Despite Toronto general manager Rob Babcock's insistence that their star player Vince Carter will return to the Raptors, a person close to the Raptors' All-Star swingman insists that Carter is trying to force a trade to New York. According to the source, Carter is expected to announce publicly that he wants to be traded after his Charity game in Canada.

Knicks president Isiah Thomas has refused to comment on the rumor.

That same source has indicated the Raptors would like to move Carter to Seattle for Ray Allen. Carter does not want to be a Sonic and would prefer to be in New York.

Interestingly enough, just a few weeks ago knicks.realgm.com first broke the story on a rumored 3-way between the Sonics, Raptors, and Knicks that would have Vince Carter winding up in New York.

As negotiations feel like they have been stalled for months now one has to wonder if the Knicks and the Bulls can ever get a combination together which both accept so that restricted free agent guard Jamal Crawford can finally call Madison Square Garden his home.

While Dikembe Mutombo is now in the trade as per John Paxson's request, the sticking point from the Bulls perspective is the fact that Moochie Norris still remains too, taking the place of Othella Harrington who has been offered to the Golden State Warriors for Erick Dampier.

Paxson wants Harrington and Mutombo to accompany Anderson to the Windy City since the duo are entering the last seasons on their contracts, while Isiah Thomas maintains that Norris' deal is relatively the same once the $3 million in cash the Knicks are offering is factored in.

Norris has three years left on his contract, the last of which is a team option.  Thomas' stance is that the cash would pay the majority of Norris' contract for the upcoming season, leaving the Bulls with only next season's salary to worry about.

However, the Bulls continue to stand firm and the deal doesn't appear to be getting any closer to becoming official.

Failing to complete a trade this offseason, the Knicks are believed to have greatly increased their chances of acquiring one of their main targets when they exchanged Nazr Mohammed with Kurt Thomas in the team's proposed sign and trade for Warrior Erick Dampier, the New York Daily News is reporting.

The deal on the table for Golden State GM Chris Mullin to consider now consists of Thomas and Othella Harrington for Dampier.

The Knicks, Pacers and Grizzlies have all been vying for Dampier but are over the cap, while the Atlanta Hawks are under the cap and have made an offer to the free agent center according to sources.

Trader Isiah has kept Tim Thomas' name out of trade rumors for the better part of the summer, but he is now coming up in talks surrounding Vince Carter.  A trade of this magniture would surely involve many more players besides Tim Thomas, particularly a number of draft picks.  This will be an interesting development to watch.

Chris Mullin reportedly backed out of a tentative agreement to sign and trade center Erick Dampier to the Knicks for Nazr Mohammed and Othella Harrington.  The reason became evident when he managed to trade Nick Van Exel to the Blazers, who he was trying to add to the Dampier deal.  

There has been word that Isiah Thomas still wants Dampier, but Mullin has made it clear that he will not cooperate unless he gets worthwhile personnel in return.

"I'm still upset about it," said Thomas about the hard foul he took from the New Jersey Nets? center during the playoffs last season.

Tim cannot let go of the foul and has even taken up boxing in the off-season to ?toughen up.?  The 6?10? small forward has been called soft in the past, but it seems he is determined to dispel that myth.

Knicks GM Isiah Thomas met with John Paxson on Tuesday at Chicago's O'Hare Airport to discuss one Washington native, Jamal Crawford.  The two sides have reportedly been very close on an agreement several times, but have wavered when deciding on who should be returned in a sign and trade.  Thomas has been trying mightily to unload Moochie Norris, while the Bulls would like Dikembe Mutumbo instead.

The teams are now expected to explore the possibility of adding a third team into the mix, in order to put Jamal Crawford in Madison Square Gardon this fall.

Rodney White spent last year with the Denver Nuggets and knows that he must leave that exciting young franchise, with the plethora of good frontcourt players they have on their roster.  He is reportedly being contacted by both the New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings.  Both are playoff teams with lofty expectations this coming year.

Is the meeting on or not? Apparently it's on according to a league source.

Crawford's agent Aaron Goodwinhas has pushed for nearly two weeks for the heads of the two franchises to meet face-to-face.

"I think if they can get together, they can make something happen," Goodwin told The Post Saturday.

The difference maker so far appears to be whether Thomas will throw in Mutumbo in place of Moochie or not who he already plans to include in any sort of deal with Dampier or Walker.

While reports of a potential meeting between GMs John Paxson and Isiah Thomas are doing the rounds, Daily Herald writer Mike McGraw says not only are there no meetings planned, but there are not likely to be any at all.

Despite reports indicating Thomas is already in Chicago, McGraw writes that Paxson has no intention of getting into a room with Thomas to hash out a deal, a suggestion put forward by Jamal Crawford's agent Aaron Goodwin.  Crawford remains the centerpiece of any potential deal between the two sides.

"That's still up in the air," Paxson said of a potential meeting. "I'm not sure yet."