The phones are ringing and somewhere in the NBA panic may be setting in, yet Rob Babcock says it's not time to pull the trigger on a trade. Yet.

With some teams starting to realize they may not be as good as they thought they were, the Raptor general manager said early trade discussions have begun but that nothing is expected to come of any recent conversation.

"To me, it's too early," Babcock said yesterday. "You need to go longer than a week but the phone calls have been picking up."

But it's not as if Babcock hasn't been talking significant moves.

Two sources close to current Milwaukee centre Jamaal Magloire insist the New Orleans Hornets called the Raptors with serious enquiries before shipping the Toronto native to the Bucks two weeks ago but no deal could be worked out.

And one adviser to New York president of basketball operations Isiah Thomas is already suggesting to people around the league that the struggling Knicks could easily be persuaded to take Toronto's Jalen Rose.

The expiring contract of Penny Hardaway, worth about $15.7 million this season (all figures U.S.) might make sense in a deal and the Knicks twice expressed interest in Rose last season ? in November when Vince Carter was traded and again at the trade deadline.

Toronto would save nearly $17 million in salary next year, allowing Babcock to have enough room under the expected tax level to pay the full mid-level exception to a free agent.