Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reports that Raptors GM Glen Grunwald denied any trade talks involving Vince Carter and the Cleveland Cavaliers. After reports that Toronto may be talking about trading Carter to Cleveland for Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Darius Miles, Grunwald reacted.

"There is absolutely no truth to that story whatsoever," Grunwald said yesterday. "Someone doesn't know what they're talking about."

Smith adds that the Raps would not trade their franchise player for a Center who has missed 185 of his last 325 games due to injury and a kid who has done nothing in the NBA except jump high. Not only that, but the deal does not come close to working financially under the Collective Trade Agreement trade rules.

While the Raptors are not trading their star player, they are coming apart on the court.

Missing Carter and Antonio Davis has taken a huge toll on the team. Smith writes, "So far, the public displays of acrimony have not emerged, but there's an uneasy feeling that an explosion lies not too far beneath the surface."

"Adversity is always tough. I understand adversity and I know what it can do to you emotionally and physically," said 10-year veteran Lindsey Hunter. "It's just a matter of staying focused. Somehow, we'll do it."

Players are getting frustrated with each other and their coach. "You can't get down on your teammates. Everybody out there is trying hard and doing the best they can do," said Jerome Williams, who sat for long stretches of Friday's loss in Golden State as Wilkens went with Michael Bradley. "You definitely don't want to go to pointing fingers because there's no one to point at."