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After their first full year with the services of high-flying
wingman Vince Carter, could the current Nets star’s
stint with the club be basketball’s version of a 3-and-out?
It could very well be so if things go down the way many think
they will after Carter’s current contract expires in
time to make him the most prized free agent of the summer
of 2007’s crop.
With the 2007 draft class getting as much buzz as any one
this side of 2003’s superstar picks, many people are
forgetting that there’s such a thing as free agency
in today’s NBA. Sure, it’s easy to believe that
if you, like many others, have lost a bit of interest due
to this summer’s painfully slow signing period, but
next year this time, we should be in for quite a few surprises.
Not the least of which involves Vince ditching the red, white
and blue of the Nets for the orange (and only-God-knows-what-they-call-those-other-colors)
of the Charlotte Bobcats.
What, you say? A superstar ditching the team he’s helped
to the playoffs the last two years for a new club that’s
struggling just to get out of the top 5 picks every lottery?
Well, things run a lot deeper than just the win-loss column
when it comes to North Carolina hoops. |
Ever recall a young
up-start by the name of Michael Jordan who helped a certain
North Carolina Tar Heels team to a national championship?
Or the high-flying tandem of said Vince Carter and running
mate Antawn Jamison almost a decade later? Or even the trio
of current NBA players Raymond Felton, Sean May (both draftees
of the Bobcats organization) and Marvin Williams, who all
captured a national title as well? Names and teams like these
are the reason that hoops in North Carolina is akin to nothing
anywhere else.
It’s also the reason that Vince Carter might find a
calling back in the place where he first made a name for himself.
If you’ve been living in a cave the last few years,
with limited access to ESPN or NBA TV, then you’re probably
in the dark about the plan to move the New Jersey Nets to
Brooklyn, New York. And if you haven’t seen a Nets game
the last few years because of those same circumstances, then
you wouldn’t know that for being a perennial playoff
contender, and possessing one of the most exciting offenses
in the league, the Nets constantly have disappointing turnouts
at many of their home games. An unexcited fan base like that
and even fewer of them showing up to your games to cheer you
on can often leave a franchise player with cold feet about
staying with his team. |
| That’s why many believe
Vince could thrive and revitalize both his career and the
team’s fortunes with a move to the Bobcats. If he hasn’t
already brought back fans to New Jersey, there’s little
hope they’ll ever warm up to him. But in Charlotte,
the crowds are always itching for high-speed, run-and-gun,
slamming-jamming basketball, and no one brings that style
to the court better than the former Mr. Air Canada. Vince
would surely bring even more fans to the newly constructed
stadium, give the young team someone to look up to (if not
emulate; Carter is dubious for his work ethic and effort,
especially when things aren’t going his way), and act
as a protégé to His Airness himself, as Michael
Jordan now holds a stake in the Charlotte Bobcats.
And this isn’t something even the Notorious B.I.G.
could bring down, with his ever-resounding “mo’
money, mo’ problems”. By next summer, the Bobcats
will be loaded with cash, and will have more than enough to
sign or contend with any offer for number 15. With money in
hand, a crowd behind him, and being the number one option
for a fast, athletic and in-need-of-a-leader team, Vince would
be in basketball heaven. But team-wise, would he be leaving
the one he’s with already?
Jason Kidd is widely regarded as one of, if not the best
(some say Nash, Marbury says Marbury) passers and play-makers
in the game. He’s definitely past his prime by now,
and ailing from recent knee surgery, but little more is asked
from him than to distribute the ball to his star wing men,
Carter and Richard Jefferson. Speaking of the Arizona alum,
Jefferson is still coming into his own as a great force to
compliment Vince. |
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With this summer’s draft, there’s even a great
back-up to Kidd should anything happen to the 30-something,
injury-prone point guard. Former UConn Husky Marcus Williams
showed he has everything it takes to bookend the Jason Kidd
era in New Jersey with his court vision and all-around game.
But aside from that, the team has a dearth of reliable big
men, aside from Nenad Krstic, as the other posts are either
too old (Cliff Robinson) or too inexperienced (Josh Boone).
Even Carter and Jefferson’s backup hasn’t shown
the same skills as those two; Antoine Wright looks like he
has at least a year to go before he can productive.
But now we look at the Bobcats roster. They have a more-than-proven
pivot in Emeka Okafor, the former 2nd overall pick, who, while
he’s had back and ankle problems, is a force both offensively
and defensively in the paint. Beside him, Sean May looks like
he’s their future scoring threat in the post, in the
same vein he was used at North Carolina. On the wing, Gerald
Wallace (whose contract is up by 2007 as well) is equally
as explosive as Jefferson, and a better defender, if not possessing
the same range as the Net.
Draftee Adam Morrison definitely has the scoring touch to
compliment anyone on the squad, along with the fierce competitive
spirit that Carter could learn from. And rounding out the
line-up is the aforementioned Tar Heel Raymond Felton, who
showed at the tail end of this season that he has what it
takes to lead this squad, with his great passing and exceptional
scoring skills from the point guard spot.
For myself, I was in disbelief after Carter became a Net;
first for the heist that was pulled on my own nation’s
Raptors, and then for the jaw-dropping performances he gave
for the rest of that season. 40 point games were the norm
for him, as well as some Kidd-like performances, routinely
turning in rebound and assist numbers like 9 and 8, 10 and
7, 8 and 10. He was reborn it seemed like. This season, he
came back down to earth a bit (numerically, never literally,
as evidenced by his decimation of poor Alonzo Mourning), and
the honeymoon seemed to be over with New Jersey. But now the
marriage could be ending even sooner than anyone could’ve
thought.
Whatever he chooses, New Jersey will look back on his few
years there as some of the best in the city and the franchise’s
history, up there with the Finals runs of those earlier Kidd-led
teams. But for Charlotte, they’ll be looking forward…to
the day when the air returns to their basketball-crazy city…Air
Carolina that is.
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