Vince Carter

[Gman]

That video brought back some great memories...I woke up the morning after they traded VC and I felt like I was hungover. My head hurt a little bit and I was almost afraid to tune in the Raps next game because I didn't know what it was going to look like.

That being said, there's no way in hell you bring him here. Besides the PR nightmare, he's toxic and ultimately destroyed his own possibilities along the way. We're having enough problems but there's the light at the end of the development tunnel. VC would have nothing to do with that. His ego was forged at a time when they were stressing the players over the game, and now that that damage has been done they're trying to go back the other way. No way. Not a chance in hell.

[Apollo]

F'You Toronto Checklist

• Publicly demand a trade.
• Be a cancer in the locker room & get ass stomped by Sam Mitchell.
• Tank games.
• Fake an injury.
• Figuratively piss on the fans during media sessions.

[The Fox]

So you think he's the type of veteran who would be a good influence on the young players? Show them how to make the most out of your talent, work hard and be professional?

You know, Im one of those guys that hangs on to old stuff from 20 years ago. I still rock a hoody I bought when I was 12 (I'm 35 now).

Part of me wouldn't mind him back. I know it would put asses in the seats, that's for sure, and media would be crazy on the Raptors.

When you put it that way though, I'd have to agree with you. He wouldn't be a positive influence on the young guys. Never thought about it from that perspective.

When he wants to work hard, he's deadly. Just look at all the games he played against us (even up to last year).

I think he's more focused on his business right now than ball. Good point though....

[planetmars]

I believe a lot of what transpired when Carter left was blown out of proportions. I do not believe for a second that he faked an injury or quit on the team. I do agree that he wanted to leave, but I don't believe he did anything close to what Carmelo did with Denver last year. The issue with Carter was more with management. They had a really special player and decided to rebuild instead of invest. If they truly wanted to rebuild, then they should have let Carter go. You don't rebuild when you have a special player on board after you already had a taste of success not to many years prior.

But forward a few years later - we all know what we get with Carter. I'm not sure if it's in his head or not, but he likes to play it safe. He avoids traffic and going to the rim. He relies on his jump shot which is wonky at best, and has stopped using the only gift he had going for him - his athleticism. Perhaps he's just trying to play as long as he can and so doesn't want to hurt his body.

Either way he would have no impact on the Raptors, and could possibly be a deteriment to someone like Derozan (who also relies heavily on his athleticism).

But the only reason I say no to Carter is not because of the way he left, it's because of the way he has been playing for the past few years.

It would be pretty funny though to see both Carter and Bosh on the same team again. I could only imagine what the boos would be like if he was signed by the Heat, and the Heat came to Toronto. They can really get the building going if they got TMAC as well.

[Apollo]

I believe a lot of what transpired when Carter left was blown out of proportions. I do not believe for a second that he faked an injury or quit on the team.

Sorry but were you following the Raptors back then? I have to ask because its blatantly obvious that he did fake an injury and did tank games(he even admitted it after he left). You could see it in the footage, you could see it in the box scores and you could see in the rumors and comments from around the league. Nothing was blown out of proportion. He lacked professionalism and integrity at every stop to get his trade out of town. He didn't care who he hurt or offended. He had his mind set and everyone be damned if they were going to stop him.

There were even rumors that at the end of one game, just before he got traded, he told the opposing club what the Raptors were going to run coming out of a timeout.

[TheGloveinRapsUniform]

There were even rumors that at the end of one game, just before he got traded, he told the opposing club what the Raptors were going to run coming out of a timeout.

hahahaha that was classic.

[Tim W.]

I believe a lot of what transpired when Carter left was blown out of proportions. I do not believe for a second that he faked an injury or quit on the team. I do agree that he wanted to leave, but I don't believe he did anything close to what Carmelo did with Denver last year. The issue with Carter was more with management. They had a really special player and decided to rebuild instead of invest. If they truly wanted to rebuild, then they should have let Carter go. You don't rebuild when you have a special player on board after you already had a taste of success not to many years prior.

But forward a few years later - we all know what we get with Carter. I'm not sure if it's in his head or not, but he likes to play it safe. He avoids traffic and going to the rim. He relies on his jump shot which is wonky at best, and has stopped using the only gift he had going for him - his athleticism. Perhaps he's just trying to play as long as he can and so doesn't want to hurt his body.

Either way he would have no impact on the Raptors, and could possibly be a deteriment to someone like Derozan (who also relies heavily on his athleticism).

But the only reason I say no to Carter is not because of the way he left, it's because of the way he has been playing for the past few years.

It would be pretty funny though to see both Carter and Bosh on the same team again. I could only imagine what the boos would be like if he was signed by the Heat, and the Heat came to Toronto. They can really get the building going if they got TMAC as well.

I don't blame Vince at all for wanting out. Never have. In fact, I had been talking about trading him for over a year before it finally happened. With Rob Babcock making the decisions, I had lost faith in the Raptors braintrust, so I can't blame for Vince doing so.

The problem I had with was HOW he did it. I don't really understand how you can say he didn't do what Carmelo did last year. Just look at Carmelo's numbers before and after the trade.

Tm Lg FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
DEN 35.5 8.7 19.3 .452 0.8 2.5 .333 6.9 8.3 .823 1.5 6.1 7.6 2.8 0.9 0.6 2.8 2.7 25.2
NYK 36.2 9.1 19.9 .461 2.0 4.6 .424 6.1 7.0 .872 1.5 5.2 6.7 3.0 0.9 0.6 2.4 3.3 26.3
http://www.basketball-reference.com/...anthoca01.html

They're almost identical. He never seemed to mail it in like Vince did.

Tm MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
TOR 30.4 6.2 15.1 .411 1.0 3.0 .322 2.5 3.6 .694 1.4 1.9 3.3 3.1 1.3 0.8 1.1 2.8 15.9
NJN 38.9 10.0 21.7 .462 1.9 4.5 .425 5.6 6.8 .817 1.4 4.5 5.9 4.7 1.5 0.6 2.6 3.3 27.5
http://www.basketball-reference.com/...cartevi01.html

Hard to say Vince didn't give up on the team. And the change was immediate, if you remember. It's not as if he was nursing an injury that slowly got better and just happened to coincide with the trade. The game before he got traded he scored 5 points. The game after he got traded he scored 23.

[planetmars]

You guys are possibly right.. but I'm not sure how much stats prove. The last game where he got 5 pts, he played only 18mins. He also got to go to a team that had Jason Kidd in his prime, so yes his stats will improve.

Management created a very disfunctional environment for Carter. I don't blame him for wanting to leave. Denver on the other hand never did that. In fact Denver was still a playoff contender before Carmelo decided to leave to the big city.

In hindsight it was a good thing that Carter left, because we all found out that he wasn't ever really a franchise player. I just don't think we know everything that went on during the season where Carter left - a lot of which are rumours that are most likely untrue.

But if he wasn't playing 100% because he felt slighted by management and you think that's an issue? Half the players in the league don't play 100% all the time. It's actually very rare to find someone that doesn't play hard all the time. And when you find someone like that you hold on to them.

But to indicate that Carter "tanked" and threw games/faked injuries, etc is all based on rumour - probably created by fans who didn't like who they got for him. If you can find proof that he did tank/fake injuries then I'd be very interested in seeing that.

[Tim W.]

You guys are possibly right.. but I'm not sure how much stats prove. The last game where he got 5 pts, he played only 18mins. He also got to go to a team that had Jason Kidd in his prime, so yes his stats will improve.

Management created a very disfunctional environment for Carter. I don't blame him for wanting to leave. Denver on the other hand never did that. In fact Denver was still a playoff contender before Carmelo decided to leave to the big city.

In hindsight it was a good thing that Carter left, because we all found out that he wasn't ever really a franchise player. I just don't think we know everything that went on during the season where Carter left - a lot of which are rumours that are most likely untrue.

But if he wasn't playing 100% because he felt slighted by management and you think that's an issue? Half the players in the league don't play 100% all the time. It's actually very rare to find someone that doesn't play hard all the time. And when you find someone like that you hold on to them.

But to indicate that Carter "tanked" and threw games/faked injuries, etc is all based on rumour - probably created by fans who didn't like who they got for him. If you can find proof that he did tank/fake injuries then I'd be very interested in seeing that.

Did you watch the Raptor games before Vince left? There was no doubt in my mind he'd given up. I don't expect every player to play 100% for every minute of every game, but how Vince played was unacceptable. He was still getting paid his full salary and there were still fans paying full price for tickets. It's not only an insult to the fans but to his teammates who were still working hard and respecting the game.

As for Carmelo, I don't fully support his decision, but I do understand it. When Denver traded away Marcus Camby in a cost saving measure, the writing was on the wall that they weren't going to do what it takes to win.

[Apollo]

Carter was playing at around 50% before he left. The faked injury further deflated his value. You have to remember at that time Carter had just overcome a bout of bad injuries and he was finally back to 100%. Everything he did killed his trade value, pressured management into making a move and alienated himself from the team and the fans.

[tucas]

Vince would ruin this team....

[RPT23]

I can't put a finger to it but why does the title of this forum sound like a TV show in the 80's??

[stretch]

I can't put a finger to it but why does the title of this forum sound like a TV show in the 80's??

That would be a character from a sit com from the 60's, not the 80s. Sargent Vince Carter, from Gomer Pyle, USMC.