Breathe easy NBA gurus, Vince Carter isn’t going anywhere. For now.
Off-seasons are typically grueling. Most of the time—especially through the months of August and September—there’s nothing going on. For those of you like me, who need to catch up on some sleep, it’s nice. But only for awhile.
A week or two into the dead zone, you’re already left pining for something to talk about other than haircuts, Twitter beefs, Andrew Bynum and that thing at the bottom of LeBron James’ shoe. You just want some real action.
Traversing this period of suck-a-tude becomes much more difficult when we’re forced to endure player happenings that make us feel old and depressed. Kobe Bryant’s injury for one has been an eye-opener for this generation of basketball. Then there was the retirement of Tracy McGrady. Allen Iverson too, though I’m not sure that counts.
One of the last things we need to hear is that Vinsanity is about to hang up his laces forever, too. That would be tragic. And one of the worst ways to close out the annual work stoppage.
Luckily for us, Carter isn’t going anywhere.
Speaking on his inevitable retirement, Carter wouldn’t put a timestamp on his departure from the game because he hasn’t even thought about it yet, according to the Star-Telegram‘s Dwain Price:
But don’t ask the Dallas Mavericks’ small forward if he’s thought about retiring and hanging up his high-flying sneakers. Although he is in the last year of his contract, Carter, who turns 37 on Jan. 26, doesn’t have a timetable for ending his career.
“I don’t want to do that to myself,” Carter said after Thursday morning’s practice. “I don’t want to limit myself. I think doing that you’ll start thinking about [retirement] as the season goes on. I’ll just let the body pretty much dictate how I’m feeling in the end.”
Carter acknowledged that his body is telling him that he’s got a few more years left to play. Especially after he averaged a solid 13.4 points — mostly off the bench — in just 26 minutes per game last season.
A few more years? We’ll take it. Oh, we’ll take it.
Carter, 36, is entering his 16th NBA season. Initially, when you hit that 10-year milestone it’s fine. Ten years is cool. A decade isn’t considered the longest of careers anymore. Upon reaching 15, however, it gets real.
Entire career-spans are put into perspective. The realization that Player A doesn’t have much time left starts to resonate with you, and it sucks. Much like it does with Carter here. It’s great that he has a few years left (at the moment), but that it’s a topic of conversation at all is a bit disheartening.
When talking about Carter, it’s even worse. Kind of like it was with McGrady. The cruel, sadistic “what if” game comes into play. What if Carter had remained healthy? Would the latter half of his career be different? He was always great, but his legendary level of play was ripped away too soon.
But let’s not harp on it. That’s neither he nor there at this very second. Because right now, Carter is here. With the Dallas Mavericks. Playing in the NBA. And he has no plans to go anywhere or do anything else for quite some time.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
