41-year old Vince Carter is coming back for a 21st NBA season. According to several reports, VC has agreed to a one-year, $2.4 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks, a team that is desperate for some veteran leadership to show their young players the ways of the NBA.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk wanted Carter's influence around their young, rebuilding roster, which includes their two latest first round draft selections, John Collins and Trae Young. To put things in perspective, Young wasn't even born when Carter was selected fifth overall in the 1998 NBA Draft. In fact, Carter is nearly one year older than Young's father.
Over the course of his illustrious 20 years in the NBA, Carter was named to eight consecutive All-Star teams during a stretch from 1999-00 to 2006-07, which also included his iconic Slam Dunk championship in 2000. After spending much of his career with the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets, VC has bounced around the league in his twilight years, suiting up for four different teams in the last eight seasons. Those teams include the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and, most recently, the Sacramento Kings. In other words, Carter appears to be content with being the old head in a locker room full of youngsters rather than ring chasing like some veterans tend to do in their final years.
Last season, Carter appeared in 58 games for the Kings, averaging just 5.4 points per game in a limited role.
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