Vince Carter is still 25

I hurriedly checked the current Dallas Mavericks roster.

Yes, I know Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer are now with the Denver Nuggets. Why in the blue hell did Mark Cuban agree to a lowly future second round selection is beyond my comprehension.

And yeah, I get that DeShawn Stevenson and Peja Stojakovic may not return this season and they will join New York’s Tyson Chandler, LA Clippers’ Caron Butler, and Minnesota’s JJ Barea as those that will get their championship rings... via courier.

I also know about the trade that sent former LA Lakers’ sixth man Lamar Odom to Dallas which will probably have Khloe Kardashian and her reality show to Cubantown.

I can see it now...

Mark Cuban teaching Khloe and Lamar on how to wrestle a bunch of cows...

Hmmm...

But then there’s Vince Carter.

He’s with the team now.

He is also wearing number 25.

Like I said, I hurriedly checked the current Dallas Mavericks roster.

And then I checked out Dallas’ retired numbers list.

Oh... I get it now.

I hate Robin Lopez for not giving Vince Carter the number 15 jersey when the Orlando Magic traded Carter to the Phoenix Suns last season. I was part of a generation that remembered Half Man-Half Amazing posterizing France’s Frederic Weis in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. That play would earn the name “le dunk de la mort” or the Dunk of Death.

Even if Vince Carter is not the Vince of old, I still consider him as one of the top guys to play the sport. Surely I can see his number 15 up top their rafters.

Ugh. I really hate him for wearing 25. It’s not like I hate the number per se but I want Carter to retire wearing his jersey # 15.

But fact is though, he can’t. The Dallas Mavericks franchise played its first game in 1980. The team had Brad Davis on the squad. Davis played for Dallas since its first game until he retired in 1992. Playing 12 seasons for the franchise in good and bad times was enough for the management to give him the number 15 jersey forever.

Hopefully Vinsanity will end his career on a high note. He'll join Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, and the rest of the holdovers in securing a back-to-back title. Dallas changed up their roster (for the first time is not their fault) and hopefully they can successfully defend their titles.

Game over.