Vince Carter will start the NBA All-Star Game and enjoy the experience. Speculation that he may bow out of the starting lineup to allow Michael Jordan one last hurrah is just that? speculation. Jennifer Quinn of the Toronto Star reports that Carter was puzzled by the notion.

"Next question" was his response to the initial inquiry. When prodded, Carter explained, "It's not like I planned on getting injured, but, you know, it happened. I'm thankful for the opportunity to play regardless of the amount of games I've played, and that's why I've taken the initiative to get back and get healthy and then play in some games so when I go in the All-Star Game I can go out there and have a lot of fun."

A recent Washington Post story said that there is a "chance one of the starters" could give up that honour for Jordan; the Washington Times says only "there has been some speculation that Carter, who has appeared in just 11 games this season due to injury, will allow Jordan to start."

It has happened in the past. Doug Collins allowed John Havlicek to take his starting spot in 1978. Tim Hardaway let Magic Johnson start in 1982. Carter said he intends to take his place alongside the other Eastern Conference all-star starters: Tracy McGrady, Ben Wallace, Allen Iverson and Jermaine O'Neal. As a reserve, Jordan will be appearing for the 14th time.

"It is what it is. The fans vote on who it is they want to see, and who are we to change that?" former all-star Antonio Davis said yesterday.

The problem with a team who is riddled with injuries is that these players mend and come back, and in such a situation what happens to the ones who were brought in as replacements?  This is exactly the situation the Toronto Raptors will find themselves in according to Doug Smith of Waymore Sports, who writes that the Raptors will soon have eight guys available who play the shooting guard or small forward positions - including superstar Vince Carter and his sidekick Mo Peterson.

The solution for the Raptors is the must dump some bodies before the Feb 20 trade deadline, and with GM Glen Grunwald in daily contact with the league's other general managers it is safe to presume the Raptors are trying to do just that.

The Raptors have already tried to pull off a blockbuster trade involving Portland's Rasheed Wallace, but that deal was rejected by the Blazers.

With Carter said to be untouchable that doesn't leave the Raptors with many options to play with. They would hope to lure a young, aggressive center according to Smith, but then again you could also count the majority of the league as trying to do the very same thing.

Keon Clark in Toronto? While the financial matters that led to Clark?s departure and the comments he?s made about Raptors star Vince Carter may have rubbed Raptor fans the wrong way, Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun writes that the Raptors are very much interested in bringing him back.

Clark never wanted to leave Toronto, but the team?s financial woes forced him to take a more lucrative offer from the Sacremento Kings. And while his comments questioning Vince Carter?s toughness could pose a problem, the Raptors don?t feel a rift between the two should prevent them from trying to reacquire the 6-11 forward.

In order for Toronto to get Clark, they will have to free up some salary. According to Zicarelli, Morris Peterson and Lindsey Hunter appear to be the most likely candidates to be dumped.

Peterson is eligible for a contract extension this summer, and based on the numbers that are floating around, the Raptors won?t be able to afford him. Hunter has not fit in with the Raptors this season and remains inactive with a sore back.

Clark would help strengthen the Raptors weak frontcourt and act as the perfect compliment to Antonio Davis up front. He has many supporters in the Toronto locker room and front office and he remains a fan favorite.

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reports that with players coming back from injury, the Raptors bench will start getting crowded soon. In an attempt to adjust, GM Glen Grunwald has been busy working the phones looking for a trade.

Smith reports that sources close to the team said that Grunwald has approached Portland with a blockbuster offer for Rasheed Wallace, only to be turned away.

With trades in the NBA based on contracts more than talent, it's anyone's guess what Grunwald can accomplish before the trade deadline. On thing he's looking for is a young, aggressive centre, someone who can run the floor, block shots consistently and show an occasional offensive game.

Just weeks ago there was talk that Vince Carter's career might be over due to injuries in his knees, talk that the Toronto Raptors dismissed, and last night showed that the Raptor's judgement may have been correct after all.

After practicing with the team for more than a week Carter was finally able to take his place in the starting lineup against the Sacramento Kings, playing in what was his eleventh game of the season.  Despite being sidelined for the majority of the year to date fans still showed their support for the high flying superstar by making him the votes leader for the 2003 NBA All-Star game, Carter joining Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Jermaine O'Neal and Ben Wallace as the Eastern Conference starters.

Carter was tentative in the game's opening moments, having his first shot blocked by Vlade Divac, but he was able to recover on the way to 22 points in 23 minutes and more importantly a Raptors win.

"I had to dust that old stuff off and let you guys know my knee's OK," said Carter with a wide grin.

"Actually it was for the doctors to know the knee's OK. It was for everybody, how about that?"

The timing of his comeback was perfect in Carter's eyes, with the game falling on his 26th birthday.

"It was a very nice birthday present, one of the best ever I think in my 26 years," said Carter. "Even when you're young you get the gifts you want, but this year has had a lot of meaning, coming back playing basketball and all the stuff that's gone on."

"There was a lot of electricity out there," said Raptors head coach Lenny Wilkens. "Because you have a great team coming in and then people knew that Vince was going to play tonight. . . That got us going as well and that was a big lift for the team."

While his Raptors teammates were all happy to have their leader back in the mix, the Kings Chris Webber had other thoughts.  "I don't really care about Vince," he said. "We lost today. Who cares? There are a lot of good players in the NBA."

Carter didn't let Webber's negativity get to him, stating he was just happy to be back and playing hard.

"I've been thrown a lot of challenges this year, the last two years, and this is the first day I can actually accept those challenges and do something about it," concluded Carter.

How two seasons can make a world of difference..

Two seasons ago the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers were two teams at different stages of development.  Behind Vince Carter the Raptors were fast becoming a powerhouse of the NBA, while the Pacers had dumped their winning veterans for youth in an effort to reload.

Since then the Pacers youth has come of age and Vince Carter has been injured, the teams switching places of where they were just 24 months ago.

It's very difficult," said Raptors captain Antonio Davis, one of the Pacers veterans dumped in the summer of 1999. "It's tough for me. It's really, really tough for me."

"I don't want to put my head down and I don't want to give up. But on the other hand, I'm taking a beating mentally every night out. Because I know what's right. I know how to be part of something special."

So where would the Raptors be without all the injuries over the last few seasons?  Mark Montieth of the Indianapolis Star has your answers.

If you had a choice out of Grant Hill or Vince Carter which player would you take?

While both players are superstars in their own right, which player you chose might not even matter if the report on Carter's knee rings true.  Hill, again bothered by ankle problems, must be questioning how many times he is prepared to rehab and make comeback attempts but according to a report in the Toronto Sun he may just be in the NBA longer than Carter.

Steve Simmons reports that well-regarded Toronto orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert Gordon believes that Carter's knee is so bad that he might even mean the end of his career.  The Raptors, however, believe it is nonsense.

"There is serious risk that he is done," said Dr. Gordon. "It's very sad."

Dr. Gordon also added that the team "should definitely shut him down for the year. He has an injury that has a healing time of three to six months. You have to rehab it in order to get better.

"It needs four to five hours a day for that kind of rehab. This is bad luck for Vince, bad luck for the team, and I'd hate to be the insurance company that has his contract."

The news comes after Carter was able to practice on Friday in a hope of being back on the court Sunday at the latest.  According to Simmons Carter was told to stop practicing later in the same day and flew for another opinion with Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham who told the high flyer to give it a rest for the time being.

"His career is not in jeopardy," said Glen Grunwald, the general manager. "I don't want to respond to a doctor who is treating people without knowing what he's talking about. We've consulted with the best doctors. The people who have examined Vince would disagree with (what he's saying)."

Gordon is concerned with Carter's right knee while most around the Raptors believe his left - the knee that left him out of games late last season - is more severe out of the two.

"He has a partial tear, from reading the report of Dr. (Doug) Richards. He could tear his whole tendon off the patella. If he did that, he would be done. The risk of tendon tear is going to be there. To do what Vince does, you need incredible force. You can go across the knee with such strength, you can rip (the tendon) off."

Grunwald is angered at the words expressed by Dr. Gordon, questioning the ethics of a professional who has not even treated the patent.

"If he's got something to say, why doesn't he call me?" said Grunwald. "He hasn't treated Vince, hasn't seen the MRIs, how can he know what's going on?"

"I see kids with this injury almost every day," Gordon responded.

"If this is indeed his injury, he is far from a dog," said Gordon. "In fact, he's a bulldog. I don't care if you're Suzy Q, Arnold Schwarzenegger or Vince Cater, if you've got that injury, you're not playing. "

"This is a bad injury and he's not dogging it. This is a bad problem. You have to be shut down and do serious rehab to get it back. This is hard and intense rehab. And from everything I hear, he's doing it."

Grunwald maintains that Carter's career is not in question and he will be back in a Raptors uniform in the future.  As Simmons writes he will play for the Raptors again, but he just may not fly as high.

Toronto Raptors rookie center Nate Huffman learned a $5.1 million lesson today: don't lie on your resume.

The Raptors terminated the contract of Huffman on Thursday after the rookie center failed to inform the team of his history of knee problems.

The 7-foot-1 Huffman signed a three-year, $5.1-million contract with Toronto over the summer after averaging 18.8 points and 7.5 rebounds for Israeli League champion Maccabi Elite Tel-Aviv last season.

Huffman, who was out indefinitely with a sore right knee, averaged 3.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in seven games for Toronto this season. He had surgery on the knee in October.

"Huffman failed to disclose his history of knee problems. Had those injuries been disclosed as required, the club would not have entered into the contract,'' the team said in a statement Thursday.

Jennifer Quinn and Doug Smith of the Toronto Star add that before signing the contract, Huffman would have had to fill out a medical questionnaire detailing his history of injuries. Team doctors then use this questionnaire to investigate any potential physical problems.

The Players Association claims that the firing of Huffman is "unprecedented". NBAPA spokesman Dan Wassermann said "We'll need to consult with the player and the agent in more detail, but it certainly seems we'll be filing a grievance."

The Raptors will probably use the open roster spot to keep one of their 10-day contract players. Rafer Alston and Art Long have their current contracts expire today. Damone Brown?s contract will expire next week.

He might be the winningiest coach of All Time, but will Toronto Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens be out of a job in two weeks time?

According to a report in the Seattle Times by Percy Allen, Wilkens has roughly two weeks to turn things around or he will be fired.  The article is based on unsubstantiated reports which state that Wilken's seven game parol period coincides with the return of All-Star Vince Carter, who is expected to play tonight after missing the last 16 games with an injured knee.

"I know the blood is in the water and the sharks are circling," Raptors General Manager Glen Grunwald told a Toronto radio station. "I'm just trying not to throw any more chum in the water and get the sharks stirred up anymore.

"People ask the question: Is Lenny safe? And whatever you say, it's going to be quoted somewhere as the dreaded vote of confidence. It's a no-win situation when you get asked these questions."

Wilkens, meanwhile, is claiming that the Raptors woes lie with the players rather than his plays.

Wilkens' states that his players have been more inclined to pass the ball rather than take an open shot because they might miss.

"When the shots (are) missed, then they start hesitating and start looking for more, maybe something a little bit better," said Wilkens.

"Sometimes, if you're four feet from the basket and you throw it out to someone eight feet (from the basket) that's not better."

With the Raptors losing streak currently at 12 and counting, Toronto's next seven games consist of Minnesota twice, trips to Washington, New Jersey and Indiana and homestands against Milwaukee and Orlando.  All these teams are considered playoff-calibre teams and currently only the Wizards and Bucks sit below .500, making Wilken's job that little bit tougher.