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Late Friday, the Nets and Toronto Raptors agreed to a trade that brings Vince Carter to the Nets and ships Alonzo Mourning, Eric Williams, Aaron Williams and two first-round draft picks north of the border. Carter has been out with an injured achilles since early December, but the Nets anticipate his return this week.
In a question that Gothamist seems to be asking too often these days, did the Nets (in this case) give up too much to get Carter or is it just what they need to become competitive. A lineup with Carter, Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson sounds very nice, but big names don't necessarily deliver championships (we're looking at you Lakers).
Good or bad, this is a great move by Nets management. You're mired in last, don't fill your arena due to that whole moving thing, and you have more empty seats than fans. A trade for an five time All Star will certainly sell some tickets. All they need for him to do is be healthy.
Not surprisingly, Torontoist is happy to see him go. Oh, and the Nets happened to play the Raptors last night too, losing 110-99.
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There's a lot of animosity directed at Vince Carter in Toronto, and believe me, he worked hard to earn it. And it's not just because he's been demanding a trade.
Sometimes I would turn on a Raptors game, and it took 5 or 10 minutes to figure out that he was even on the floor. I'm sure you all know that he told the press that he didn't want to dunk anymore. He should have said he doesn't even want to drive to the basket anymore. On most nights, he stands around taking perimeter shots and playing half-hearted defense.
But the most annoying thing about Vince Carter is that, every so often, he'll make an absolutely amazing play. And all it does is make you even madder, because you think that if he could play with some intensity for even half a game, he'd be worth all of the money and hype.
He's 27 and his best season was 5 years ago. He's injury prone. And when the going gets tough, he talks about not caring and wanting only to please himself.
So good luck with Vince, Nets fans. You've got yourself a "project."
I had the pleasure of watching Carter play when he was at UNC, and it really was a pleasure. He seemed to enjoy the college setting and you were always guaranteed a good show when you watched him play.
Fast forward to 2004, he's in perpetual sulk mode, unhappy when he's asked to carry the team and unhappy when he's asked to share the ball.
This is a trade that should benefit both parties involved, and by "both parties", I mean Vince Carter and Jason Kidd.
It helps Vince because it gets him out of Toronto where he had wore out his welcome. It helps Kidd because NJ can now safely trade him away knowing that they have another player who can put butts in the stands, or god forbid, someone Kidd might like playing with.
But both teams came out the worse for it. NJ traded away most of their front court rotation, not to mention the two draft picks they got for Kenyon Martin, for someone who does the same thing Richard Jefferson does, though maybe not as good, and worse, a player who demands to be treated like a superstar treatment but refuses to play like one.
Toronto gave up their only superstar in franchise history for two guys who work really really hard, a guy who is on his second borrowed kidney and won't ever play for them, and a couple of draft picks that won't be in the top 10. All this, while not getting any salary flexibility.
Toronto probably came out a little better, since they got two guys who might stay healthy through a whole season. But if I were compiling a list of NBA GM "Do"s & "Don't"s, I'm devoting an entire chapter in the "Don't" section on this trade.
Even after the injuries, the guy is still a bigger draw than most of the league's current All-Stars. Note how he holds a huge lead in all-star voting for Eastern Conference forwards. he was recently named the greatest dunker of all-time by inside stuff magazine.
Greatest dunker of all time? Seriously? Kids today have no sense of history.
Brent Barry must be spinning in his grave.
VINCE IS THE GREATEST BASKETBALL PLAYER!!!!!