5. December 17, 2004: Nets acquire Vince Carter for Alonzo Mourning’s kidney, the Williams non-twins and non-lottery picks
After feuding with Raptors ownership over their commitment to winning, Vince Carter was dealt south of the Canadian border in December 2004 for Alonzo Mourning, Eric Williams, Aaron Williams (no relation) and two first-round, non-lottery picks. Despite admitting to tanking in Toronto and never getting out of the second round of the playoffs, Vince Carter had a successful 4½ year tenure in Jersey; Carter averaged over 20 points per game, garnered three All-Star selections, and provided numerous highlight reel dunks in a Nets uniform.
Part of what made the deal so valuable was that the Nets gave up relatively nothing. Former all-star Alonzo Mourning had barely played for the Nets coming back from a life-threatening kidney illness. The Raptors had to buy him out, and he ended up in Miami where he won a title as Shaq’s backup. Aaron Williams was a nice bench piece for the Nets, basically a poor man’s Reggie Evans with less rebounding acumen and only slightly more offensive game than Reginald Jamaal. Eric Williams is best known for being the eventual ex-husband of one of the women on “Basketball Wives.”
As for the picks, they became Stephen Graham’s identically untalented twin Joey, and former New York Knick and current Petron Blaze Booster (Philippines) Renaldo Balkman.
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