Atlanta Hawks 2018-19 Player Profile: Vince Carter
With the regular season finally underway, let’s take a look at what an entire season of Vince Carte on the Atlanta Hawks might look like.
The Atlanta Hawks were relatively quiet this offseason in terms of the free agency market, focusing more on trades that involved guys like Dennis Schröder and Jeremy Lin. Realizing that we didn’t really need any outside help and that our homegrown talent was of the utmost importance, Atlanta didn’t go after the big fish.
That’s why it still sounds weird to call Vince Carter a member of the Atlanta Hawks. Signing for a vet minimum, Carter bypassed teams like Golden State and Boston and therefore probably let go of his aspirations for a ring. Coming to Atlanta might be a puzzling choice, but the more I think about it, the better it gets.
Carter has had a strange career, from being the prodigal son in Toronto to forcing his way to New Jersey he’s forgotten more about basketball than most of us will ever even know about it and his ability to mentor guys like John Collins, Taurean Prince and Trae Young might be insanely valuable.
Yes, its strange that he is expected to start, and playing primarily power forward might sap up some minutes from Collins, but if he eases the burden on our young guys and teaches them how to perfect a routine, I’m willing to give up some minutes so everyone can benefit.
Don’t expect much from the venerable Vince Carter on the court. The man is 41 years old and is clearly here for off-the-court reasons and not to get us wins, though let’s hope he can throw down some sweet dunks like he did in his age-40 season with the Kings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOi8uMgcbwY&t=122s
Luckily in our quest for that elusive top pick, he might be useful in that area as his lack of speed and general age-related decline will probably mean he is a net negative during his time on the court.
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There really isn’t much else to say. He’s one year younger than Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce and Vince is pretty clearly nearing the end of his NBA career. Let’s hope we can get some awesome vintage Carter dunks and that he teaches our youth to handle the day-to-day pressure of the NBA in what might be possibly his last season.