Payton May Sign Extension

In the "best news of the day" category, I nominate this.

The Boston Herald reports that Gary is considering signing a 2 year extension if he is not traded by the traded deadline today.

According to a league source, Payton's agent, Aaron Goodwin, has spoken to the Celtics about a two-year contract extension.

``We talked about it the last time I was up in town, and if nothing happens by (today's NBA trade deadline) I'm sure we'll talk again,'' Goodwin said yesterday. ``My point was that we should talk about Gary's future - whether it's going to be with the Celtics or whether it's going to be with someone else.''

We have heard rumblings of this in the past, but this is by far the most public pronouncement yet. If we can hold onto Gary, then that shores up the PG position and keeps an excellent leader on the team to take a lot of pressure off of Paul. Now, if we are going to resign him, I would also hope that some of the draft picks and spare parts could be packaged for a talented veteran that could help us contend in the next few years. Otherwise, this would seem somewhat wasteful.