West's pact worth $45 million
Hornets: Player option could end deal early
Hornets star forward beats NBA signing deadline by a day, signs a five-year contract

By Darnell Mayberry

Published: October 31, 2006

David West looked a group of reporters square in their eyes Monday afternoon and, with a stone cold straight face, alleged that his impending multi-million dollar contract extension with the Hornets was no big deal.

Three hours later, West was joined by team officials on a conference call to announce just how big of a deal it actually is.

West signed a multi-year contract extension with the Hornets on Monday afternoon, one day before the league-imposed deadline that would have made him a restricted free agent if an agreement was not reached. Per team policy, the Hornets did not release terms of the contract, but a league source said the deal is worth approximately $45 million over five years starting with the 2007-08 season. West is scheduled to make just more than $2 million this season, the final year of his original rookie contract.

West, the team's 6-foot-9 power forward, has a player option in the contract that allows him to get out of his new deal after the 2010-11 season. It's a measure that gives the 26-year-old West an opportunity to sign another lucrative deal at a time when most players are entering the prime of their careers.

"We're excited to be at this point today and have David with us," Hornets general manager Jeff Bower said. "Everybody's aware of the improvement that he's shown, particularly last year, and the type of player that he is and how he fits with all of our other players right now."

The signing of West, who led the team in scoring and rebounding last year, assures the Hornets will have point guard Chris Paul, small forward Peja Stojakovic and center Tyson Chandler together as their foundation for at least the next three seasons. Paul, the reigning rookie of the year, is eligible to sign a contract extension after the 2007-08 season.

"I think we have an opportunity to be really, really good," West said. "It's just a matter of us working. We've got a good core that's strong, and I feel like if we take the right steps we really can determine our own future, not just this year but the next few years."

With West's signing, however, the Hornets aren't likely to be in position to re-sign Desmond Mason, who becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Mason is entering his seventh NBA season and will make slightly more than $8 million this year.

"The bottom line from the beginning was to improve and get better," Hornets owner George Shinn said. "We looked to the future, and we realized how important David was going to be for our future. With Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler, David is the perfect fit with those guys, and I think that'll be proven this season."

West, who is entering his fourth NBA season, averaged 17.1 points and 7.4 rebounds a year ago before finishing second in the league's Most Improved Player voting behind Phoenix Suns forward Boris Diaw. The Hornets drafted West out of Xavier with the 18th overall selection in the 2003 draft, but he didn't emerge until last season, when he became the team's go-to guy and hit three game-winning shots inside the final two seconds.

"He's just very, very important to what we want to do as a basketball team and as an organization," said Hornets coach Byron Scott.

"I've already talked to David about the goals that I've set for him and the things that I thought he needed to improve. Those are the things that he worked on this summer, and I saw it from Day One in (training) camp that he's improved tremendously on both ends of the court. He's just going to continue to improve."