<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> <div class="bi">Future Is Now</div> <div> <span style="font-style: italic">Oct 16</span> - "We've only talked about it a little bit," said Antoine Wright, alluding to advice from agent Andy Miller, "but I think it's probably a little different situation from last year, when they picked up the (third-year) option. As far as I'm concerned, I just have to continue to improve. I think they'll see I'm a better player now -- I've put in the time, and I know what I can do. Really, I think that I'm a completely different player at this point since last year."</p> </p> That may be the case, but it probably doesn't make economic sense for the Nets to lock up Wright for next season. Pragmatically, there are two reasons for this: Next year's option ($2.57 million) represents a 53-percent raise for someone who hasn't proven himself yet; and even if Wright shows some improvement, the Nets know that backup wings are the easiest (and cheapest) things to find in today's NBA.</p> </p> Still, the motivation for Wright remains the same, even if he becomes an unrestricted free agent. He's fighting for minutes, he's fighting for exposure, and he's fighting for relevance. -- <font color="#000000">Newark Star-Ledger</font></p></div></div>
