Paul Carter: Wesley Matthews the sequel?

As Keith Kreiter of Edge Sports International broke and Brian T. Smith confirmed on twitter last night, the Jazz have invited University of Minnesota and University of Illinois-Chicago forward Paul Carter has been invited to Utah Jazz veteran camp this weekend and will have an opportunity to make the team. David Locke made a good point when he tweeted last night:

"Any player invited to truncated NBA training camps is going to have a legit chance to make team, no time to waste with courtesy invites."

I couldn't find who mentioned it in the comments a few days ago when rumors were mentioned that the Jazz were looking into Rasual Butler, Roger Mason and Sebastian Telfair in free agency, but someone said they would rather have the Jazz take a flier on an unproven rookie, a la Wesley Matthews than sign one of those guys. I agreed at the time and this may be that guy. So good luck Paul Carter. A few more thoughts after the break and after the video.

-I don't know tons about Paul Carter, but he looks like an NBA prospect. Has an NBA body, super long arms and a feathery jumper for a man his size.

- Brian T. Smith also reported that Paul Carter attended the draft workout with Kemba Walker and Jimmer Fredette and impressed Jazz brass then, enough to invite him back now.

-Paul Carter reminds me of Anthony Randolph physically, although he isn't as athletic. His long arms appear to mask the fact that he doesn't jump out of the gym.

-If the Jazz don't bring back Andrei Kirilenko, then Carter is a very cheap replacement, who appears to be able to do similar things.

-Carter has decent ball handling skills for his size. His jumper looks super smooth. He shot 40% from the 3 point line his sophomore year on one 3 point attempt per game.

-Bottom line: would the Jazz rather pay Roger Mason, Rasual Butler, or Sebastian Telfair the veteran minimum (about $1.2 million) or Paul Carter the rookie minimum ($400,000) to be the 12th or 13th guy on the team?

-Best of luck Mr. Carter. Would rather the Jazz take a flier on you than sign a veteran stiff. Just remember to work hard and play tough defense at camp on Friday.