I mentioned in my semi-controversial Kevin Garnett for Greg Oden post that I had a few trades for the T-Wolves that didn’t involve KG. This trade above involving Vince Carter could be a possibility if the right circumstances played out. I realize that this trade is a bit of a stretch if you just look at it straight up, but depending on how things go with free-agency it might not be too far-fetched. Here’s the scenario which I envision for this trade:
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[ad2] Vince Carter, now a free-agent, is seeking a max contract. According to my research, the only team in the league that’s really far enough under the cap to make Vince a straight up max offer is Charlotte. However, if he doesn’t feel like spending the rest of his prime in the Bobcats’ building process, he’ll probably look for New Jersey to pony up the max, or send his agent on the hunt for a sign and trade. Which is where the Wolves come in…
Now there are two thing which will kill this trade right off the bat:
1. Vince is happy signing in Charlotte for the max, and Charlotte’s willing to give it to him.
2. New Jersey is willing to spend the money to keep him.
If neither of those scenarios pan out, Vince WILL be looking for sign and trade. There aren’t going to be that many teams who’d be willing to throw the max at Vince. He’s a shoot-first kind of guy, he has a semi-bad rep after the way he handled his Toronto exit, he is somewhat injury prone, and he’s not a player to build your team around. All those things are severly going to limit the competition if the Wolves throw the max at him in a sign and trade.
So with that being said, why on earth would the Wolves want to trade for a max’ed-out Vince Carter?
1. He’s probably our best shot at fixing this team without trading KG.
2. We don’t need to build our team around him, as he would definitely be playing the role of KG’s sidekick.
3. Desperate times call for desperate measures. We’re already completely suffocated cap-wise, so what’s the difference?
And then there’s the all-important question of why New Jersey would want to do this…
1. They don’t want to spend all that money on Vince when they’re playing in front of a half empty arena every night.
2. They absolutely can’t afford to watch him walk and get nothing in return.
3. Ricky Davis could certainly fill quite a bit of Vince’s void and he’s got an expiring 6-7 million dollar contract.
4. Rashad McCants is a young player with potential.
As far as including Marko in the deal, you have to in order for salaries to work. You can substitute Trenton Hassell, Mike James, or Troy Hudson for him and it works as well. I just figured that Marko may be the most attractive to the Nets in that bunch.
Point blank, the Nets are going to have to spend if they really want to keep Carter. Everyone knows their back is to the wall, so don’t expect them to get much in return. I’d be surprised if anyone offered a 1st rounder to them below the high teens to twenties. Look how little they had to trade to get Vince from Toronto. Don’t tell me that there’s now this this huge rush among GM’s to outbid each other for him. Either the Nets spend, trade him, or let him walk. I’m guessing that they’ll look to trade.
I think this trade saves them cash in the end without too much compromising of their talent level. For the Wolves, it at least gets Garnett a bonafide #2 guy, which is the biggest need at the moment. In a year or two KG, Vince, Foye, and hopefully this year’s pick could end up being a pretty solid core to at least make the Wolves competitive.
Of course, that’s just what I think. What’s the general consensus out there in cyberspace?
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