I don’t think Vince will ask to be traded, but if he does get traded to a better team I’ll be happy.

VC wont ask out. After the fiasco in Toronto he cant afford to because that still haunts him 4 years later and he’s not the type to be a ring chaser. VC is more about being happy and enjoying himself and I think he can do that with this team.

I hate when half the story is told. First of all there was drama in Toronto way before VC was traded. They were horrible at adding talent and keeping coaches. There was Butch Carter, Isaiah Thomas, Lenny Wilkins and Sam Mithcell in the 6 1/2 years VC played there. They never put any talent around him other than CB (TMac was there before VC and left after 1 year for his own spotlight), but by that time he wanted out. And he didn’t force his way out, either. You didn’t hear any grumbling or loud-mouthing from VC. We’ve seen guys retire, refuse to report, bitch and moan, fake injuries..all kinds of nonsense. The man said he wanted to be traded and lost passion for that team. And I think it was handeled more professionally than a lot others. The fans were the ones who took it hardest, not management.
Secondly, he was a little younger then. I think he knows now that he should’ve played harder despite wanting to be traded, because that really damaged his character. Him being a high character guy, I don’t see him doing that again. If he initiates a trade, we won’t hear about it.

Carter’s not getting traded, we are far from rebuilding, cause we based our plan off of some stupid LeBron hype.

That’s foolish Carter is not going to be traded, unless of course we want for some reason to be worse than the Thunder this year.

The media seems to have a vendetta against Carter…funny how things change, these are the same people who were hyping VC up as the next Jordan not even before the guy played his last collegiate game.

90% of these guys are morons who are given talking points by the superiors and rarely dare to have opinions that go aaginst the norm. Now, if the Nets shock people this season and actually prove to be a competitive team, these same people dogging Vince will act like they never wrote any of this mess

I agree with señor Dollar Bills. Also, Yi is a gamble, at best? wow. that’s really dumb. Yi is a franchise player and All-Star at best.

I don’t think Carter is anywhere near as expendable as this guy thinks. He was more expendable last season. Now, he’s the foundation.

@kaybee

first of all, Isiah Thomas never coached the Raptors, he was in the front office. Kevin O’Neill was the 4th coach Vince had in Toronto not Zeke.

Secondly, wasn’t Vince himself part of the reason T-Mac and he couldn’t play together in Toronto? That was a rhetorical question.

Plenty of stars have wanted out, but to out and out quit like VInce did especially after his coach (Mitchell) called him out repeatedly on the carpet?

Other than flash and the occasional stroke of brilliance, Vince hasn’t brought much to the table. Even our last playoff series win (vs Toronto) and remember that one because there might not be another for a long time came courtesy of RJ not Vince. It was Jefferson that was able to seal the deal with a clinching bucket in Game 6 while Vince was rendered useless vs Cleveland in the next round with a real chance to advance to the Conference Finals on the line.

The Nets will lose a lot of games very quickly, VInce will ask out, and then likely be traded for spare parts. It’s only a a matter of time.

100% agree with Mr DB and KB.
I don’t care what this morons say. They need to talk about it to fill their pathetic preview’s lines. They ignore the commitment Vince showed for us last season playing injured and this summer and training camp. They ignore that the Nets don’t want to trade him and rejected offers for him even before the RJ deal was completed and they really needed that cap space. So I don’t care what these morons say. They don’t what they’re talking about.

Get over the RJ deal at once.

I am choosing to trust Rod and KIKI. I think this team, will be better than last years team——except that it will take at least half the year for that to happen. I see a better second half, as it will take Frank and the players all of the first half, to get their acts together. YI was NEVER going to be happy in Milwaukee, so the Bucks got a good deal, it was a poor draft choice for them, not because of lack of talent, but because YI just wanted to be in a market where there were more than 12 Chinese people. By the end of the year, YI will be a 15/7 guy and shoot 47% and play better all around than last year. AND we will have the added cap space from trading RJ. But I don’t expect Simmons to be in the rotation much after the All Star break…

The Nets can without RJ, as they proved every time he got injured, somthing who used to happen very often until this past season. Not to mention that RJ sucked without Vince last season. He was very important to us, but he was expendable. We’re not gonna be that just because they traded him. It’s pathetic to see how all those RJ lovers, the self-proclaimed true Nets fans, wanting us to lose a lot of games just because they think that would make Vince go easier.

let VC shhh them up!

I think some people seriously need to understand that the Nets don’t need to trade VC, and they don’t want to either, as they proved this summer by rejecting offers that would have given them serious cap flexibility in 2010, and they rejected that offer before the RJ deal was completed. Now they got that cap space for 2010, they don’t need to get rid of his contract and he’s happy here. And Vince really wants to be here despite the rebuilding, he’s totally awre of the situation we’re going through here as Kiki noted, and the commitment he showed last season and this summer talks by itself. But the morons seem to have some fun speculating totally off base. Let VC & the Nets alone!

looks like this guy haven’t been following the NBA. VC said he wants out, summer of the trade year. But the Raptors wont. So since they wouldn’t want, he forced them to. The question is, Did VC say something about out of Jersey this summer like when he was in Toronto? NO. So why are these guys insisting what J-Kidd did on VC? They get paid for writing columns not worth reading and aint got no basis at all. Let them pay me instead… lol

@ ttb

Do you have an exact quote and/or link on vc saying he wanted out in summer of 2004?

I’ve heard posters make that claim before, but they never back it up with a quote and/or link.

I vaguely remember vc saying something about being comfortable with whatever the raptors decide to do. But i don’t recall him asking for or demanding a trade, like kidd and kobe did.

It goes against vc’s personality to be that confrontational. VC wants everyone to like him, with the possible exception of the press.

Here you go BB:
dated 09/16/2004

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2004/09/16/vincecarter040916.html

It is amazing how uninformed the national press is about the Nets. I guess writers like Devaney need to do these previews of all teams, including many that they don’t watch play. Devin Harris is a young unknown? He passes on a quote from an “opponent” saying that Jarvis Hayes is an upgrade. Over who, RJ? That’s kooky talk, Isiah. I don’t think he is even an upgrade over Boki, although I hope I am wrong.

I agree with the many posters here who say that Vince will be OK being on this team, and I can’t see anyone offering anywhere near his value given his age and contract. He will stay a Net unless we are offered another JKidd type deal, and the league all learned last year from Mark Cuban how not to make a trading deadline deal (except perhaps Mark Cuban and I’m hoping Steve Kerr).

I agree about the press. Trying to find a new york sports show on TV that will actually talk about the Nets is next to impossible. You would think that they don’t exist. Then when they finally are discussed somewhere, you hear the most ignorant poop that doesn’t make sense. Mostly, it sounds like a media bandwagon.

I do a review of the article on my site. http://www.addictedtohoops.blogspot.com

VC’s agent or any other form of representation will not let this happen again. Its stupid to think they would. These guys get paid lots of money for possible damage control when they have to

I think its funny how 2 arguably great players like VC and Tmac were both on the raptors and now… not.

I will be very surprised if Vince is traded this year. He is the only draw on the team. The Nets need him right now or nobody other than die-hards will show up for any games. I am sure his name also sells the most merchandise.

Yeah the Nets are losing enough money nowadays. Trading Vince isn’t going to help anything.

These writers are clueless about the Nets…had Thorn wanted to dump Carter they would have traded him to the Cavs when they offered us Wally World, who is an expiring.

I hope the negativity fuels our team to bigger and better things this season.

good point Tim. And as great as Vince and T-Mac are at scoring the basketball- NEITHER should be headed to the Hall of Fame. Neither player has proven to make teammates around him better. Neither has gone anywhere in the playoffs (especially McGrady) and neither has shown much ability on the defensive end.

I’ll say this for T-Mac, it’s clear that he cares and he has shown to have a killer instinct at times, I can’t say the same for Vince. The sad fact of the matter is Paul Pierce (who I can’t stand) has now proven himself to be better than both of these two and has probably punched his ticket to the HOF.

For the Nets fan that swear by Vince, let’s see what you say in 3 months.

…..and the Nets would love to make a Carter-for-Odom swap that would clear another huge chunk of salary off their books……..
from Chad Ford post…

Man, last time i saw the Nets Roster they have too many Big Players…
This is showing how unprofesional some sports writer can be..and they are taking so much money..Unbelivable!!!

I know at least 5 people from here,who are posting comments that can make better analyse than Chad Ford..

Isaac
What’s that have to do with anything? I could sit here and argue against your OPINION, but we won’t go anywhere. VC getting traded is up to management, but where he lands is on his hands. He wants to stay on the east coast, so if a trade were purpose to go to ex: LA VC would use his no trade clause.

@ VC Fan

Don’t you know www.nbadraft.net once called Chad Ford “Chad Fraud”? Don’t get too fired up by his columns =D

Thanks, ttb. Good find.

I wasn’t aware that vc publicly admitted that he had asked raptors management to trade him over the summer.

But it’s very interesting that vc “BIT HIS LIP FOR MONTHS”, then went public because raptors management was dragging it’s feet on trading him.

This begs the question: is vc biting his lip now? Will he eventually go public like he did in toronto? Has he already asked nets management to trade him to orlando or some other contender and has promised to be a good soldier until a trade can be worked out?

I don’t know the answer to these questions, but they’re certainly reasonable ones to ask considering vc’s past behavior in toronto.

To Issac:
both Vince & T-Mac has proven to make their teammates better. Their assists numbers over their career show this & the passing rating (check 82games.com) are very solid for the swingman position.

T-Mac & Vince can be solid defensively. In fact VC had an above average defensive rating of SG’s last year but consider that players whose teams rely on them greatly on offense do take breaks on d sometimes & consider that guys like Manu & Kobe have Duncan/Shaq behind them while VC had Antonio Davis in Toronto & Collins in New Jersey.

Vince has shown he cares & has killer instinct. Last year he showed his determination despite the playoff shortage & killer instinct ? He’s been one of the better clutch players throughout his career.

Funny how PP suddenly proved himself when one of the great frontcourt players of our time KG and one of the great shooters of our time Ray came aboard. Unlike the 3-headed monster with the Nets those guys games actually complimented each other.

PP also didn’t have to play alongside a wifebeater sabotaging the team from the moment preseason began and an SF that only gave a crap about himself either

This has got to end. I can’t belive this, I always get so angry hearing how people hate on V.C and say how he will be traded.

It’s Vince’s time now. He’s proven how he’s going to support this team and how he’s been a leader on and off the court.

add two more idiots on the Carter will silence his critics list.

man…these guys must not watch the nba.

@ Isaac. I forgot about KO. I do remember seeing Isaiah on the sidelines alot, forgot he was EVP. My bad…

But your second point is incorrect, as TMac stated in an interview it wasn’t personal when he left the Raps. He wanted his own spotlight and didn’t want to be in VC’s shadow. He even said it on “Beyond the Glory” when asked why did him and VC go 6 months without talking. A lot of speculation was that everything was about VC and TMac was jealous. I don’t know about all that but I believe him when he said he wanted his own team.

Yeah he had problems with Sam but that was after he said he wanted to be traded during the summer. We all now he played like crap the first two months before getting traded, he admitted it himself. Sam called him out on it and had a right to. He probably felt that was the only way he could be traded. I think about all these other players whose relationships ended much worse than VC and the Raps, I just don’t understand why he gets so much heat for it.

Finally, VC had one bad series and that was with the Cavs, You can’t base his whole career off that. So what RJ had the last play vs Toronto. They had been double teaming VC all series, as well as any other team he goes against. People know if they take him out of the game his team will lost. RJ was good but he was not better than VC. It was a smart play, that’s all.

Players are allowed to have bad games. VC is not a point guard but has good court vision. He’s had critical turnovers in a few Nets series for actually RUNNING the plays, not executing them. Who’s fault is it for not having a decent backup PG after Kidd?

Lastly TMAC didn’t leave Orlando on a good note either. I won’t get into Kobe’s mess, that one guy not reporting after being traded to the Hornets from Sac (forgot his name but I can picture him), JKidd from Phoenix and NJ, A.Mourning from the Raps (a lot of people REFUSED to even play up there) and the lsit goes on.

RM: are you kidding? Ive seen 99 percent of the games Vince has played in a Nets uniform and almost all his playoff games with the Raptors as well???

What does this man do to fool you into thinking he is a great NBA player?
He is nothing of the sort. Kidd is a Hall of Famer, a legend. Yes, he quit on the team like Vince did in Toronto and it’s inexcusable. But while he was here, Kidd led the Nets to TWO UNTHINKABLE NBA FINALS runs!!!! Carter has yet to and likely will NEVER advance past the Conference Semifinals!

But i’ll tell you one thing Vince will lead the league in this season – hugging victorious star opponents after his team gets thrashed! He has found a real knack for that, what a competitor!

One more thing, I think that VC wants to do it in Jersey this year. He was really fired up for preseason and I think he likes proving his doubter wrong. He had a good year after the trade to Jersey cause people were talking about him. This year they are saying he can’t lead, the Nets can’t win…I think he wants to make them “eat their words”. I don’t know too many professional atheletes that would back down from a challenge like that.

OK not that everyone on this site has to love Vince Carter and love the Nets, but this is a site for Nets fans and I don’t understand the rationale behind coming on the board and trashing the team or one of its best players. You may not agree with some of the decisions made by management but at the end of the day every single fan should HOPE for a good season. When you say that you’re sure the Nets will fail and that Vince will tank, are you rooting for or against the team? Because if the Nets do well it’s pretty much proving all the naysayers wrong…

And as far as the trade goes, I hope Vince doesn’t get traded. Like pretty much the entire roster, Vince has something to prove and he now has the opportunity to do so. The entire Nets roster is one big underestimated underdog. I expect big things from Vince and from the Nets. Every indication is that he won’t be traded but clearly these writers have something in their ears.

@ devin

In 2005-2006, the nets had 10-game and 14-game winning streaks with the “3-HEADED MONSTER” of kidd, carter and jefferson, including blowout wins over some very good teams.

In game-one of the 2nd round playoff series against the eventual champions, the nets were blowing the miami heat off their home floor until jefferson severely hurt his ankle midway though the game. The nets hung on to win that game, but jefferson was hobbled the rest of the series and the nets lost in 5 games. If not for that injury, who knows what would have happened.

When ‘the big 3’ were motivated to play, they played excellent ball. Their problem, however, was threefold:

one … lawrence ‘i never played the game’ frank was clearly in way over his head and had virtually zero ability to motivate his players and hold them accountable

two … repeated failures by rod thorn to upgrade the supporting cast, i.e. players 4 through 9

three … as much as i love carter’s regular season play, it’s indisputable that his postseason play has been consistently sub-par … the cavs series was a glaring example

The kidd-harris trade was a brilliant move by thorn because kidd’s game was about to go into steep decline and harris is a rising star. Plus, we got the two 1st round picks as well.

The jefferson-yi trade is a whole different animal, but suffice to say i didn’t like it one bit. Not because of any emotional attachment to jefferson, but simply because the trade made zero basketball sense.

The only way to even partially justify the jefferson deal is if management is 70 or 80% sure that they can sign an all-league type free agent in 2010.

But i just don’t see that happening for a lot of reasons, but mainly because star players NEVER reject maximum contract offers from their current teams. And also because the nets won’t be a strong enough team by 2010 to make them a very appealling option to the james, wades and stoudemires of the league.

^ Exactly

@ Brooklyn Bob

Not saying Kidd/VC/RJ were bad, just that they won more by their individual talents and less due to compatible styles. Kidd is a all-universe passer but VC was more an iso guy that doesn’t run fastbreaks well but who could attract double/triple teams leaving a streaky shooter like Kidd open for example. Their individual strengths didn’t connect. Whereas KG was the anchor at both ends that opened up the court for Pierce’s slashing & they allowed Ray more wide open looks..they just fit better is all I’m saying.

I agree with your other points 1), 2) and partly 3)…no doubt VC’s trouble with Cavs was embarassing. They were a good D team but that’s when a player of VC’s caliber has to step up his game also & he didn’t but he’s has decent playoffs otherwise (he was incredible over the Pacers and had up & down playoffs vs Raptors, can’t recall the Heat playoffs right now though…)

Just curious, most here expect Nets to be mediocre (lottery) to average (8th seed) this year but are you not excited to see this team ? Alot of athletic players, defensive minded team that should have more grit then the last few years since they know they won’t win on pure talent alone….losses are gonna be tough but I do think this is a team a fan can root for over the year despite the likelihood of a high loss season.

VC and Paul Pierce. Stop comparing the two. I’m not saying VC is better but Pierce didn’t win anything until KG and Ray Allen showed up. Use your brain

Why is it when people speak negatively about VC they always bring up his having fun and smiling after games with opponents? Just because you have a competition against someone doesnt mean you HATE them. You can be friendly and still play your best game. Most of the people talking have probably never even gotten off the couch and played in any sport. There’s often times when you go up against friends or just people you get along with in fierce competition but you have small trash talk and joking going on all the time. It even happens in the corporate world when everyone is competing for sales numbers to win money, prizes, trips, etc. You dont hate someone just because you lost to them. Get over it.

NETS-6 TO 8 FOR PLAYOFFS
VC-MVP
D.HARRIS OR YI-MIP
LF-COY
CDR 2ND VOTE GETTER FOR ROY

What’s up with you people? Everyone here has a point about how these reporters are just hating on Carter, but they also have a point. Words mean nothing. Kidd said he wanted to finish his career with the Nets. RJ said he wanted to finish his career here too. THERE JUST WORDS. Now Carter might not make it public, unlike Kidd, but what makes you guys think he won’t bail if this team is close to last place? Seriously where’s your proof? He’s a nice guy? He always smiles? C’mon, get real.

He has a history of not showing up in games. It becomes a habit, and habits are hard to get over. Who knows, maybe IF we can’t win, he’ll shut himself down, just because he doesn’t care anymore. Or maybe he’ll play his best to increase his trade value. Who knows.

He’s a star. Stars like to win. Period.

@ Kevin

It’s called being a fan. Most Nets fans gave Kidd the benefit of the doubt until the migraine Knicks game where it was all to clear what his agenda was (new contract or out).

It’s what fans do. VC has said & done all the right things so far & he may well indeed change his mind once (if) the losses pile up but every indication by words & action so far says he’s a Nets. A fan therefore will err on the side of the Nets/Nets player.

Just like Cavs fans believe LeBron will stay a Cavs & Heat fans believe Wade will stay a Heat, etc., because they are fans and therefore will side with their player until hard evidence proves otherwise.

and why bring RJ’s comments to this ? RJ did indeed want to finish his career as a Nets, he just got traded, all out of his control. It wasn’t just words with RJ.

the article was pure speculation & pop psychoanalysis that merits only derision.

@ devin

I’m definitely excited about some of the young players on the nets … specifically harris, lopez, sean, boone, cdr and anderson.

My main beef, however, is that we didn’t have to trade jefferson to acquire any of these young players.

Even if you accept the argument (which i don’t) that we had to trade jefferson, there’s no way anyone can convince me that yi and simmons is the best that we could get in return for the nba’s 9th leading scorer who also happens to be one of the best playoff performers in the league.

I also have zero faith in the coaching staff’s ability to properly develop the nets’ youngsters.

But worst of all, we have an owner that is far more concerned with saving his brooklyn megaproject than he is in building a contending nba team.

If not for ratner, lawrence ‘i never played the game’ frank would be a distant memory. RJ, mikki moore and eddie house would still be on the roster. And the team would be playing before sell-out crowds in newark rather than before empty seats in the swamp.

i think all dat is BS

@ Isaac

and if you’ve seen Vince with the Raptors he’s had barely any help his whole career. You didn’t see Vince complaining about how he’s had no help on his team.

What THEMann said.

I don’t understand what’s wrong with that, Vince is a nice guy, and you say you want him to go cussing out his opponets everytime they lose and acting like a baby, yeah that sounds like a competitor to me!

and also imagine who Kidd had in his two year run making it to the finals.

Kerry Kittles, Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, Keith Van Horn, Stephon Marbury, and Byron Scott as there coach.

And Who did V.C have when we went all the way to game 7 of the conference finals?

RM

VINCE NEVER MADE THE CONFERENCE FINALS!!!! That was the Conf semis when he missed the winning shot after deciding he couldnt pick up his UNC diploma another day, he had to do it before the last big game of his life!!!!

ALSO STEPHON MARBURY NEVER PLAYED WITH KIDD AND CERTAINLY DIDNT GO TO THE NBA FINALS!!!

everything Brooklyn Bob said in his post above is correct, although im not as excited about some of the youngsters on the team he mentioned. All his other points are on the money, no pun intended.

at kidd4mvp:

Pierce had already proven he was better than Vince before last year. You might recall in 2002, Pierce with some help from Antoine Walker (who is on his way out fo the NBA) and not much from anyone else leading Boston to within 2 games of the NBA Finals before our Nets stopped him. Carter has never sniffed such a situation in his NBA career. Pierce had ample opportunity to quit on the Celtics, they had some awful seasons while he has been there, but he never did.

AND I DESPISE PIERCE, I AM JUST STATING THE TRUTH.

Byron Scott > Butch Carter

vince might be maligned but the guy is a flat out superstar. kevin says whats the proof that he wont bail out, i ask whats the proof that he will. i dont know but the guy has said and done all the right things so far. if he gets traded it wont be because of him, it will be ebcause management decided to, or they got an offer they cant refuse.

to say pierce is a better player than carter is foolish. theres nothing poierce can do that vc cant do. the only difference is that vc is much more athletic. im sure if vc played alongside kg and allen, he would be an nba champion by now.

all i know is that ever since vc hase come to the nets, he has kept them respectable. without him, they havent won a game. whether kiid or rj, they couldnt hold the fort without vc. kidd has never been the same after his knee surgery. having vc on his team relived so much pressure off him. rj is highly dependabl;e on playmakers. he doesnt know how to pass, make teammtes better, refuses to rebound or play defense at times. but his biggest weakness is that he cant put the ball on the floor. he cant witch hands off the dribble. its usually btwo dribbles with one hand , then two steps. and he needs a an open seam to get to the rim, which was thanks to vc beong on the floor with him. basically thats how rj scored, being spoon fed by kidd on the fast break, or creating for him an opwen shot, or vc sucking the defense towards him opening seams all over the placre for him. rj jad to go for so many reasons. reason number one was obviosly the cap situation for 2010. reason number two he and vc dont work well together, and they are both wing players making almost identical max money, it just doesnt make sense. plus its a no brainer you would obviuously rather keep vc than rj anyday. the talent difference is staggering. rj is nowhere near vc in any facets of the game. thirdly, yi has more potential and talent and skills than rj. in time hell make this trade look like a steal for the nets. he does everything better than rj. he just needs more experience and PT to get comfortable and find his niche. the reason why the buck traded yi is becaue they nknew they would lose him for nothing once his rookie entry level contract was up, and they got a chance to get rj, on eof skiles all time favorites, and with the bucks yi was never gonna develop to what he could be in that style and playing with a buch of ball hoges who dont know how to pass.

vc is here cause he knows how to make his temmates better, just ask mikki, wrioght, kristic, alvin williams, anotnio davius, and a bunvch of others. he;s one of maybe 6 plaayers in this league with lebron, kobe, wade, tmac and pierce that have an allround game and could do everything on the floor. those guys dont come often too much. and now theyyll need his playmaking skills more than ever. ythats the one facet of harris game which still needs to be developed, so till then theyll rely heavily on vc to make and run the plays.

i know some netfans are bittetr that rj got traded instead of vc, but thats the way it goes sometimes. you alwasy keep your better talent, no matter what. people should go watch how horrible rj is playing with the bucks in preseason and how horrible the team is. youll see rj’s game plummit to all time lows with the bucks, thats im sure of.

The only two things that the so-called experts know about the Nets.

They will suck, and Vince will be traded.

And they just shut their mouth?

If you don’t know the Nets, I’d rather not read your damn reports.

Sean Deveney,is a butwhole.Carters likezs Jersey and hes not dealing with 1/2 the crap he had 2 in Toronto.The nets are not good enough to sale tickets without V.C and dont have the history.

gUYS YOUR GIVING iSAAC WAY TOO MUCH attention.the guys perception is off leave him alone.

you are so right, my perception is so off, ive only been watching this team for 20 years as a diehard fan. I know a bad season and a bad team when I see one. With no Kidd and Vince leading the way, we are headed for 27-32 wins this season, MARK THAT DOWN and remember that in April when you look at the final standings ok?

why bring up kidd, he’s done. he’s ancient history. isaac, there has been one facvt that youve stated, theyve all been hate driven opinions you have towards vince. but thast your right. i just thought to let you know.

Is Chard Ford serious? Does this guy know that the Nets already have enough cap space in order to offer a max money contract to any superstar in the league after the RJ deal? Why does he question whether Ratner wants to pay VC that money? Does he know that Vince is Ratner’s favorite player? How can he say that Thorn will find a good deal and then propose trades for Odom or Mobley&Thomas? Does this guy really know what he’s talking about? That’s what happens when you talk about something you don’t know and totally off base.

In 2001-02, when the Celtics reached the EC Finlas, Pierce had a PF named Antoine Walker who averaged 22.1 ppg, 8.8 rpg and 5.0 apg during the RS. VC has never played alongside a big man like that. THAT’S A FACT. Period.

@ kevin

“Words mean nothing.”

Vince has shown commitment not only with words, but with facts too. He played through that injury last season instead of sitting out even when we were already eliminated from postseason contention. You don’t risk your health for a team you don’t want to play for. I remind you that that injury cost him 4 months of rehabilitation. Then, VC helped to organize some voluntary workouts this summer. As VC said, “If I was thinking about jumping ship and I wasn’t happy, I wouldn’t have been here either time this summer.”

Let’s ask Frank if he’s worried about VC revolting: “No, because I trust his character,” Frank said. “Plus we had proof. Once we traded Jason, he could have shut it down and had surgery. He fought through it, got three cortisone shots and gave his best to the team.”

That’s the main reason why I trust Vince: he has proven his commitment to the Nets with FACTS. Don’t forget that.

Plus, VC is happy being a Net. Al Iannazzone wrote this article about it several days ago:

Carter Country
The Nets touched down in Paris at about 7:30 a.m. this morning, got to the hotel around 9:30, had a team breakfast and hit the practice floor by 1 p.m.
Right to work is probably the right thing. They have the rest of the day to relax and catch up on sleep since the next practice isn’t until tomorrow at 1 p.m., or 7 a.m. for those in the East.
Before they left, the most significant news was how Vince Carter treated the team to dinner and bowling Saturday night to help build memories and camaraderie.
On Sunday, we wrote about Carter’s commitment to the Nets. Carter said he heard that people were saying he wanted out. Not speculating it, saying it, and he didn’t know from where it was coming.

"I was confused," Carter said.

Whether Carter wants to be here and if he’s going to ask out at some point was a huge theme heading into camp, but the real story has been his commitment and work and leadership, bigger than Sean Williams’ emergence and how the young guys are developing.

The Nets will need the latter two, but they also need their eventual captain on board and leading them. To this point he has – without question.
Carter proved it again Saturday night.
If he didn’t want to be here, he wouldn’t have taken everyone bowling. Add helping organize the Nets’ "voluntary" workout in August and also being there in September after going to Europe to promote NBA Europe as all positives that Carter wants to be here.

Last year, the Nets were doomed when Jason Kidd bailed mentally before physically. It’s hard to win when the guy running the team doesn’t want to be there, hard to keep your focus. It affected everyone, but no one ever wanted to publicly admit it because Kidd either was responsible for their nice contract or increased scoring or whatever it was.

There were so many times last year we asked Kidd if he still was on board and wanted to be here and he said yes – basically lying to all of us. I don’t think Carter lied when he said about playing for a team in a rebuild mode:

"I’m OK with that. I play the game of basketball because I love it. I would love to win a championship. But to take a team that is considered rebuilding and become a playoff team, there’s a lot of satisfaction in that for me."

Could his feelings change? Of course. The difference is Kidd wanted money or wanted out in October and November and when the team played poorly out was more important than cash.

Carter is a pretty low-maintenance superstar, one of the most approachable and nicest I’ve ever been around. He’s probably too nice to be an assassin on the court. That’s his tragic flaw. Everyone knows it.
The bottom line is Carter is happy here; he’s comfortable here. That’s important to him and that’s a good thing for the Nets and their fans. They need him to have a chance this season, how ever slim it may be.
The Nets’ fans haven’t turned on him the way Toronto has. The media hasn’t. And the organization hasn’t questioned Carter’s desire to be here. So he’s still happy and comfortable and embracing his new/old role of team leader.

"Jason was our leader," Carter said. "We looked to him for whatever. Who’s going to do it? I told Coach, ‘I’m your guy. I’ll do it.’ And I’m more than happy to do it.

"I would do it then. It’s not like I was trying to step on his toes or I wanted to do more than him and think, ‘Oh guys, I’m the captain.’ No, it’s his team. When I had something to say in the huddle, in the locker room, on the floor, in practice I would say it. But I knew my role and I was going to play it well."
Carter is playing his new/old role well, too.
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Of course, this is something all those morons ignore just to write their pathetic previews and articles like the Chad Ford one.

@ Kidd4mvpbm
“I do a review of the article on my site. ”http://www.addictedtohoops.blogspot.com" target="_blank">http://www.addictedtohoops.blogspot.com"

Well said my friend.

@ Sr Dollar Bills

“These writers are clueless about the Nets…had Thorn wanted to dump Carter they would have traded him to the Cavs when they offered us Wally World, who is an expiring.”

That’s the point that proves these morons don’t know what they’re talking about. They say that the Nets will trade him for cheap, and ignore that the could have dumped him as they sugfgest, but they preferred to keep him, and I repeat, they nixed that offer BEFORE the RJ deal was completed, when they realley needed that cap space for 2010, and they kept Vince. They don’t need that cap space no more.

I don’t understand what’s the problem. The Nets want to keep VC, and VC is happy here, despite the situation we’re going through, something VC is totally aware of, as Kiki and Vince himself admitted. Leave VC alone!

Btw, Mr Ford… VC ind ecline? One of only 3 players in the league to average 21/6/5? A guy who had career highs in rbs and assists? DAMNED DECLINE!

I think the bottom line is:

Nets aren’t going to Brooklyn in 2010 = no LeBron = goodbye to everything the Nets have banked on, the RJ trade and clearing cap space have been completely useless and futile unless we can manage to convince someone else to take our money and play for us

If I were a gambling man, I would be alot of money that VC is NOT traded this season.

Simply put VC is much more valuable to the Nets than to pretty much any other team.

Why?

1. VC keeps the Nets relevant.
VC sells jerseys, tickets (home and on the road), draws fans and keeps the Nets on Sportscenter. Take away VC and not only does this team suck (more on that) but no one cares about them as well. Look how many fans joined the Nets bandwagon once we landed him.

2. VC keeps the team competitive.
VC is our best player. Not to many players can you give the numbers he does. He’s also the one true first option this team has. W/O VC this team would be lucky to crack 80 points a night and be offensively inept. VC commands double teams and creates open looks for other players. With VC we can be a competitive team, w/o him we will be a pathetic team.

3. VC has been a great influence on this team.
People can pretend VC is the same person he was when he was in Toronto, but he’s not. He’s older and more mature. He’s said and done all the right things while on the Nets. He’s been one of the most durable players in the league since he’s been here, playing through injuries, playing when the team was out of the playoff race, getting surgery right away, mentoring the youth, etc. VC took alot of heat for his actions in Toronto (deservedly so) and I highly doubt he wants to go back to being hated by all. He’s changed and made every effort to change his image. Why would he stop now?

4. Trade Value
Because of his contract and his age, VC probably cannot land the Nets anywhere near his value to the team. We already have cap space for when we want it and we already have tons of prospects. I’m not sure what deal could be made that would really benefit the Nets and the other team involved.

and @ Isaac..

I think most of us know we are a 25-30 win team, but I don’t see that as a failure. I would see being uncomepetitive and winning less than 20 games a failure (which we would do w/o VC) This year is about growth, change and finding the right pieces for a future contender. If we land another high draft pick and another piece or two via trades or free agency next summer, I’m happy. IMO it’s a much better to situation to be in then the mediocrity this team was stuck in.

Flat out honesty about Vince Carter:

I have a lot of respect for Vince’s game. He is a hell of a talent.

If you put a gun to my head I pick Paul Pierce. Pierce has a better build, He holds up better in postseasons then Vince does. The MO on Vince is get physical with him and you’ll take him out of his game. Not so much with Pierce. Pierce is also a better defender.

But that still doesn’t mean VC can’t lead a team. Vince hasn’t played on that good of teams. The best shot he could of had is with a healthy Nenad Krstic.

My friends and I always ponder what the Nets would of been like with Kenyon Martin, VC, and Jason Kidd. That is like my basketball wet dream lol let the jokes reign

Paul Pierce vs. VC? Are you kidding me. Paul Pierce is nowhere near the talent VC is from defending, rebounding, assists and scoring. VC is the complete package. Paul Pierce as we saw all years prior to last is not much come playoff time.

come on dude lol wheres the “real talk” son

@Isaac
27-32 wins with this team actually wouldnt be a bad thing because there are a lot of young guys to develop and if they compete every night i’ll be happy. Are you saying you’d rather have the 34 win monstrosity we had last year with Kidd and RJ here? If this team can play with heart and win almost as many games as a team with Kidd and RJ on it, thats a win in my book.

@THEMANN

Kidd was technically only “here” or 2 months last season, he quit on the team around that point (although judging by his triple-double after triple-double maybe quitting wasn’t so bad). RJ had his issues last season too, but at least with Kidd and RJ, I KNEW WE COULD MAKE THE PLAYOFFS – now we have no shot for a long, long time unless Ratner’s LeBron prayers are answered. I’ve seen the Nets in rebuilding mode before – it’ called the mid ’80s until the day Kidd arrived with the exception of 2 or 3 decent seasons in between.

If I were Thorn, I would have told Kidd he was retiring as a Net unless I could get real value back for him – the jury is out on Devin – he is not an all-star caliber guard as of now, the rest of what we got back from Dallas is total garbage! That is why i’m so negative about this team right now.