Atlanta Hawks Should Re-Sign Vince Carter and Justin Anderson

A short treatise on why the Atlanta Hawks re-signing Justin Anderson and Vince Carter makes sense.

As the season winds down, the Atlanta Hawks have plenty to ponder this offseason. Much of the team’s focus will be, understandably, on June’s NBA draft, but free agency and trades should also play an important role for the Hawks throughout the summer.

There should be some slight roster turnover from this year to the next, with some end-of-the-bench guys likely not sticking around for next season – though most of the team’s most recognizable faces, like Trae Young, Kevin Huerter, John Collins and more, are here for the long haul.

Kent Bazemore, who was widely regarded as a shoo-in to be traded before this season’s deadline, stuck around and will almost certainly pick up his massive $17.5 million player option to remain on the team next year as well.

However, the Hawks have two free agents that have played an integral role on this team on the court and on the bench: Vince Carter and Justin Anderson.

Let’s explore the reasons why re-signing both players makes sense for the Atlanta Hawks, starting with 25-year-old Anderson.

We’ll start with Anderson, who has only logged 364 minutes so far this year but recently played the most minutes of the season by far in the Atlanta Hawks’ thrilling overtime win against the Bucks. Anderson notched a strong double-double in the game with 24 points and 12 rebounds (both season-highs):

Beyond his on-court impact, Anderson seems to be one of the most boisterous “bench mob” members and is always at the ready to congratulate his teammates. Furthermore, the 25-year-old is still quite young and thus fits into the Atlanta Hawks’ timeline for this team rather seamlessly.

Anderson’s defensive effort is contagious when he’s on the court, which is an area that the Atlanta Hawks will have to drastically improve if they’re planning on making a leap into playoff contention next season (who knows if that is the goal immediately). Just take a gander at this truly amazing block in the recent Atlanta Hawks game against the Portland Trail Blazers:

Stupendous.

One area in which Anderson will have to improve is his three-point shooting. Anderson’s mechanics are quite hitch-y, and he is only a career 29.6 percent shooter long range, which is down to 27.4 percent this season according to Basketball Reference.

Still though, as a restricted free agent, the Hawks will be able to match any offers that Anderson might get on the open market. If no offers come in, Atlanta can give him fair market value to them – which will likely not break the bank.

Anderson should be a low-cost, proven culture guy that the Atlanta Hawks bring back on an inexpensive deal next season.

Another player that is an unrestricted free agent on the Atlanta Hawks roster is 42-year-old Vince Carter. Vince has had an astonishing season with the Hawks this year, and as Hawks play-by-play announcer Bob Rathbun is fond of saying, Vince is playing a “half-man, half-his-age” kind of season.

Carter is defying the passage of time with some throwback dunks that often shock the opposition, and he is, somehow, at the ripe old NBA age of 42, the best three-point shooter on the entire Atlanta Hawks roster per Basketball Reference.

That’s right, Vince Carter, who was playing in the NBA before quite a few rookies playing this season were even born, is leading the Hawks in three-point shooting percentage at 40.1 percent from deep.

That production from outside is his highest three-point percentage since his age-36 season in 2012-13, when he was a member of the Dallas Mavericks. That year, he shot 40.6 percent on the year.

In terms of on-court importance, Carter is among the smartest defenders on the entire Atlanta Hawks roster, but in terms of his role next year at age 43, it would seem likely that his on-court role would be diminished as the team gets another wave of young talent in via the draft.

However, wouldn’t it be advantageous for those young guns to learn from one of the biggest stars of his era, who has dealt with pretty much everything the NBA world can throw at him over the course of his legendary 20-year career?

Let’s hope Atlanta Hawks GM Travis Schlenk thinks the answer to that question is yes, and that the expected low cost of keeping both Vince and Anderson on the roster next year outweighs the need for roster turnover.