Stephen A. Smith of the Philadelphia Inquirer revisits one of his favorite ex-Sixers. Lynch relishes his new role in Charlotte. He felt as if he was unappreciated in Philly and now has hopes of getting as new contract from the Hornets.

While the Sixers were spending big money on free agents like Matt Geiger, Toni Kukoc, Dikembe Mutombo and Aaron McKie, Lynch fumed over his financial situation.

"I know Coach Brown and those guys would say I had a choice and I didn't have to sign the original deal," Lynch said. "They're right. I didn't have to and I maybe shouldn't have. But the bottom line is they continuously found money to pay other guys, and the more money everybody else was getting, the less was going to be left over for me because they were approaching the luxury-tax number.

"There were about six to eight guys on the team getting paid more than me, and most of them weren't playing before me. I've got nothing against Matt Geiger, but seeing what he was getting paid and what he wasn't doing was just hard for me, especially when I played hurt throughout last season.

"With Charlotte, they've got more cap room than Philly does. They've got contracts they can get rid of. And I, at least, have the opportunity to play well enough to put myself in position to get a new contract. No matter what, that wasn't going to happen for me in Philly. They had made their choices. So it was time."