I didn't give Raps full effort: Carter
'You see that you don't have to work at it,' he reflects
CANADIAN PRESS
Vince Carter admits he didn't always give it his all with the Toronto Raptors.
And his comments didn't sit well with some of his former team-mates.
In an interview broadcast Thursday on TNT, network analyst John Thompson asked Carter if he pushed himself as hard as he should have in Toronto.
"In years past, no," said Carter, now a member of the New Jersey Nets. "I was fortunate to have the talent . . . you get spoiled when you're able to do a lot of things. You see that you don't have to work at it.
"Now, with all the injuries, I have to work harder. I'm a little hungrier. Getting a fresh start has made me want to attack the basket."
Raptors point guard Rafer Alston had harsh words for Carter before Friday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks, suggesting his lack of effort may have cost the team some games.
"People look at it as a guy that may not give it his all," said Alston. "You don't know what guy you have on your team. He may play hard tonight, he may not play hard tomorrow, you just don't know. Is he a guy you can go to war with night-in, night-out?
"If that's what he was doing, that's very unfair to us."
Carter's comments come after questions about his dedication to the game, his commitment to off-season conditioning and his desire to improve from former team-mates, broadcasters and media.
The criticism sometimes bothered Carter.
"Guys compare it to Michael Jordan, the game face. I have that," said Carter. "But I enjoy basketball. I love to smile. If I'm not smiling, then it's a problem . . . then I'm really not competing.
"Everybody looks at it like, `This is the way this guy plays.' Some players have said just because they approach the game that way, that I should. And I still have the same results in the end."
Alston said Carter's comments won't sit well with Raptors fans.
"That's something that's not going to have a reflection on us, it's going to have a reflection on him and his character," said the Raptors guard. "I don't know if a player who's considered an all-star and has so many fan votes going into all-star weekend, wants to have that on his rap sheet."
Carter has looked like a different player since the Dec. 17 trade that sent him to New Jersey for Alonzo Mourning, Aaron Williams and Eric Williams plus two first-round draft picks.
Motivated by the change, Carter has revived his dominating inside game, which had nearly disappeared in favour of the outside jump shot with the Raptors.
Carter is averaging 22.5 points in 40.3 minutes with the Nets, compared to 15.9 points in 30.4 minutes with the Raptors before the trade.
Raptors coach Sam Mitchell wasn't keen on offering his opinion of Carter's comments.
"These are questions that you need to ask Vince, they're not questions for me," said Mitchell. "I didn't play, I didn't make the comments.
"I gave my all every night, the players in that locker room did, and I like to think that Vince gave his all to the Toronto Raptors because the Toronto Raptors surely gave their all to Vince."
Raptor Morris Peterson said he was "shocked" by Carter's comments.
"It caught me off guard," said Peterson. "Being a professional player, that's something I always pride myself on. . . I could sleep at night better knowing I gave everything I can."
Carter's improvement drew the ire of Raptors broadcaster Leo Rautins.
"If someone has as much talent as (Carter), then you know if they are using it or not," Rautins told the Toronto Sun. "Sooner or later, they'll see his true colours (in New Jersey).
"I'd be shocked if they didn't. He would have to have a huge change. If you can all of a sudden change it, wow, that's an indictment of what you were doing in Toronto."
Rautins also accused Carter of playing his hardest outside of Toronto.
"I was shocked last year when Carter went to the all-star game (in Los Angeles)," Rautins said. "He ran faster and jumped higher than I had seen in three years. What's the difference? Why there? . . .
"Why wasn't he running in Toronto? Rafer Alston was pushing the ball up just like Jason Kidd. He ran for Jason Kidd, but he didn't run for Rafer Alston."
