According to Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune, Portland  has been discussing trades with a number of different clubs.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim will the center of any deal. One of the offers has been to Toronto for Vince Carter,"but so far, they have rejected our proposals," Portland GM John Nash says. "They are not as interested as we are at this point.?

Another potential deal, Abdur-Rahim to New Jersey for Jason Kidd, is on hold until Kidd returns to the Nets? lineup. The Nets like Abdur-Rahim and would be interested in keeping him instead of letting him go after his contract expires at the end of the season, says Chief Executive Officer Rod Thorn.

The Blazers, like other potential suitors, want to see how Kidd responds to offseason knee surgery before making a deal. The Nets will consider a trade, though "I think we will probably keep (Kidd)," Thorn says. But if they continue to lose, they would have more reason to trade the veteran point guard.

If the Blazers would be willing to part with rookie point guard Sebastian Telfair, they could almost surely make the deal. But, given Portland?s stance on Stoudamire, whose contract ends after this season, "wait and see," Nash says.

In an article by Bill Harris of Canoe, the speculation surrounding a trade involving Vince Carter is much greater than mere speculation.

'The Raptors' intent has become clear. Ownership and management have wrapped their hearts and their heads around the notion that Carter has to go.

It no longer is a question of whether Carter buys into coach Sam Mitchell's system.

It's not a question of how Carter is playing, although that may have a slight impact on his market value.

It's not a question of Carter getting benched late in games.

It's not a question of Carter wearing an iPod.

It's not a question of Carter dunking or not dunking.

And it's not a question of Carter getting booed by Toronto crowds, or threats against him by idiots on the internet.

It's about what presently is being perceived as the best thing for both the team and the individual. On that, Carter and the Raptors now find themselves in agreement.'

Many NBA teams are evaluating how they might be able to acquire Carter.  Pretty much any Carter deal would also involve Jalen Rose, who has an enormous contract that Toronto would like to free themselves of.

The NBA's trade deadline is February 24th.

According to Knicks guard Stephon Marbury, who guarded Toronto Raptors star Vince Carter on Saturday night, the Raptors look like a team who have already moved on from their superstar.

Marc Berman of the New York Times reports that Marbury was suprised with how the Raptors under utilized Carter's talents, from running Carter off screens to free him up to utilizing his height by posting up the smaller Marbury when Carter was his defensive assignment.

"They don't run any plays for him," Marbury said. "He doesn't get the ball at all. You could tell he's not the focal of the team anymore. I don't understand it, but hey, he doesn't have to be the focal when he plays against us."

"I don't think the offense is geared for him," Marbury said. " I'm just speaking of just guarding him. When you're guarding him, you expect to be running off a lot of screens, having a lot of isolations, For him to be posting me up. There wasn't any of that."

Carter is expected to be traded from the Raptors after requesting to be moved.

Toronto Raptors point guard Alvin Williams will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right knee Monday.

Williams hasn't played this season after missing the entire preseason. He has been on the injured list since Nov. 1.

Williams underwent arthroscopic surgery in February, but it didn't alleviate the pain. He missed 26 games last season.

He opted to rehab the knee, instead of another operation, by strengthening the muscles around it. He practiced until the pain became unbearable during training camp.

Vince Carter worked hard this summer on a new offensive move: the Quit and Pout. His perseverence may grant him his wish: a one-way ticket out of Toronto.

Sportsradio 1080 The Fan in Oregon broke the news at noon Thursday that Portland and Toronto are in serious talks that could result in a blockbuster trade. Additional reports then proceeded to filter out from other media outlets, indicating Carter and Jalen Rose (a max salary the Raptors would like to scrub off their salary cap) and two other unnamed Raps would go to Portland in exchange for Shareef Abdur-Rahim (in the last season of his contract), Derek Anderson and Vlad Stepania or Qyntel Woods. Roger Mason and Milt Palacio, two minimum salaried Raptors, may be the other players in the talks.

TSN reports the Raptors have asked for Nick Van Exel (another expiring pact) instead of Anderson.

Vince Carter was informed by the NBA that he no longer can listen to music on his iPod during the 20-minute warmup period before each game. Carter recently started listening to the music on his headphones, a violation of the league's rules on proper attire.

When the NBA heard about it, the league called the Raptors.

"We informed them that he can no longer do that," NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said Tuesday.

It has yet to be determined whether Vince Carter will receive any endorsement dollars from Apple.

Players in other sports listen to their own private music when warming up, such as Terrell Owens of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribine is up to his old tricks once again.  In this week's column Smith offers a solution to the struggling New Orleans Hornets and to Vince Carter, who is sitting out the fourth quarters in Canada lately.

Smith believes that Carter's time in Toronto is over, as evidenced by the half-empty arena, but he could help revitalize the spirit in New Orleans were interest is also wavering.  The Raptors, according to Smith, would get Canadian All-Star Jamal Magliore and perhaps the oft-injured Baron Davis in return, with New Orleans having lots of combination options at their disposal.

'But that team (New Orleans), among the poorest in the NBA in scoring, defense and rebounding, needs changes. And in a relatively unsophisticated basketball market, Carter's act could again sell some tickets. Playing in the West, he'll also have more freedom to shoot those fall-away 27-footers,' writes Smith.

When asked if he still wanted to be traded, Vince Carter refused to offer an update.  While that may not sound like good news in itself for Raptor fans, the Toronto Sun writes that Carter clearly is enjoying the up-tempo style of play implemented by first-year coach Sam Mitchell, he seems to be relishing the company of his teammates, and there are even rumors suggesting that has even rescinded the trade request.

"Let's talk about the team, man," Carter said, changing the topic following a long team practice. "This is fun to play."

Vince Carter has lost his legal battle against his imprisoned former agent William Black, and has been ordered to pay $US4.7 million in lost commissions and damages, the Canadian Press is reporting.

The panel said Tuesday that Carter breached his contract with Black's company, Professional Management Inc., when the Toronto Raptors guard dissolved the agreement in 2000. It awarded Black $4,675,640.45 in actual damages.

The jury also found that Black violated his fiduciary duties to Carter and ordered Black to pay $800,000 to Carter. That was the total of two loans Carter made to Black.

"Obviously, we're unhappy with it," Carter's lawyer, Jake Moore, said. "It's hard to understand. One thing I know about juries, figuring out the rationale behind decisions is sometimes very hard to do."

Carter, now back in Toronto as the Raptors prepare to open their season Wednesday, intends to appeal according to Moore.