Vince Carter says it's hard to talk to young players in the NBA today because of all the money they are making: "Everybody isn't wired the same and from there"

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Former NBA player Vince Carter claimed that it is more difficult to mentor new NBA players today due to the abundance of money and talent. During his latest appearance on Fanduel’s “Run it Back” show, the eight-time All-Star discussed his experience as a veteran attempting to mentor young players in the asocication.

“Young guys are harder to talk to now because of the money that they are making. It’s just the reality. It’s just hard to go to the locker room as a veteran. I mean they have a lot of them that are proven and you would think that when those guys talk they listen and they do but at the same time they’re like in [Jonathan] Kuminga’s situation he can go ‘I can go out there and get buckets. I can get buckets like you,'” Carter said.

Weighing in on Kuminga’s situation

The topic of mentoring young players came up on the show because of the latest news surrounding Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga. On Jan. 6, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the 21-year-old has lost faith in Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and feels that he’s not reached his full potential under his leadership.

It was reported that Kuminga was unhappy with his current Warriors role and wanted more playing time. VC was in the league for more than two decades and summed this up as a typical conflict between a young player with high hopes of making a name for himself and a supposed championship contender who’s prioritizing winning instead of development.

“When you go to Golden State, correct me If I’m wrong, you fall in the pecking order in that system of priority of scoring and Kuminga feels like he should be in high priority putting in the ball in the basket and that’s what they’re not asking from him right now,” Carter added.

Vinsanity on the new NBA

As someone who played in the league for 22 seasons, Carter has been through multiple NBA eras. He has observed the biggest difference between them and can offer a unique perspective.

The fifth overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft said that offense is the name of the game in this era, and that has a lot to do with the fact that the NBA rules today don’t prioritize defense. That’s one of the reasons why young players today focus on their scoring output as a sign of their productivity on the court.

“If you go back and watch film of the way guys like [Michel] Jordan, Kobe [Bryant], all these guys were scoring with the fouls they weren’t calling that’s a foul in today’s game. These people were averaging 28 to 30 points plus with that defense back in the day. That’s why I say it was tougher to score, tougher to play [back then], but some guys can adjust to it in today’s game,” Vince expressed in his appearance on “The Knuckleheads Podcast.”

As the game develops over time, so does the mentality of young players and their style of play. It’s part of the game’s growth; whether good or bad, the change is inevitable.