Vince Carter to Celtics via buyout?


It is starting to look like the Sacramento Kings may buy out Vince Carter's contract prior to March 1st if the right spot with a contending team surfaces. The Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics are two teams that could be in the mix for Carter's services.


Vince is a 41-year old, 20-year NBA veteran. If we were using war-veteran analogies, he would be considered World War II vintage. But even at his advanced age, he can still play. Vinsanity, at 6'6" and 220 pounds, can score, rebound and defend. His veteran presence could prove critical in Boston's playoff run.

In the previous two seasons with Memphis, Carter played in a total of 10 playoff games, starting all of them. He averaged 28 MPG, 10.3 PPG and 3.6 RPG. He shot 47% from the field, 55% on threes and a perfect 100% from the foul line. This is the type of situation that gets Danny Ainge's attention. Carter checks most of the boxes, but the only question is if Ainge thinks Vince has enough left in the tank to help Boston possibly win a Title this year. Here are Metro.us's Matt Burke's thoughts:

"We can have as many guys as we want as long as long as they are minimum salary players," Celtics boss Danny Ainge told NBC Sports Boston. "Last year there was a player that really wanted to come play for us, and we recruited him a little bit. He chose another team, it didn't work out really well. Ya know, we had PJ Brown in 2008, he was a key guy for us. We had Sam Cassell and Michael Finley … Stephon Marbury. We've had a lot of guys who have come through [via the buyout]."

Carter is still an excellent shooter and he's far from a push-over on the defensive end despite his advanced age. Those are two areas the Celtics would like to address as they are still missing the sharp-shooting of Gordon Hayward and have - defensively - looked weak in recent weeks.

In terms of playing time, Carter would likely see more opportunities for minutes in Boston than with the Raptors (at least in the playoffs). Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are the Celtics' second and third leading scorers but both are extremely young. Boston needs a veteran presence on the wing in the playoffs and Carter would provide that.


Danny Ainge has the option of waiting another week or so to see if a better option develops. Would the addition of Vince Carter help the Celtics' chances in the playoffs? I believe the answer is "yes", but the secondary question is whether or not a more valuable addition to Boston's roster shakes loose prior to March 1st.

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Top photo via Aaron Harris/Associated press
Bottom photo via Justin Ford/USA Today Sports