Lost in the Shaq-to-Cavs and NBA Draft shuffle, the Nets traded Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson to the Magic for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee on Wednesday. Here’s what they’re saying out in the ether about the deal …

Third Quarter Collapse: "Ultimately, it’s apparent that the Magic have re-asserted themselves as serious championship contenders. Were they content with merely appearing in the Finals, as they did last season, they would not have made this trade. They’re confident that Carter can put them over the proverbial hump, as they were only 3 wins away from a title, after all. Trading a prospect such as Lee must have been a tough decision, but New Jersey would not part with Carter otherwise. The Magic made the tough choice to jettison a promising, young player and their two most valuable trade chips. Whether or not it was the right choice remains to be seen. But based on what we know about Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson, they’re improvements over the men they’ll replace in the rotation. That’s reason enough for encouragement, even accounting for the loss of a brilliant youngster."

Nothin’ But Nets: "… there is also a somber feeling about the end of this era, flawed as it was but surely with its moments. Because it also seems to portend to something happening beyond basketball for the Nets. (It seems, as their incessant catch phrase goes) It’s about … salary dumps … and surviving. Rod Thorn seems to be making the trades that he so often was on the other end of shrewdly making. Sure, Courtney Lee is good and young and showed some things. But in earlier Nets eras, the Rafer Alstons’ and the Tony Batties’ sound a lot like the Eric Williams’ and Aaron Williams’ — and the ‘contracts’ of Alonzo Mourning. Vince was traded by the Nets the way he seemingly was brought to New Jersey. And for that, it peppers this trade with holes. His window is closing on primetime, as his contract numbers escalate, but when the Nets make a trade like this — while substantially laying off their business-side workers (and advance scouts!) and the contracts of their assistant coaches — it feels not only like a salary dump, but a dump for survival."

The Baseline: "We’ve been hearing for a while that Vince would like to play out his career in Orlando, since it’s effectively his hometown team. Putting him on the Magic certainly gives them more offense, as if they needed any, and a slasher — I mean, a guy who when he chooses to can be among the best in the league at slashing. And who isn’t getting any younger. Maybe this means they really wanted to get Alston out of town, since in the past (and possibly in the Finals) Nelson hasn’t responded well to competition. And this would seem to suggest that Courtney Lee was not, in fact, their SG of the future."

Nets Daily: "It wasn’t a straight salary dump. The Nets did get a promising shooting guard in the Carter trade, one in fact that ironically they almost took in the 2008 draft. Nets brass had to choose between Ryan Anderson and Courtney Lee at No. 21 and took Anderson. The 6′5" Lee averaged 8.4 ppg during the regular season, starting 42 out of 77 games, shooting 40.4% from deep. Lee started 16 games in the playoffs."

Orlando Magic Daily: "Carter is not shy about shooting. He’s a guy who will fire away if he has any room, even when he’s missing a lot of his shots. In the past, his tendency to attack the basket has gotten him in hot water with his coaches, teammates and fans alike. But Stan Van Gundy’s system is renowned for not penalizing players for shooting. It’s a big reason Hedo Turkoglu transformed into a playmaker when Van Gundy came aboard — he was no longer looking over his shoulder when his shots weren’t falling. I believe Carter will succeed in similar fashion. Van Gundy won’t be shy about giving Carter the ball. ‘With Vince, you can give him the ball anywhere on the floor and he can isolate and create a shot either for himself or for a teammate on his own,’ Van Gundy said. ‘Plus, if you look at the numbers like we do all the time … Vince has been, throughout his career, one of the best fourth quarter and end-of-game guys in this league, in terms of production. He’s been a guy that has always come through down the stretch in games.’"

Another48Minutes: "They called him Wince Carter, but in his last four full seasons, he only missed 11 games. He’s not getting any younger, he has a huge contract, but he is also capable of making huge baskets, or making the right pass when needed, as we could state that VC is one of the best passing shooting guards in the League, and maybe one of the most unselfish players in the NBA. Sure, Vince is a great actor, limping, grimacing, staying down for a while, the man has a flair for the dramatic, just ask Toronto when he killed them by scoring a reverse alley-oop in the buzzer with 18.000 people booing him. About the incoming players: I like Courtney Lee, I don’t know how Rafer Alston will fit in coming off the bench, and Tony Battie is a nice veteran addition (however, the contracts of those two are coming off the books in 2010, so that’s why there now with the Nets). But I really don’t know how the Nets are planning to score 85 points in a game next season."

Nets Are Scorching: "The thing that impressed me the most about you [Vince] this past season was how you were a professional through everything. Playing hard even though we were out of (realistically rather than mathematically) playoff contention, through the trade rumors, and through the shift in offensive philosophy. It’s going to be strange not seeing you do your pull-up on the net before the games. It is going to be strange not seeing all of the Vince Carter jerseys walking the tunnel to and in the stadium. Most of all, it is going to be strange not hearing our PA Announcer screaming ‘VC3′ after a big three-point bucket."

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