Signing Vince Carter
Because you can never have enough wings in the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks brought in Vince Carter. Yes, this Vince Carter. At his 21st season in the league, Carter ties five other players for the most seasons in the NBA.
Granted, the Hawks aren’t getting that version of Carter, but this move wasn’t made for Vince Carter the player. VC will still play and (hopefully) throw down an awesome slam every once in a while, but he’s already behind the eight-ball to begin with in Atlanta.
First, he’s not the scorer he used to be. He hasn’t averaged more than 20 points per game since the 2008-09 season with the Brooklyn Nets. He hasn’t hit double-digit points per game since the 2013-14 season with the Dallas Mavericks. But he’s become a smarter shooter.
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From 2000-12, Carter’s average distance for a field goal attempt was between 12.8 feet and 15.0 feet away, meaning he was dunking and driving the lane more. Since the 2012-13 season though, his average distance has been at least 16.6 feet away from the basket, indicating he’s started to become more of a perimeter shooter as his career wanes on.
Still, even as a perimeter shooter, Carter will struggle for playing time at shooting guard or small forward. At the 3, the Hawks already have Taurean Prince and DeAndre’ Bembry. They also received Justin Anderson in the Dennis Schroder trade.
Carter could maybe push for some minutes at shooting guard initially when Kent Bazemore is rested. Kevin Huerter was drafted to help out there, but if his hand surgery limits him in training camp, that could delay his time in getting to the court. Tyler Dorsey had a spectacular summer though, so Carter getting playing time if Huerter can’t go isn’t a given.
In the end, Carter won’t play much but will bring a needed leadership role to the locker room for this team. His presence could make the transition for Huerter, Omari Spellman and especially Trae Young a little easier. In fact, Carter is the only player with at least 10 years of NBA experience on the roster right now, so he probably has something to teach everyone, not just the young guns.
Grade: C+