Nets’ Carter Deserves New Beginning
by Cassie Harris
Love of Sports Correspondent
He made a name for himself with his knack for exciting the crowd.
He made controversial decisions, has had his own words taken out of context, and had his integrity questioned on more than one occasion. He also has the ability to turn an entire country against him.
Yes, he would make a great presidential candidate, but - for now - Vince Carter is sticking to basketball.
This season, the artist formerly and ever so briefly known as Dr. Funk is standing at a career crossroads. Once a bankable superstar, now he’s… just there - the human highlight shrug. With the Toronto debacle and the Kidd-Jefferson experiment behind him, Carter once again finds himself on the island of being the best player on a bad team. Ironically, though, this may be the best situation for him to recapture his fading popularity.
It has been a fire sale all year long in New Jersey, and the current product is younger and more capable of landing certain big name future free agents. Now in the preliminary stages of a “rebuilding” year (which is more like a “biding-our-time” year), the Nets are poised to face expectations lower than the placement of Lawrence Frank’s Perfect Pullup.
So, where does that leave Carter?
Half Man Half (insert your favorite knock on Carter here) took one of his biggest hits at the end of his stint with Toronto. A big factor in the controversy was the fact that the Raptors were rebuilding and restructuring around a young Chris Bosh. Questions arose about Carter’s work ethic and his team commitment, ultimately leading to the trade to New Jersey.Yeah, it’s all old news, but now in the midst of a similar rebuilding situation, Carter has the opportunity to answer those same questions.
On such a young team, Carter has been given a second chance to assume a leadership role and prove his critics wrong. He doesn’t have to be the electrifying high-flier he was at the beginning of his career, and no one should expect him to be. Rather, he would earn back the adoration and respect of fans by simply showing that he is content to be where he is and capable of being a vocal presence with his teammates.
It doesn’t sound like much, but it would go a long way towards making up for the disaster north of the border. Plus, he could accomplish those things even if (you detractors out there are saying “when”) he gets hurt.
The early ramblings out of New Jersey have been nothing but positive about Carter’s demeanor and commitment. He has been leading voluntary workouts, helping his young teammates, and recognizing his role as a leader both on the court and off.
If he can maintain his reported degree of enthusiasm as the season gets underway and things get potentially tough for his Nets, maybe we will see Dr. Funk rise again.
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Comments
p-funk on 10/14 at 12:05 PM
There’s also a selfish reason for Carter to lead this team and resurrect his image. It would make him more attractive to other teams and increase the chances of him being traded to a contender. Still, I wouldn’t bet on it.
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