NBA Trade - Vince to Orlando is a BAD idea

NBA Trade Frenzy – Carter To Magic; Championship Chances To Garbage

The Magic wasted no time in telling Hedo Turkoglu, their best player during a stunning playoff run, that they’re moving on without him. In a stunning draft-day trade, the Magic brought in the NBA’s leading cry baby, Vince Carter, to Orlando in exchange for Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee and Tony Battie. If you thought that the Magic were going to be a good NBA futures value, I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong.

Vince Carter is just five years removed from the most dubious forcing of a trade in NBA history. When Carter was a high-flying Toronto Raptor, he mailed in his final season in 2004-05 to the tune of 15.9 points per game. After Carter was traded to the Nets, he instantly became the best player in the league statistically. Don’t believe me? Vince averaged15.8 points, 3.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds amidst reports of a “knee injury” that were slightly misleading only because it was actually a “painfully throbbing vagina” that was crippling Vince in Toronto. When he went to the Nets, he went back to scoring 27.5 points, 4.7 assists and 5.9 rebounds that very same year.

That’s the kind of player that Vince Carter is. When he exploded on the scene during the Greatest Slam Dunk Portfolio Ever, Vince pretty much sat pat on his freakish athleticism and shunned the spotlight. He could’ve been a top-5 NBA talent hands down. But look at his body from when he was drafted to now. Has this guy, an eleven year NBA veteran, even seen the inside of a gym? If you’re on the cusp of being one of the greatest talents in the NBA, why don’t you work your ass off to prove it? Because you’re a pansy, that’s why.

Vince’s tangible scoring qualities, and his defensive abilities, are what make him a valuable asset. But when you’re paying $15 million for a cry baby who can vanish at any given moment, you have to double check yourself. Now Orlando is allowing its greatest playoff asset, Hedo Turkoglu, to walk in exchange for a guy who is going to cost them double Hedo’s contract as of 2008-09.

To say that Vince Carter’s paring with Dwight Howard is the “answer” to Shaq/LeBron or Pierce/KG in the East is absurd. He has never performed well in the playoffs, and has never carried a team on his back to a conference title. Fact is that Orlando will welcome their new hometown hero with open arms (Vince hails from Daytona Beach), but I’d be wary of this trade if I was betting on Orlando to go deep in to the playoffs.

If Orlando needs to know just how bad things can get with Vince, just ask Toronto. Why no other team has learned from the debacle in Toronto is beyond me. I just can’t imagine paying $15 million for a guy with no proven playoff success.