Posted at Nets Daily and another forum was this link to an interview of Ian Eagle re the Kidd trade and surrounding circumstances. Chris Russo has "heard through the grapevine" that Kidd and Carter have come to "hate each other". The always very sharp, insightful, and balanced Ian Eagle said he "didn't know that to be true" but said he did think there was something to the notion that Kidd is "disappointed" in Carter because he thinks "Carter has the talent to be a great player" and that Carter, reciprocally, feels "not completely appreciated" by Kidd. Eagle also said (correctly, I think) that Kidd's absence would not affect Vince's on court production, that Carter is capable of getting his customary numbers without Kidd but that many others on the team (notably Jefferson) would find life much more difficult without Kidd (a sentiment I share and why I think the Nets would do much better to trade Jefferson than Carter because Jefferson is going to be greatly overpaid once Kidd leaves). Eagle's version of events is no shock, of course, and could have been guessed by anyone following the team. But the interesting thing is that it's now beginning to be talked about by the Nets' regular beat/media guys, which historically with this team has meant even more direct and sensational facts emerge later. It's plain to see that Carter has been far more conservative in his shot selection this year than at any time previous in his Jersey tenure, and that has also translated into him just plain taking substantially fewer shots in most games. Part of that is undoubtedly due to the ankle and part due to what has obviously been a coaching effort to spread the offense around more this year and get more shots for Jefferson. But even before that injury, Carter seemed more hesitant to shoot than at any time I can recall, second guessing himself at times. And Kidd didn't give the ball up to Carter behind the 3 point line on breaks -- urging him to take the quick 3 -- nearly as often as he had in previous seasons. These factors suggest to me that Carter was making a conscious effort to change his game, perhaps because someone (Kidd) asked him to. I wonder if we might hear more about this after/if the trade happens.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (FOMW @ Feb 15 2008, 02:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Eagle also said (correctly, I think) that Kidd's absence would not affect Vince's on court production, that Carter is capable of getting his customary numbers without Kidd but that many others on the team (notably Jefferson) would find life much more difficult without Kidd (a sentiment I share and why I think the Nets would do much better to trade Jefferson than Carter because Jefferson is going to be greatly overpaid once Kidd leaves).</div> Wait, I can't really remember too clearly, but back in early 05 season when Kidd was injured and before we got Carter, wasn't Jefferson putting up monster numbers?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BetterThanThat @ Feb 15 2008, 03:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (FOMW @ Feb 15 2008, 02:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Eagle also said (correctly, I think) that Kidd's absence would not affect Vince's on court production, that Carter is capable of getting his customary numbers without Kidd but that many others on the team (notably Jefferson) would find life much more difficult without Kidd (a sentiment I share and why I think the Nets would do much better to trade Jefferson than Carter because Jefferson is going to be greatly overpaid once Kidd leaves).</div> Wait, I can't really remember too clearly, but back in early 05 season when Kidd was injured and before we got Carter, wasn't Jefferson putting up monster numbers? </div> Yes, to go along with nobody else scoring much (I think 12 ppg for Eric Williams was the next highest scorer), pretty low percentages, and I believe top 3 in the NBA in TOPG. So IMO it's a pretty much moot point.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Petey @ Feb 15 2008, 04:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>He was putting up big numbers, with horrible FG% and a really high # of turnovers. -Petey</div> Except for a decent fg%, that sums up RJ's season thus far.
Strangely enough, it seems that ever since they went away from making Carter the focal point of the offense, our offense has gone to hell. RJ had a period of being extremely efficient FG% wise and Boki seemed to drain a lot more shots, back when we were running Vince isos.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BetterThanThat @ Feb 15 2008, 04:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Strangely enough, it seems that ever since they went away from making Carter the focal point of the offense, our offense has gone to hell. RJ had a period of being extremely efficient FG% wise and Boki seemed to drain a lot more shots, back when we were running Vince isos.</div> Interesting observation.
