Vince Carter, the Toronto Raptors on-camera representative at the National Basketball Association draft lottery, shook his head slightly and did his best to hide his dismay.

The Raptors, who could not win for losing this past National Basketball Association season, were burned again last night when they slipped out of the top three and into the No. 4 slot for next month's draft.

Gone are Toronto's chances at grabbing Ohio high school phenom LeBron James, the consensus No. 1 pick for the draft who will now be selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers, the big winners in last night's draft lottery after grabbing the top seed.

The Raptors hopes at getting the other two players most expect to be among the top three picks -- Carmelo Anthony, the Syracuse Orangeman freshman, and Darko Milicic, the highly regarded Yugoslav star -- have also gone up in smoke.