Entering free agency, athleticism, perimeter shooting and playmaking ability were three traits sitting atop the Grizzlies’ wish list of what they wanted to add to their team.
With the addition of eight-time All-Star forward Vince Carter, the Grizzlies feel like they have checked off all of those boxes.
“What he brings to the table is what we need. He’s a good shooter, he’s a good playmaker and he’ll be a good leader in our locker room,” said Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger. “He is a top-five pick-and-roll player in the NBA. He is still very athletic. He still makes open shots. We want to play him in a role where we give him the ball and let him do his thing.”
The 25th all-time leading scorer in NBA history, Carter holds the distinction of making the most three-pointers off the bench in the NBA over the past two seasons with 304, 59 more than the next closest player. He feels like his skill-set meshes well with the roster the Grizzlies already have in place.
“Right now, I think we have weapons that can do a little bit of everything. Inside, outside, pick-and-roll, post-ups, isolations, whatever you need, so I think once we put it together, anything can happen,” said Carter. “I felt like I could fit in with this team, be who I am and bring a different element to the team that they obviously said they needed.”
In addition to his tremendous on-court abilities, the Grizzlies also feel like Carter is a perfect fit for the Memphis community. He received the NBA’s Community Assist Award in July of 2005 and was named as one of The Sporting News’ “Good Guys in Sports” in 2004.
“Vince’s value to us is more than just making baskets and what he does in the box score. He’s a tremendous leader,” said Grizzlies interim general manager Chris Wallace. “He’s very charitable off the court with the Vince Carter Foundation, and has done great things in whatever city he has lived in and also back in his home state of Florida and his hometown of Daytona Beach.”
For Carter, a sixteen-year NBA veteran, comfort and fit with a city and a team have become more and more important to him. During his meetings with the Grizzlies, he quickly realized that Memphis gave him that special feeling of a place and a team that he couldn’t pass up.