Memphis swingman Vince Carter, a 19 year veteran of the NBA, may be closing his stellar career with Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers are reported to have placed troubled shooting guard Iman Shumpert on the trading block and are heavily shopping him around the league. One of their most feasible trade scenarios is sending Shumpert to Memphis Grizzlies and acquiring swingman Vince Carter along with power forward Brandan Wright.
This trade would make sense on both sides. The Cleveland Cavaliers would part with Shumpert who has been having a troubled offseason and get Vince Carter, who can provide some valuable outside shooting for the team. The other piece in this trade, Brandan Wright, could give the Cavs some much-needed rim protection off the bench.
Memphis, on the other hand, will get Iman Shumpert, and if he can get his head straight, is a pretty solid defender, which is a good trait to have on a heavy defense-oriented team like the Grizzlies.
Vince Carter averaged 6.6 points per game along with 2.4 rebounds in about 17 minutes of play. While he is obviously not the superstar he once was, a talent heavy Cavs team is perfect for his eroding skills. He would not be required to do any heavy lifting when it comes to producing and would be a boon in the perimeter for the isolation plays the Cavs loves to employ. He shot nearly 35 percent from beyond the arc last year with Memphis.
Iman Shumpert did not have the best season last year despite the Cavs' championship run. He averaged just 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 24 minutes of play. He has also been plagued by various injuries which limited him to just 50 plus games.
If this falls through, Vince Carter just might end his NBA days with a bang in Cleveland.
