SSBA

THE TORONTO STAR
April 12, 2005
Doug Smith

Recent turmoil in T.O, along with the 6 game losing streak, has forced the hand of Raptors' General Manager trevc3. Although the team appears very good on paper, they are not living up to their expectations.

"I've talked to all the players about the lack of effort," says trevc3, "Guys like Lovie[Nate Lovelette], Booze[Carlos Boozer], Mihm are all pulling their weight, working their hardest. It's a few others that are dragging this team down.

One can only speculate that Vince Carter is one of those few. Vince appears to be demanding a trade out of Toronto. Despite being one of the best offensive players in the game, and having the ratings to play very strong defense, Vince is being held responsible for a few of the team's losses.

"Vince is the star on this team, and he is playing like it. Guys in the media are being unfair about it, to him, and that is what has led Vince to ask me to trade him," trevc3 exasperates. "He's an all-star, and he is playing great, getting Boozer the ball, he's getting Mihm the ball, but Mihm's not hitting the shots. It's not Vince's fault that Boozer is fouling everything that comes into the lane. It's not Vince's fault that Mihm hasn't been able to hit the ocean with a skipping stone."

When asked who he would trade VInce for, trevc3 went into detail.

"Doesn't have to be a star. If I could get back a good to great player at an position, and an expiring contract to match contracts, then I would probably do it. This is an old team that I built to win this year, and being 5-8 out of the gate is highly dissapointing. But hey, the future is bright. Zo[Lorenzo Ellis] is going to start next year, and Mihm, Boozer and Vince are still young. Plus, we have a decent cap situation at the same time that Amare, Shaq, Yao and Big Ben come out. The future looks bright."

The future may look bright in the eyes of trevc3, but forgive this writer for being unsure. Doug Christie is playing on 34 year old legs. Ellis' defense leaves alot to be desired. This team could greatly improve, but as for now, alot of questions remain.

The biggest question of all - will Vince leave town today or tommorow? We can only wait and see.

"although toronto manager trev3 reports that vince carter is playin great and like an all star it is still unclear why are his stats well bellow his previous season. his points per game droped to only 20 a night" - Usa Today reports

As usual, USA Today are being idiots, and not understanding that Vince is shooting a high percentage, but has Carlos Boozer beside him, so obviuosly Vnce's stats would go down.