up in positions.

``Karl Malone and Juwan Howard are good free agents this year, and they
obviously signed for reasonable contracts, too (Malone with the Lakers for
$1.5 million and Howard with Orlando for the mid-level exception, which got
him $28 million over five years). I think they're both bargains at the money
they ended up signing for, so you have to shop the price as well as the
player. Sometimes you can't go shop at Macy's when you need to be shopping at
Filene's Basement.''

Hunting for roster spot

There was a question this week whether ownership will allow an extra roster
spot for rookie Brandon Hunter.

It should.

Beyond the fact most basketball types believe the undersized power forward
will have an NBA career, it'd be worth it to the Celts just to have his
toughness and raise the level of practices.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich got a look at him and, projecting how
successful a 6-foot-7 banger can be, he noted, ``Our guy (Malik Rose) is
shorter (6-6).''

Money talks

Get the impression the money issue is going to dog this new ownership a while?
It should. No matter how they choose to present the figures, saying things are
tight financially seems a stretch when the Celts will take in anywhere from
$11 million (their figure) to $18 million in a refund from the luxury tax
(league sources told the Herald their check will be for $15.9 million). There
is also the coming jump in ticket revenue. By raising prices, the new owners
will make some $10 million more even if they sell fewer tickets this season.

Continually saying they have to watch pennies rings hollow when they're asking
people to fork over large money at the gate. (Are they selling a product
committed to doing what it takes to win or not?) And if there comes a point
where the club turns its back on a player who can help because of financial
concerns, it opens them to the question of whether they can afford to own the
team for which they overspent.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx

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