SPORTS: Vince and Zeke the Sneak

I want Vince Carter traded outta town. But if Shandon Anderson is the centrepiece of what comes in return, then count me out as a Raptors' fan permanently. Of course, I could just be over-reacting to stories and rumours planted by New York GM Zeke "The Sneak" Thomas. How Thomas gets supposedly intelligent people to take his chicken feathers for gold trade hopes seriously is beyond me. Anderson. Pfahhh! Allan Houston? Broken down and makes Rose's contract look like a bargain. Dikembe Motumbo? The Nets paid him to GO AWAY last year, he so slowed down the team. Old and slow. A good guy though. Kurt Thomas? Some worth, but coming off surgery.

Nah, if the Raptors want to hook up with Dallas and make Carter a Maverick, then do the deed directly. Contract considerations make a trade a bit dicey to come up with, but how about Carter and my fave, Alvin Williams for Mike Finley and Shawn Bradley. Finley is Carter without the flash. Bradley becomes the centre to tutor Araujo (We still need third centre Jerome Moiso, cuz the NBA limits players to six fouls each. Figure both Bradley and Araujo should average about 5.5 [G]). Dallas gets Williams to tutor kid guards Marquis Daniels and just-drafted Devin Harris. He also can play two-guard.

Don't like that deal from Dallas' end because of the commitment to Daniels and Harris? Here's an alternative. Carter and Donyell Marshall for Finley, Bradley and Josh Howard. This gives Dallas a front-courter with a beautiful contract (one year and not much more than the mid-level exception). Marshall can play a bit of centre and teach Podkolzine how to be a pro. He shoots, which is important in the Dallas perimeter game, and he can be traded in a Dallas deal that dumps Antoine Walker somewhere. Toronto gets the front-court I talked about, plus a real good small forward prospect in Howard. This opens up the possibility of trading Morris Peterson in a sign-and-trade, or just not signing him at all.

What's the downside to the Dallas dealing? Carter will explode down there where he can play second fiddle to Dirk Nowitzki. Long-time Mav Finley will take time adjusting. The resultant criticism might be hard to ride out for all concerned in T.O. Bradley still has four years left on his contract, which isn't overly onerous in today's NBA, but the last couple of years will surely bring comparisons to Yogi Stewart. And Howard might not pan out.

But surely, these risks are better than Shandon Anderson.