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Vince Carter Trade
The Cavs made their move by bringing in Shaq, now the Magic have answered. Orlando acquired Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson from the Nets in exchange for Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee and Tony Battie. Between Cleveland, Orlando and a healthy Boston Celtic team, the East is shaping up to be one heck of a battle next season.
Why this makes sense for Orlando:
It’s never been a question of talent when it has come to Vince Carter. His dedication, effort, and selfishness have always been concerns. The Magic needed to match Cleveland’s move of acquiring a big-named player while also preparing for life post-Hedu Turkoglu since he is an unrestricted free agent. Carter can be that athletic slasher who can attack the basket off the drive. If he can co-exist with Rashard Lewis and Turkoglu (assuming he gets re-signed) and they can share the shots, the Magic may be bound for a second straight Eastern Conference championship.
Ryan Anderson is a nice add-in for the Magic. He played well in the second half of the season and should be an important role player, as well as another big man who can shoot the rock. Alston was really more of a late-season rental when Jameer Nelson went down with injury so dealing him makes sense. Losing Lee means Orlando will need to find a defensive wing player since Carter is not much of a defender.
Why this makes sense for New Jersey:
The Nets weren’t going to be a title contender in the next couple years so dumping Carter and the guaranteed two years, $33.6 million remaining on his contract saves them a bundle of money. Alston and Battie are both in the final years of their deals, meaning new Jersey could be some 30-plus million under the cap next summer and poised to make a major run at LeBron James or one of the many coveted free agents-to-be.
For the time being, Alston gives them a veteran backup behind Devin Harris and may even allow Harris to play some two guard. Lee showed that he can be a solid role player on a winning team, and likely will start at the two and be another piece to the re-builiding puzzle in Jersey. Battie is a rebounding big who can back up Brook Lopez and throw his body around down low.
Written by Paul Banks of NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
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