| | NEW YORK -- Teresa Edwards, the most decorated U.S. Olympic
basketball player, may suit up for the WNBA this summer.
Edwards, who snubbed the WNBA last season because it offered
former American Basketball League players rookie salaries, is
training with the U.S. national team for an unprecedented fifth
Olympic appearance.
She spoke with league officials while the team recently trained
for four days in New York. Edwards and her teammates will play an
exhibition game Thursday against the Hungarian national team in
Philadelphia on the eve of the NCAA Final Four.
"We've been talking for about a week now," the 35-year-old
Edwards said. "I've just got to see if I'm happy with the
situation they present to me. We'll see."
Edwards earned nearly $250,000 as a founding member of the rival
ABL, which folded two years ago. She chose not to play for the WNBA
rookie salary of less than $50,000 last season.
But Edwards said salary was not the primary issue.
"The sticking point was more than that," Edwards said. "I
have more respect for my game. Coming from where I was coming from,
still on top of my game, and being respectably paid for it, it was
really hard to accept a rookie pay scale."
The WNBA players union contract said first-year former ABL
players receive a rookie scale based on where they landed in the
draft. This season, the salary cap has been lifted.
"Things have changed now, and it's fair negotiating," Edwards
said. "So we'll see what happens."
Edwards is the only American basketball player -- male or female
-- to compete in four Olympics, winning three gold medals and a
bronze. She led the ABL in scoring with a 21.0 average while
playing for the Philadelphia Rage.
The league and Edwards have until April 25, the day of the WNBA
draft, to negotiate an agreement. The 11-week season begins May 29.
"She knows we would love to have her play in the WNBA," said
Renee Brown, WNBA vice president of player personnel. "She's known
for the last two years. There are a few issues to get ironed out.
We still have a budget we have to work within. I think it can
happen. She'd be a great addition and it would be a great platform
to showcase her."
Former ABL player and 1996 Olympian Jennifer Azzi, who led the
Detroit Shock in scoring last season, recently announced she will
not return to the WNBA. Azzi, who was paid $44,000 last season,
cited the economics of a part-time salary.
"I respect Jennifer's decision," Edwards said. "I think if
you're going to be a pro athlete, it's important to make decisions
that are best for you."
Aside from Edwards, 10 of 11 members of the USA national team
will play in the 16-team WNBA this summer. The season begins two
weeks earlier to allow players on national teams to train for the
Sydney Games in September.
| |
 |
