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.

A trade involving Raptors' franchise Vince Carter and teammate Jalen Rose is lighting up the airwaves in New Orleans, according to WGNO, the cities' local sports radio.

According to the radio report, Toronto has offered Carter and Rose in exchange for P.J. Brown and Canadian Jamal Magloire. The deal reportedly will include an undisclosed amount of cash. It is no secret in Toronto that Vince Carter is unhappy with his exclusion from the Raptors' off-season revamping of its front office and coaching staff.

Other players would certainly have to be involved since both Rose and Carter have max salary contracts and Brown and Magloire earn considerably less. Also Magloire is entering the first year of a contract extension that flags him as a Base Year Compensation player, which would further hamper any trade involving him.

According to a report in CBC Sports Online the Toronto Raptors are set to match the three year, $15 million offer that restricted free agent Morris Peterson signed with the New Orleans Hornets.

The decision could be announced Thursday or Friday.

"It's looking good but nothing is official yet," Raptors GM Rob Babcock told the Sun Wednesday night.

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.

Vince Carter remains keen on bolting from Canada and Mark Cuban and company are still reportedly considering scenarios to acquire the former North Carolina star.  In what should be no surprise to anyone, newly acquired players from Washington, Jerry Stackhouse and Christian Laettner are available.

Former Toronto coach Kevin O'Neill is expected to join the Pacers' staff today as an assistant.

O'Neill, an assistant to Carlisle in Detroit for two seasons before taking over as Raptors coach last summer, could sign a contract as early as today.

He was fired by Toronto in April. The Raptors finished 33-49 and did not make the playoffs.

It seems that Vince Carter's final decision is that he wants out of Toronto.

"He wants out and he needs to go," a league source told the Toronto Globe.  "He is very, very firm on that. He needs to go.  They're supposed to be working on something right now. It might have to involve a third team, or they may have to acquire someone and pass him through."

The source also said that Carter wants to be traded to an Eastern Conference team, preferably the New York Knicks.

Knicks president Isiah Thomas "has lots of interest," the source said. "He'd give up anyone on his roster outside Stephon [Marbury]."

Babcock said that there's no four-team deal in the works to send Carter to Dallas.

"There is no truth to [them] at all," Babcock said.  "We've been getting inquiries about Vince and we're always discussing trades, but there is nothing really active going on. He is a crucial, and very valuable player, on this team and we are not actively trying to trade Vince."

"Babcock is spinning this thing," the source said. "He can say whatever he wants, but it's been made abundantly clear to him that [Carter] wants out."

According to the report, the Mavericks are interested in shipping Antoine Walker to New York, with the Knicks sending a combination of players to the Raptors, with Shandon Anderson, Dikembe Mutombo and Kurt Thomas being mentioned.  Golden State may also participate in a sign-and-trade for Erick Dampier.

"It certainly would be nicer if I knew he definitely wanted to be here, but I can't control Vince," Babcock said.  "My preference is to have Vince here, but that's up to Vince more than it is up to us," he said.

Morris Peterson, a restricted free agent of the Toronto Raptors, has signed an offer sheet with the New Orleans Hornets. The Raptors have 15 days to match the offer or they will lose Peterson who was the 21st pick in the 2000 NBA draft.

According to a report by Doug Smith in the Toronto Sun the Hornets signed Peterson to a three year, $15 million offer sheet which puts the Raptors in an awkward position.  Matching the offer would be an expensive proposition, and do they do so for a player who would rather be elsewhere?

Listening to Peterson you'd get the idea that he's already gone.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to play for New Orleans,'' Peterson told Associated Press last night. "After Toronto didn't show a lot of loyalty, I feel like New Orleans is giving me a fresh start with a first-class organization."

Peterson's comments, however, may be premature if you listen to new GM Rob Babcock, who hopes to keep the 27 year old in Canada.

"We'll get (the offer), evaluate it and make a decision but we think he's a good fit for what we want to do," Babcock said last night. "All I can say is we like Mo, we think he's a good player and my intention is to keep him."

Peterson did not miss a game last season and averaged 8.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.

Uncertainty surrounds the small forward position in New Orleans heading into next season because 2003 All-Star Jamal Mashburn has a right knee injury that kept him out of all but 19 games last season. He sat out the playoffs last season, suggested the Hornets may have mishandled his injury and said the pain may force his premature retirement.

The Raptors, Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks are involved in serious discussions on a three-way trade that would see Carter end up with the Mavericks, Antoine Walker move from Dallas to New York and at least two players go from the Knicks to the Raptors, according to a league source.

Unlike the four-team trade reported in New York yesterday, this deal cuts out the Golden State Warriors and involves fewer players.

There was no indication on which players the Raptors might receive for Carter, a 27-year-old four-time NBA all-star who has become the face of the Toronto franchise since arriving six years ago.

Raptor general manager Rob Babcock, who was unavailable for comment last night, has said for weeks that he wants to obtain a veteran centre and the Knicks could put together a package that includes Dikembe Mutombo, whose contract expires after next season, and perhaps power forward/centre Kurt Thomas. The Knicks also have the likes of small forward Shandon Anderson and guard-forward Allan Houston who could be included in a trade.

Depsite signing a contract extension late last season, trade rumors continue to swirl around the Knicks' Kurt Thomas.

The latest deal has Thomas inked in as a piece in a puzzle which would see unhappy Raptor Vince Carter become a Maverick and Antoine Walker a Knick in a four-team deal.

The Knicks' side of the deal, according to the New York Daily News, would include multiple players, with Thomas ending up in Dallas or Golden State and Shandon Anderson going to Toronto. The Knicks would be getting Walker from Dallas and Erick Dampier from Golden State.

"You hear a lot of rumors so maybe something is going to happen," Thomas said yesterday. "I have no idea if I'm going to be here. I just know that when training camp starts, wherever I am, I'm going to be in great shape."

The Knicks can only get involved if the trade for Chicago's Jamal Crawford falls through, which is entirely possible.