In the debut edition of the Brooklyn Nets Morning Dish, a former teammate of Nets great Vince Carter says the artist once known as Vinsanity has a lot left.
Welcome to the Brooklyn Nets Morning Dish, where we’ll dish on what’s happening around the Interwebs about the Nets … or related to the Nets … or possibly just interesting stuff around the NBA.
We’ll tip off the Dish with a report from Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, who talked to former New Jersey Nets big man Mikki Moore about his former teammate in East Rutherford, Vince Carter.
Carter became a sensation on social media last week when he was caught on video during pregame warmups at Hank McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta. The 41-year-old legendary high flyer isn’t just beating Father Time, he has the dude in a submission hold.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BozumUcF-9k/?hl=en&taken-by=teamflightbrothers
Scoop B talked to Moore about Carter, who is entering his 21st NBA season and Moore officially put Robert Parish, Kevin Willis and Kevin Garnett on notice.
Those three share the NBA record for most seasons played at 21, a record Carter and Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki will match this season. Moore said Carter could fly past that.
"“Man, Vince can probably play two, three more years, man. Real talk; he can play until he’s about 45, 46.”"
That could put Carter in position to potentially challenge another NBA mark. The Hawks are Carter’s eighth different team in his long NBA career and if he can go another four or five more seasons, like Moore suggested, he could challenge a mark currently held by four NBA players.
Chucky Brown, Tony Massenburg, Jim Jackson and Joe Smith all played for 12 different franchises in their NBA careers. Keep signing those one-year deals in new places, Vince, and you could rise to the top of this list, too.
The active leader, just for posterity’s sake, is Detroit Pistons guard Ish Smith, who has already logged minutes for 10 different teams in just eight NBA seasons. The Brooklyn Nets will see Smith Wednesday on opening night … unless he’s traded before then.
Graham not just a spare part
In a piece Sunday, Brian Lewis of the New York Post, discussed the surprise preseason enjoyed by free-agent acquisition Treveon Graham.
The Nets got Graham on a two-year, $3.16 million deal after the Charlotte Hornets didn’t offer him a new deal when his contract expired July 1.
Graham was expected to be somewhere near the end of the hierarchy for playing time at the wing, but after posting a plus-8 in the preseason and showing he can effectively guard three positions, he’s making a case for more minutes.
Coach Kenny Atkinson has liked what he’s seen.
"“Treveon’s been a big surprise. He’s another guy you can trust, trust on the defensive side of the floor. If he can make some 3s, he’s going to push for a good amount of playing time.”"
He averaged 26.7 minutes per game in the preseason for Brooklyn, thanks in part to injuries that sidelined Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Allen Crabbe and DeMarre Carroll for all or part of the tuneup slate.
Nets ‘very active’ in trade market
The busy Shams Charania weighed in on the Brooklyn Nets 2018-19 outlook in a video posted Sunday for Stadium, saying the Nets are “already very active” in the trade market, while taking advantage of next season’s cap room and having a full complement of first-round draft picks.
Brooklyn last picked in its own spot in 2013, when they selected Duke center Mason Plumlee, but the eighth overall pick that wound up turning into Collin Sexton with the Cleveland Cavaliers (via the Boston Celtics) marked the end of the five-year draft hell Billy King signed the Nets up for.
It’s all about the flexibility, Charania said.
"“They’re going to prioritize free agency in 2019 and they’re already being very active in the trade market. They’ve made the pursuit of Jimmy Butler, although no team has found success in that lane.“But they have been active in their pursuit of trades and they will be active in free agency in 2019.”"
Dinwiddie preparing for free agency, but …
Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie is coming off the best season of his NBA career and is entering the final year of his bargain-basement contract.
The Nets can’t talk extension with Dinwiddie until the second anniversary of his initial signing with the team on Dec. 8 and the fifth-year guard told NBC Sports’ Dan Feldman he is prepared to become a free agent next summer.
"“If Sean Marks calls to give me a contract extension, I’ll take it. But until he does, I’m looking forward to being a free agent.”"
Dinwiddie would have much more leverage in next summer’s free agency market than he did the last time he was looking for a contract, after he had been waived by the Chicago Bulls in October 2016.
That time around, he ended up signing with the Windy City Bulls of the then-D League before landing with Brooklyn in December of that year.
A max extension for Dinwiddie would be about $47 million over four years, but anything even remotely in that ballpark would constitute a huge raise for Dinwiddie, a former second-round pick who will receive roughly $1.66 million — the highest salary of his career — this season.