RE: concerns

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

>>>According to a few different salary sites, including this one...

http://www.geocities.com/fantasybasketballfederation/salaries.htm#t2

>>>>>>...walter is not signed for next year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

***Must be an oversight on their part.  He was signed to a three year deal in 
July.

Celtics agree with McCarty
Forward gets new three-year contract

By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 7/20/2003

The Celtics re-signed Walter McCarty yesterday to a three-year deal
worth $4.1 million, keeping all of the team's key rotation players in
place for another season. The third year of the deal is a player
option.

The sides reached an agreement in large part because coach Jim
O'Brien continually expressed how important McCarty was to the team,
while director of basketball operations Danny Ainge put forth a
determined effort to bring back McCarty. The advocacy and
appreciation voiced by O'Brien and Ainge helped push the owners past
the veteran minimum salary and into a range that was acceptable to
McCarty.

''Once we started coming in and having meetings, they [Ainge and
O'Brien] stressed that they were going to go through the wall for
me,'' said McCarty. ''I think O'Brien was going to do anything that
he could to let them know that he wanted me, no matter what. I really
appreciate him standing up for me like that. I really didn't want to
move in the first place. I'm very comfortable here. I love Coach
O'Brien. I'm getting to know Danny Ainge a little bit and he seems to
be a really good guy.

''But the biggest thing was my guys Antoine [Walker], Paul [Pierce],
Tony Delk, Tony Battie, Mark Blount, Eric Williams. I love playing
with those guys. We've been here for a long time struggling and we're
actually starting to play well. I don't want to see that change. I
want to see us compete for a championship. That group has been here
for a long time when things weren't so good. Now, we've finally
turned it around. I want to be a part of us taking it to the next
step.''

Said Ainge: ''We started the negotiations out with budgets in mind
and when Walter's name came up, the owners basically made exceptions
to bring back Walter McCarty. Even though the money is not huge, it's
a big investment from what we originally thought we could do to build
a roster for this year. Making the three-year commitment to Walter is
a pretty good commitment and we're excited. He's part of the team in
the past and we feel he's part of what we're trying to move toward.''

But there remains work to be done before the start of training camp
Sept. 29. Ainge still wants to add complementary players. With his
play for the Celtics' entry in the Reebok Pro Summer League, second-
round pick and rebounding terror Brandon Hunter may have earned
himself a spot. Yesterday, Ainge said the Celtics ''have every
intention of signing Brandon Hunter.'' If they do, the roster will
expand to 14, surpassing the number for which the owners originally
had budgeted.

While Ainge does not anticipate the Celtics signing any ''big-time''
free agents, he would like to ''shore up the guard line.'' In order
to do that, Ainge has considered signing Kenny Anderson or Travis
Best. Antonio Daniels, one of the guards Ainge had interest in,
signed a multiyear deal yesterday with the Sonics.

There could also be additions to the frontcourt, as talks continue
with free agent forward John Wallace. And a trade remains a
possibility, as Ainge has had discussions. No deal, however, is in
the works. Center Bruno Sundov, who signed a player option to return
to the Celtics early in the offseason, is one movable commodity. It's
unlikely there will be much playing time available for him in Boston
next season and Ainge believes the 7-footer would be better off in
a ''new environment'' with a ''fresh start.'' Ainge added that he has
no intention of trading core players.

''I'm satisfied with where we are to this point with what we've set
out to do, but we're just trying to get even better,'' said
Ainge. ''We're still not done yet. We've done what we wanted to do to
this point.''

Maintaining team chemistry was certainly part of the Celtics' plan
and one of the many reasons they worked to re-sign McCarty and
Blount. McCarty has spent the last six seasons with Boston, after a
year with the Knicks. O'Brien has constantly made use of McCarty's
versatility, playing him at every position except point guard. Last
season, he averaged 6.1 points and 3.5 rebounds over 23.8 minutes per
game. He demonstrated his durability as one of only two Boston
players, along with Williams, to play all 82 games last season.
McCarty also saw action in all 10 playoff games, averaging 9.9 points
and 4.3 rebounds.

''I think it would have been a pretty big impact [if I didn't
resign], being that I played four different positions in each game
and do a lot of different things,'' said McCarty. ''That was
something I didn't want to see happen. I love my fans. They've been
real good and supportive of me. I'm probably not going to find that
anywhere else. I can go to a different team where I know I'll be
liked because I'm just that type of guy. But as far as the support I
get from them, I think it's immeasurable, and no other city can offer
that.

''I think this is the right situation for me. [Returning to the
Celtics] had a lot to do with it being the right situation for me and
being with a team that I'm comfortable with and a coach that I'm
comfortable with.''


This story ran on page C4 of the Boston Globe on 7/20/2003.
) Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.