Knicks Sign Warren Carter

NEW YORK, September 11, 2009 – New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that forward Warren Carter has been signed as a free agent. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Carter, 6-9, 220-pounds, averaged 5.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 13.9 minutes as a member of the Knicks entry in the 2009 NBA Summer League presented by EA Sports last month. The Dallas, TX-native spent the last two seasons playing overseas in Spain and Turkey following his four-year collegiate career at the University of Illinois.

Position: Forward
Years Pro: Rookie
Height: 6-9
Weight: 220
College: Illinois
Birthplace: Dallas, TX
High School: Lake Highlands (Dallas, TX)
Birth Date: April 23, 1985



Career Transactions: Signed with New York as a free agent on Sep. 11, 2009.

As a Professional: 2008-09 (Cajasol Sevilla – Spain): Averaged 11.6 points. 5.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 28.6 minutes in 10 Spanish games…Shot on .536 from the floor…Led Sevilla in scoring during Eurocup play…Averaged 5.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 13.9 minutes in six games for the Knicks entry in the 2009 NBA Summer League presented by EA Sports…2007-08 (Mutlu Aku Selcuk University – Turkey): Averaged 18.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in 29 games… Shot .601 from the floor.

As A Collegian: Notched career averages of 6.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 15.1 minutes in 115 games (34 starts) in his four-years at The University of Illinois…shot .480 from the floor and .376 from three-point range in his four years with the Illini…As a senior in 2006-07, averaged 13.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 30.7 minutes in 33 games (33 starts)…Shot .485 from the floor and .411 from three-point range…Averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 12.3 minutes as a junior in 2005-06…As a sophomore in 2004-05, was reserve in Illinois’ run to the Final Four where the Illini lost to North Carolina for the national championship.

High School/Personal: Born Apr. 23, 1985, in Dallas, Texas…Majored in community health at Illinois…Brother, Josh, played collegiately at Texas A&M while other brother, Kevin, played basketball at Collin County Community College in Texas…Played AAU ball with the Fort Worth Lions the same team on which former Illini teammate and Utah Jazz guard Deron Williams played…Texas Class 5A Player of the Year as a senior at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, TX.

Posted by Finestrg:

Scratching my head is right. I'm right there with ya Rook. Sooooooooooooooooooooo many better options out there that we could've invited to training camp. I mean where does it say that the last 3 spots have to be filled by absolute scrubs?? Why couldn't we fill those spots with promising players, the most promising they can find & get their hands on in fact -- if they don't play that much this year, that's alright, next year's a different ballgame as quite a few of our vets may be moving on. Looks like we might pass on Morris Almond too. I mean, WTF, if anything, I thought we needed a legit SG with some size, no? Ahhhh...they're just completely clueless when it comes to evaluating end-of-the-rotation talent like this. I mean Jesus, even Tskitishvili showed me more than this guy & we haven't heard anything about him either. I'm convinced we will never find the next Anthony Mason or John Starks. Savor the memories fellas 'cause that'll never happen again. Man, you think a team as bad as us would be doing everything possible to find that next great unknown/undrafted guy and turn him into an NBA player. They should be lining up right after the draft concludes EVERY SINGLE YEAR looking to scoup up the best talent that went undrafted & fell through the cracks. Instead they procrastinate or flat out show no interest in this phase of the rebuilding process altogether. I can give you a list of at least 10 guys I would've brought to camp over this guy and I'm not even trying to knock this poor kid Carter. Hey, good for him man, I'm happy for him. It's a good opportunity for him. It's not about Warren Carter... Whatever brah...

[Edited by - finestrg on 09-11-2009 1:50 PM]

Posted by LivingLegend:

Posted by TMS:

i liked what i saw from him... can hit the outside J, real active on the floor & mobile for a big... nice cheap signing for us.

Makes sense that Walsh would select a hard nosed scrappy player to fill a roster spot or two.

This is probably a strong indication that Pat Jr will not be back as this kid appears to play the same way but is longer.

He doesn't have much game but he is long, active and seems like someone who will play hard every time out.

OH, Forgot about Ewing JR. That really really sucks. What is it with this organization and decision making and connecting the two to the fans? If you want a 15th man crowd pleaser and practice energizer, look no further. Really hard to believe as the fans want Ewing Jr and after this non existent off season one would think they would try to appease the fans.

After signing Warren Carter, we have 13 players under contract. If we sign Lee and Nate then it's 15.

There's no roster limit right now, we can sign 20 players if we want. We have to trim the roster to 15 before the season starts so there's enough time to invite (sign) players to unguaranteed contracts, try them and decide who will stay when the season starts.

I wouldn't be surprised if Walsh adds one or two more players. As long as you don't have 15 guaranteed contract it's fine. You have flexibility to try players.
We have 10 fully guaranteed contracts, two restricted free agents (who will likely return) and three unguaranteed contracts so in theory we have three rosters spot open (the unguaranteed contracts) and you can easily have 5 or 6 players battling for those three spots.

Posted by earthmansurfer:

Posted by LivingLegend:

Posted by TMS:

i liked what i saw from him... can hit the outside J, real active on the floor & mobile for a big... nice cheap signing for us.

Makes sense that Walsh would select a hard nosed scrappy player to fill a roster spot or two.

This is probably a strong indication that Pat Jr will not be back as this kid appears to play the same way but is longer.

He doesn't have much game but he is long, active and seems like someone who will play hard every time out.

OH, Forgot about Ewing JR. That really really sucks. What is it with this organization and decision making and connecting the two to the fans? If you want a 15th man crowd pleaser and practice energizer, look no further. Really hard to believe as the fans want Ewing Jr and after this non existent off season one would think they would try to appease the fans.

i woulda loved to see PEJ signed instead but if they didn't do it last year, i wasn't expecting it this year either... seems to me like they jerked that kid around unnecessarily... wasn't he planning on playing overseas to make some money but chose to play in the D Leagues instead w/the expectation that he'd be signed by the Knicks after they cut Dinglebury loose? that was the gist that i got w/that whole situation... i dunno why the Knicks would do that to the kid if they had no plans on using him.

anyways, that aside, i still did like what i saw from Carter in SL... seems like he can play a little... i'd wager to guess he'd be more productive than Fishlips if given his minutes... anyway he'll likely be cut but again, he's worth a look at least... can't complain about this type of signing to a non-guaranteed roster spot... this isn't like some Anthony Robersuck 2 year signing type of deal we're talking about.