Maybe Vince Carter had good reason for wanting out of Toronto, after all.

 While Carter is once again taking the NBA by storm with every 40-plus point performance he seemingly delivers on a nightly basis down in the swamps of New Jersey, Vinsanity?s former team, the Toronto Raptors are rivaling the Minnesota Timberwolves as the league?s most dysfunctional squad.  

 Then again, the Wolves haven?t had to deal with their starting point guard threatening to retire during the season, reported ?altercations? involving fisticuffs between its head coach and more than one of his players, players publicly whining over demotions from the starting lineup, demanding to be traded and/or failing to report to the team altogether.

 At least the Raptors still have their head coach in place ? for how long, who knows? - while the Wolves fired their bench boss Flip Saunders Saturday.  But nevertheless, Toronto would have to be classified as an organization in utter disarray.  

 After losing a combined 147 games the last three seasons, the Raptors cleaned house in hopes of resurrecting a franchise in dire need of a facelift.  Gone were general manager Glen Grunwald and head coach Kevin O?Neill at the end of last season after a 49-loss campaign and in came new GM Rob Babcock and Sam Mitchell.  A new and supposedly improved (Could it have gotten any worse?) era had begun.

 But could it be the Raptors are even worse off with Babcock and Mitchell at the helm?

 Definitely debatable, as Babcock has not exactly possessed a Midas touch in his first season in Toronto.

 Toronto?s putrid 21-31 record thus far only partially explains the futile state of the franchise.  Besides, the Raptors weren?t expected to be a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference anyway.  So the won-loss record, in all honesty, is moot at this point, even though the Raptors play in the ultra-weak Atlantic Division.  

 What?s more disturbing is the lack of vision Babcock has exhibited in his decision-making thus far as GM and whether he can indeed turn the franchise?s fortunes around.  

 Babcock?s mandate upon his hiring was fairly obvious:  Clean house.  Rid the team of its biggest, most burdensome contracts - namely those of stars Carter and swingman Jalen Rose ? and start over from scratch, preferably around - Raptors fans still hope - sophomore 6? 10? power forward Chris Bosh.  

 However, you have to wonder if the super soph will even want to re-up with the organization once his rookie contract expires with the organization in complete shambles.

 Babcock?s first major move as GM came at last June?s Draft, when he made a bona fide reach in selecting BYU project center Rafael Araujo eighth overall.  

 With the Raptors in desperate need of some frontcourt size to alleviate the burden, especially defensively, placed upon Bosh - who was asked to play center for much of last season - Babcock went for the widest body available, even though he could have very well traded down and still likely nabbed the Brazilian center later in the round.  Araujo, now the team?s starting center, has progressively seen more playing time throughout the season, though is averaging just 3.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in 13 minutes per night.

 In other words, the jury is still out on Babcock?s first-ever draft selection.  How would the ultra-athletic Andre Iguodala look in a Toronto uniform right about now?  Iguodala, an enigmatic yet alluring product out of the University of Arizona, was selected immediately after Araujo, ninth overall by Atlantic Division rival Philadelphia and has put up a respectable 8.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and nearly two steals a game.  

 Next came Babcock?s hiring of head coach Sam Mitchell, an old school-minded, no-nonsense coach with somewhat of an edge to him.

 Mitchell, thus far, however, has proven to be perhaps a little too hot under the collar.

 While Mitchell?s up-tempo style of offense has been a breath of fresh air to both players and fans compared to the nauseating half-court sets ran by O?Neill last season, the first-year head coach?s fiery temper has gotten the best of him on more than one occasion and has resulted in some strenuous relationships with his players.  

 Recently, reports out of Canada indicated Mitchell had gotten into an all-out brawl with Carter earlier in the season, in which Carter wrestled Mitchell onto a team training table ? a report both Mitchell and Carter refute, though Carter did not deny an altercation had taken place between the two.

 ?So what?s the big deal??  Carter replied when asked about the report.  ?You make an altercation sound like a fight.?

 Carter hasn?t been the only player Mitchell has had run-ins with this season. Troubled point guard Rafer Alston has also been reported to have had a tussle with Mitchell at halftime during a Feb. 8 loss at Cleveland, a game in which Alston was benched in the first quarter, and left Gund Arena during the fourth quarter.  

 Alston, 28, who Babcock signed to a rather lucrative six-year, $30 million contract during the off-season to become the team?s starting point guard, has butted heads with Mitchell all season long.  Alston even contemplated retirement after he was held out of the starting lineup in Cleveland on Dec. 4 for receiving a critical technical foul versus Boston the night prior.  

 The outspoken Alston has also been suspended two games this season for storming out of a team practice, fined $7,500 for criticizing an official and has been openly critical of Mitchell?s starting lineups and player rotations.  

 Despite his 13.7 points and 7.0 assists per game this season, you have to wonder if Alston ? who is now seeing a team psychologist ? was worth such a long-term financial commitment.

 Arguably, another Babcock gaffe.

 The icing on the cake, however, may have been last December?s trade of Carter to New Jersey in exchange for Aaron Williams, Eric Williams, Alonzo Mourning and a pair of future first-round draft picks.

 While Babcock was able to rid himself of his pouting franchise player and clear some much-needed salary off the books, the trade has yielded little else for the Raptors on the court.

 Aaron Williams rarely gets off the bench, as does Eric, who recently demanded to be traded, while Mourning, who never reported to the Raptors, was bought out on Friday for $10 million.  

 The only remaining assets of the Carter deal are the two first-round picks, which is what Babcock sought in exchange for Carter all along.  But will Babcock be able to turn those picks into anything of substance?   Based on the rookie GM?s suspect drafting to date, debatable.  

 Small forward Morris Peterson said it best when he described Toronto?s 2004-2005 season as ?one big soap opera.?  He?s right, because if it weren?t for all the drama surrounding the Raptors this season, they likely would be an NBA afterthought.  Surely their play on the court has warranted little, if any, positive media coverage.

 In fact, that would probably suit GM Babcock just fine.  The less heat on him, the better, as he has clearly taken the baton from his predecessor Glen Grunwald and continued to run the NBA?s lone Canadian franchise into the ground.

 Which is a shame, really, because with the National Hockey League on hiatus in a hockey-crazed city like Toronto, the Raptors had a golden opportunity this season to capture the imaginations of fans in that city even more, yet they?ve done anything but garner new fan interest.  

 Instead, the 2004-2005 season has only concretized the Raptors? status as a perennial NBA doormat and one of the Association?s most poorly-operated franchises.