Newz Forum: BASKETBALL: Carter wants out of Toronto

NEW YORK (AP) - Vince Carter has four years left on his contract with the Toronto Raptors, but the five-time All-Star may not be with the team for that long. It has been widely rumored that Carter is interested in the New York Knicks, and his agent told the Daily News of New York that Carter asked the Raptors to deal him.

"We did meet and asked them to look into trades," agent Mark Steinberg told the paper for Thursday's editions. "They know where we stand."

Steinberg was overseas Thursday and unavailable for comment. A phone message was left with an assistant.

The Knicks wouldn't confirm Thursday whether they have talked with the Raptors about Carter.

"He's not a free agent. We're not allowed to talk to other teams' players," Knicks spokesman Joe Favorito said. "I'm not even aware of anything with the Raptors."

Carter, who averaged 22.5 points last season, was reportedly angry the team didn't consult him on the hiring of general manager Rob Babcock and coach Sam Mitchell, who replaced Kevin O'Neill after the Raptors missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season. The Raptors will be playing with their third new coach in three seasons.

Babcock, who met with Carter last week, has expressed confidence that Carter will be a Raptor next season and described those meetings as "positive." Raptors spokesman Michael Cvitkovic said Thursday that Babcock still considers Carter an integral part of the team.

If he is dealt, Carter would be among the recent NBA stars who have forced management to make the move. With one year left on their contracts, Shaquille O'Neal and Tracy McGrady lobbied hard for their trades to Miami and Houston, respectively. Carter's contract with Toronto is through the 2008 season.

Carter has said before that he doesn't want out of Toronto, and nobody has actually heard him say that he does. All of this is just 'reported' that he wants out. Vince does not want to be traded. If he did, he would say that he did.