I'm just wondering...I knew back in his last days in Toronto, pretty much EVERYONE hated Vince Carter...I even remember when the trade went through, some Nets fans were skeptical (to downright negative) about Vince and what he was capable of bringing to the table. Now that being said, you've been watching him for 2 years now, so, has your opinion about him changed? What did you think of him before he came to the Nets? What do you think about him now? Was he better then you imagined? Did you become a fan of his instantaneously from the moment he joined the Nets or were you already a fan of his so you knew what he was capable of?
It did..I thought he was bum for awhile, didn't understand all the hype really. Now that I watch every game, I can see the tremendous talent he has and how effortlessly he does things.
Two years is not enough of an evaluation for me. Depending on how he does this upcoming season, I'll be able to gauge whether he is a good player for just another "fool". The first years at Toronto I think that he was a good player. His last few, he was not trying, hustling, and was basically just another "fool". For far in NJ, he's a good player. He has not done anything foolish as of yet, and if he continues to be good, he'll remain a good player.
So, in that regard, would you attribute the Net's sucess moreso to Vince or Kidd? Or RJ? Or you believe Carter wouldn't be playing the way he has been if it wasn't for Kidd?
They all contributed different things. Without Vince's scoring, the team just wouldn't have enough scorers to be able to compete well enough with other teams. Their defense isn't at a level where they can score a little and shut other teams down, so they need his scoring. Also he helps their outside shooting which isn't that spectacular anyways. Without Kidd, obviously you don't have a playmaker, and that's always a sucky thing, and he brings defense and leadership too. You also gotta love his rebounding especially considering the teams frontcourt is not impressive at all on the glass. RJ is more "dispensable" (I put that in quoters because I couldn't think of a better word) than the others, though he has the most value due to his age, but in 04-05, we saw Vince and Kidd carry the team after the horrible start. I don't believe that Vince and RJ or Kidd and RJ could've done the same thing. What RJ does bring though is good defense at the swingman positions, he also brings efficient scoring, and he helps on the glass too. The thing is that all us Raptor fans knew Vince had not declined at all. He played very well in 03-04, we just had a horrible team for most of the year, and had injury problems at critical times. 04-05 was obviously terrible, but him and Sam just didn't work, and he was only getting 30 MPG, so his production numbers wise was decieving. Anyways, he still sucks, because it's his fault they were unable to beat Miami both in 04-05 and 05-06, even though Miami went to the ECF one year and were champions the next
Vince's arrival in the league gave fans another reason to watch. His high flying antics has been in ESPN's nightly highlight reel. But as great an athlete he is, I feel that he has still a lot of catching up to do with his counter parts, Kobe, Wade, to name a few. I even think that T-Mac has gotten a step or two over VC after they parted ways. But Carter can still be a big factor. With the departure of Martin, it would have been a steep climb for New Jersey without Carter, specially with Kidd and Jefferson hurt. After a lackluster performance in his last years with Toronto, Carter has regained his old self with the Nets. Kidd, Jefferson and Carter is a lethal trio, I just don't think the current system is working for them.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AMS_ice:</div><div class="quote_post">Vince's arrival in the league gave fans another reason to watch. His high flying antics has been in ESPN's nightly highlight reel. But as great an athlete he is, I feel that he has still a lot of catching up to do with his counter parts, Kobe, Wade, to name a few. I even think that T-Mac has gotten a step or two over VC after they parted ways. But Carter can still be a big factor. With the departure of Martin, it would have been a steep climb for New Jersey without Carter, specially with Kidd and Jefferson hurt. After a lackluster performance in his last years with Toronto, Carter has regained his old self with the Nets. Kidd, Jefferson and Carter is a lethal trio, I just don't think the current system is working for them.</div> This post pretty much sums up my opinion about VC. It's gonna suck if he ends up leaving to play for the Magic, so that's why I am in favor of trading him. We might as well get someone back,than have him just leave. Their is that small hope inside me that says, VC might not leave because of friendship with JK. It's gonna be really hard seeing VC playing in a jersey that doesn't say Nets.
