With 10 members of the 2016-17 Warriors slated to hit free agency this offseason, a handful of ring-chasing veterans have already been floated as potential candidates to fill out Golden State’s bench next year. One of those players is Vince Carter, who played for the Memphis Grizzlies last season, and is currently the oldest active player in the league at 40 years old.
Carter went on ESPN’s The Jump Wednesday afternoon and was asked by host Rachel Nichols about his interest in joining Golden State next season. The 19-year-veteran said he’d be open to it.
Vince Carter says he’s open to taking less money and playing for the Golden State Warriors next season. pic.twitter.com/dpSrYBi2t1
— Warriors Talk (@JaeAzizi) June 21, 2017
“I’m open for it,” Carter said. “I want to win and I want to play and I want to do, somewhat, what Kevin Durant did. I wanna do for my team. I want to go out there and play and show that I can still play this game. It’s a lot going into it, I’m not just one to go on a team and ride the coattails. For me you can say how old I am — whatever, whatever — I proved that I can still play in this league. I don’t want to go sit on the bench and be a cheerleader.
“I want to contribute. That’s what I’m saying at the end of the day.”
Carter was originally drafted by the Warriors with the fifth overall pick in the 1998 draft, before Golden State traded with the Toronto Raptors for fourth overall pick Antawn Jamison. Carter never played a game with the Warriors. Carter averaged 8 points while shooting 37.8 percent from 3-point range last season in 24.6 minutes per game with the Grizzlies.