The Celtics made their final offer to Walter McCarty last night. The proposal is a three-year deal. Speaking before the final offer was made, McCarty said he was optimistic about getting a deal done in the next 24 hours.

''We're still in negotiations,'' said McCarty, who was reached by phone yesterday. ''We're trying to work everything out. We're actually still in the process. We'll see. We're both putting in a good effort. We're trying to come together. If things work out, it can be done.''

When asked to make a guess where he would play next year, McCarty added: ''Who knows? I want to be playing here. And I think the organization wants me here. They're making a good effort and they're really trying to make things work and I appreciate that. We're trying to bring it together. I had a great meeting [Thursday] with Danny [Ainge] and Jim O'Brien. I think we were both able to let each other know where we were coming from.''