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Vince Carter has signed with the Atlanta Hawks, officially ending his tenure with the Sacramento Kings. It didn’t seem like the Kings were interested in bringing Carter back for another year, but it was a possibility many fans would have welcomed. Aside from the cool factor of having an NBA legend on the roster, it was easy to see the positive influence Carter had on the team. We’d see him working out with the young players before games, we’d see him coaching players on the bench, and he’d still give maximum effort whenever his number was called.
Free agent Vince Carter has agreed to a one-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks, league source tells ESPN. Hawks want Carter around its young locker room.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 25, 2018
Sources: Vince Carter’s deal with the Atlanta Hawks: one-year, $2.4M veteran minimum.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 25, 2018
With the loss of Carter and Garrett Temple the Kings have now lost two of their most influential locker room veterans. Harry Giles shared a nice tribute to the departing vets, praising them for the way they helped him last season.
Going to miss these two a lot learned a lot from them and always was great energy when we sat down. Treated me as a man and showed me ways to be a better one. I’ll respect that forever. pic.twitter.com/CeAZR7of8B
— Harry Giles III (@HGiiizzle) July 26, 2018
As our own Akis pointed out on Twitter, Atlanta provides a combination of playing opportunity and a close proximity to media opportunities. Atlanta is home for Turner broadcasting. Carter has talked about wanting to go into media once his playing days are over.
I’m not surprised Carter is gone. I’m not upset at him. I’m not upset with the Kings. But I’m still a little sad. It was a lot of fun having Vince Bleeping Carter on the Sacramento Kings. Here’s wishing him all the best.