Originally posted by Smasandian
I don't really care that much if he does well or not but it's funny that I heard the same thing before when he was with the Nets.Now I hear it from a Magic fan.
I never doubt his talent. He has gods of talent. He could of been one of the greats. I doubt his character. What he did to the Raptors was unforgivable.
You'll continue to hear it because we didn't/aren't going through the same crap the Raptors did.
I have always been a fan of the game and Carter had me watching Raptors basketball. Even became a fan (having a raptor as a mascot helped since I'm a dino fanboy).
And when he pulled some of the shit he pulled, I was mad, disgusted, hurt and fed up. But I got over it.
I'm not a die hard Raptors fan. I'm a Magic fan first and foremost. But that doesn't mean I don't recognize the possible negatives in bringing a player with bad history. However, he hasn't shown that kind of mentality since leaving the Raptors over 5 years ago.
If anything, I was more concerned about his ability at this point.
Shaq is still a prick. He didn't do anything underhanded like Vince, but he left the Magic high a dry. He did so without grace. And today he refuses to acknowledge Dwight over a stupid nick name. He'd be a great mentor to Dwight if he would just swallow his pride. But even with that I don't hate him they way most Raptor fans hate Vince and it's been over 5 years.
And I've had worse done to me personally than what Vince did to the Raptors. And for some of those who have wronged me, I've forgiven them.
I'd understand this grudge better if I saw that he was still the same man he was then.
He had some disagreements with Kidd when he was with the Nets, but nothing major. He mentored many players on the Nets, including Harris, and played unselfishly with both PG's, while still playing up to his talents.
In Orlando he's got a great team surrounding him and he's followed Gundy's coaching well. We want him to take shots, so he takes them. Even when he misses them, we still want him to try and find his rhythm. The fortunate thing is we have a talented/deep enough team where he doesn't have to all the time.
Seems kind of pointless to hold anything against this guy at this point except for drama purposes when Vince plays against Toronto.
What's done is done. That's all I'm saying.