Atlanta Hawks Must Re-Sign NBA Legend Vince Carter for His Final Season
By Chris Guest
The final word on why the Atlanta Hawks should re-sign Vince Carter for the 2019-20 season.
After a tough season in 2017-18 and a rather enjoyable one last year, the 2019-20 season is shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory for Atlanta Hawks fans – at least from an enjoyability perspective.
The team has a terrific young core highlighted by Trae Young, John Collins and Kevin Huerter and it was recently augmented by De’Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish and Bruno Fernando in the 2019 NBA Draft.
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If those three players can live up to or exceed expectations, and Omari Spellman stays healthy and in shape, the team will be a force to be reckoned with over the course of the next few years.
However, there is one player whose presence would be the cherry on top of what will likely be a great year next season: Vince Carter must be re-signed by the Atlanta Hawks, for posterity’s sake.
The 21-year veteran of the NBA has already announced that next season will be his last in the NBA, and on the way, he will likely break a variety of longevity-related records involving his age (43 in mid-January 2020) if he were to return to the Atlanta Hawks.
Carter should be re-signed by the Hawks for one simple reason: Wouldn’t it be terrific to see him get all of that love and adulation from various fanbases in a Hawks uniform? Beyond that, VC was actually quite productive for the Hawks last season.
Carter was actually second on the team in three-point shooting per Basketball Reference at 38.9 percent, which was his best clip since the 2013-14 season with Dallas. Vince’s 67.5 percent three-point attempt rate was also tops on the team.
Vinsanity wasn’t just a one-note marksman, though. He was also among the Hawks’ most effective defenders. Per Cleaning the Glass, the team’s -4.2 defensive points per possession allowed with Vince on the floor was in the 86th percentile among forwards – another number that was first on the Atlanta Hawks last season.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see Vince Carter getting heaps of adoration from various cities around the country (and in Toronto of course) as a member of the Hawks? He would also be able to continue his mentoring of the Hawks young guns – much as he did last season.
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Though he might not be a priority for the Hawks, let’s hope Travis Schlenk makes it happen.