Comparisons to Jordan are tough. Carter did have a second star. McGrady's last year at Toronto: 15.4 PPG 6.3 RPG 3.3 APG Pippen's 1st championship year: 17.8 PPG 7.3 RPG 6.2 APG Maybe Toronto's problem was that they tried to make Carter into Jordan and McGrady into Pippen when they should have let McGrady be Jordan and Carter be Pippen.
You think 15, 6, and 3 makes a star? Remember that, especially in the beginning, the number one thing Scottie brought to the table was that he was easily the best mid range defender in the game...and it was early and he developed...but if you want to stay early, and you want to stay on offense, and take a look at the difference. 2 and a half points, 1 assist, and 3 rebounds/game...That's more difference than i think you are allowing. Put it this way, take that difference, and apply it to Kobe the 1st year the lakers won...it goes from 22.5, 4.9, and 6.3 to 18.8, 3.9, and 3.4...basically what you've got there is Cuttino Mobley. You don't think the difference between Kobe and Cat, not even counting defense, is the difference betwen a legit 2nd star and a pretty good player?
The thing is about the whole Carter scenrio is McGrady was really starting to come into his own, but left because no one knew what the rest of the organization was going to do. The thing about McGrady is that he whines that he has no help which I laugh at. If he was so concerned about getting over the top, why leave toronto when you were becoming a very good player playing with other good players like Davis and Christie. I do believe that Gooden will provide McGrady with enough to get out of the 1st rd now. Carter was wrong in his statement just like Mobley was wrong in his last yr. Look at some of the scrubs Hakeem had to play with and he just put up numbers and balled. I do agree that a combination of some kind involving that pick to get Wallace another good, but not that good player would have been good, but it didn't happen. He should just worry about getting healthy and trying to turn the team around.
Yeah, I honestly truthfully believe that had McGrady stayed in Toronto, we would have had an annual Lakers/Raptors Finals like we used to have Celtics/Lakers...Seriously, it's not just that those are two of the better/more talented players...it's that they were really developing a serious on-court chemistry, and really complemented each other. You put the 2nd star in in McGrady, and you then take a lot of the pressure off of Vince and get him single coverage ( which he never gets now) and just let him score...you bump AD and Alvin Williams down a rung on the responsibility ladder, and you've get excellent role players...If T-Mac had stayed with Toronto, and developed, if not into the scorer he is now, but into the all round player he is with perhaprs a little more emphasis on defense, playmaking, and rebounding...and you've got a nigh-on Jordan/Pippen combo right there... So, yeah, I too cringe when I hear T-Mac complain about having to carry a team. It could have been so special. And they were cousins, for God's sake, talk about Hollywood...
The thing is nobody expect Amare to be as good as he is. So if Rox traded down the pick, then they would have picked somebody else and regret now.
Vince Carter wants Toronto Raptors' top draft pick Chris Bosh to be able to contribute to wins next season and not a couple of years from now. "I want to win right now," Carter said Wednesday. "I'm not trying to say in a couple of years we're going to be good. We don't have time for that. I don't want to wait that long." Carter told a Florida paper recently that he thought the Raptors should trade Bosh, chosen fourth by the Raptors in last month's draft, in order to get a veteran player who might be able to help the moribund team sooner. The Raptors haven't done that and signed the 19-year-old Bosh to a contract this week. Carter, who was in Toronto on Wednesday to donate a $130,000 pro-sized, outdoor court to a west-end neighbourhood, said he hoped Bosh was a fast learner. "I felt that we should have gotten a veteran with that pick. We could have got something great out of it, but since we didn't I hope he comes out and wins rookie of the year," said Carter, who himself won that award in 1999. "We're going to make sure that he's prepared to come out and win rookie of the year. He's shown to me so far that he works hard and he's capable. "A lot of people say he needs some years. Well, I hope he proves everybody wrong." After reaching the post-season the two previous years, the Raptors finished third-last in the league last season with a 24-58 record and set an NBA record for injuries. Carter missed 39 games with both knee and ankle injuries. The team parted ways with coach Lenny Wilkens at the conclusion of the season. Carter said his comments about Bosh weren't intended to be a slight. "I think the whole situation was blown out of proportion," he said. "It never was intended to be about Chris Bosh. "I've met him. I've seen him play and I'm impressed. But when you talk about you want to win now, let's mean it. Let's win now. I hope we can pick up some more veteran guys." Bosh is currently playing with the Raptors in the summer pro league in Long Beach, Calif., under new coach Kevin O'Neill. Carter gave thumbs-up to the appointment of O'Neill, who will be Carter's third coach as he heads into his sixth year with the Raptors. "I like his attitude, I like what he's about," said Carter. ``He's just about business and that's what it's all about this year — it's just business. "It goes back to what I've been asking for — a coach that wants this job and wants to make this Raptors organization better." Children and teens were lined up four and five deep around the court Tuesday while Carter, a three-time all-star, launched the new court with a dunk. "I'm not worrying about last year or what people have to say," he said. "I'm worried about this team and how we can get better as individuals and as a team."
