Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Vince Carter of the Atlanta Hawks.
Gilbert Arenas has no quarrel with Vince Carter and he wants to set the record straight.
“Vince was a steady guy,” Gilbert Arenas told NBA scribe, Landon Buford.
“Just shows you the kind of professional he was, and still is to last this long. Consider the freak of nature, he was to last this long [that] says everything about Vince.
Carter, an eight time NBA All Star will play his last year in an Atlanta Hawks uniform alongside Trae Young, John Collins, Kevin Huerter and rookies De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish.
For those keeping score at home: VC played in 76 games for the Hawks where he averaged 7.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists. The former Toronto Raptor also shot 41.9 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from downtown.
Arenas recently turned heads when he offered his critique of Carter. Headlines stated that Arenas suggested that Carter should play the role of a player-coach rather than taking up a roster spot.
“Vince should be on the bench as a coach or in the office giving his input,” said Arenas.
“That’s a roster spot. You have kids who are 27 in (the BIG3) that should be in the NBA. Why are they not in the NBA? It’s not that I don’t like that he’s playing, it’s just that I had to fight from the beginning. You see a guy who is over the hill already and think, ‘I’m better than you.’ But the coach isn’t going to put me in, and you have no reason to still be playing. You’re not playing for anything, but in his mind, he’s playing for the title of most seasons played.”
Arenas hasn’t played in the NBA in seven years. While in the NBA, he was a monster on the basketball court.
A three-time NBA All-Star as a member of the Washington Wizards, Agent Zero averaged 20.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists during his carer.
Arenas clarified his statements on Vince Carter.
“In regards to my comments, I had no idea if Vince came back this year,” Arenas told Landon Buford.
“He was going to be the guy at the top of the food chain as most years played. See if I would have known that I would have never made the comment.
Carter seems to know his role in the Hawks’ locker room.
“They say lead by your actions but I’m going to (speak up) to these guys,” Vince Carter told USA Today’s Dan Wolken.
“I want these guys to understand their importance. This is the foundation of what you want to be a part of in a couple years. So, OK, after two weeks maybe we lost four in a row. Are you tired of losing? Let’s fix the problem. Let’s fix our approach. Let’s go a little harder, whatever the case may be, that’s what we’re trying to change, which will hopefully roll over.”
A winner of the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest in 2000, Carter’s former Nets teammate, Mikki Moore told me that Carter could play until he’s 45 or 46.
Moore lived his best life in the NBA as a member with the Nets during the 2006-07 NBA Season. Averaging a career-best, 9.8 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game, Moore led the league in field goal percentage that year, shooting 60.9%.
Moore says he’s not surprised the Vince Carter is still in the NBA. “Vince could play football, baseball, and basketball right now if he wanted to,” Moore told me.
“Dude is talented at all three sports, no lie. I think Vince might be better at baseball than basketball. We did an event for the New York Yankees and he was knocking the ball out of the park, just playing around. Him and T-Mac are unbelievably athletic; it runs in their genes, I don’t understand it.”