The Golden State Warriors may be getting older, but Vince Carter believes age could actually work in their favor next season.
The 22-year NBA veteran explained why he sees the Warriors’ experience as a major weapon, speaking with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole.
“A lotta knowledge,” Carter said when asked about the trio of Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler. “They have an advantage because of knowledge. We always look at age and we think ‘Oh, they can’t do it. Can they do it? Will they do it? This this,’ but look at the knowledge.”
Curry will turn 38 in March, Green is now 35 years old, and Butler will hit 36 before opening night.
While critics question how much gas is left in the tank, Carter dismissed concerns about their age.
“For me, and I’m going to speak about myself, first and foremost,” Carter continued. “Playing in that mid-to-late-30’s, maybe I didn’t jump [as] high, run as fast as some of the other young guys but my knowledge for the game, I can outsmart guys. You have all the athleticism and ability, but we know what those guys that you named can do.”
Carter pointed to Golden State’s need to blend that veteran presence with emerging young talent like Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, and Quinten Post.
“To me, you need a mixture of everything, so you have the veteran presence in the locker room, which a lot of teams die for – they have that,” Carter said. “Now you have to put the young guys around that to guide them. You can’t expect those guys to do it every night. To me, the expectations for Steph, Draymond, even ‘Buckets’ to have to do it early. That’s not what I need you for. I want to build up my young guys for the playoffs because those three guys know what it takes and know how to handle it.”
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