He had an onagain, offagain relationship with the Saints starting in 1997. After six seasons as a backup there, a stint in which he played all of six games (two starts), he signed a twoyear deal with Carolina in 2003. He became the engine behind Carolina's "Cardiac Cats," orchestrating wins eight times in the final two minutes or in overtime, and leading the Panthers to their second Super Bowl.Martell Webster, at 23, is shorter (6'7") and less athletic than Gay, but is a better threepoint shooter and will be more affordable, at $4.8 million this season and a $5.3 team option next season. Corey Brewer rebounded from a rough first two years to get his career back on track last year. Brewer, 24, is not an adept scorer, but was a similar threepoint shooter and has a chance to be a toplevel defender in the Tayshaun Prince mold.

"Everybody, you didn't know what they were, and it didn't matter," he says. "No one cared. We'd have 50, 60, 70 students l