Rob Babcock admits he has been in "meaningful" trade discussions with other NBA general managers in the last few weeks as the league braces for a wave of speculation and perhaps some deals later this week.

Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, any player who signed as a free agent before the season began can't be traded until Thursday, but once that moratorium is lifted and about 100 players flood the market, there might be some movement.

And the Raptors could be involved.

"I don't know if we're that close in any of our talks, but we have had some very meaningful discussions," the Raptors' general manager said in a telephone interview yesterday. "We're always looking."

For the first time, Babcock said the team's future first-round draft picks could be moved in the right package.

"Nothing's untouchable," he said. "We could move one of those picks if we need it to facilitate a very good trade for our team."