Bulls success only Miles away?

Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune continues his quest to single handedly rebuild the Bulls into an NBA powerhouse, and although the majority of his scenarios fail to adhere to the rules outlined in the collective bargaining agreement his latest piece points in the direction of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to Smith Cleveland are scratching their heads over what to do about young phenom Darius Miles whom the team acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers this summer for NBA assists leader Andre Miller. With the emergence of rookie Dajuan Wagner at shooting guard and the prolific scoring of Ricky Davis at small forward Miles is being left out in the cold. Cleveland trialled Miles at point guard but had little success.

Smith's solution? Package Miles, who Krause coveted during the 2000 draft to Chicago for Jamal Crawford and a protected first round pick. This would keep the Bulls in the LeBron James sweepstakes, give the Cavaliers a starting point guard and give the Bulls some much needed athleticism at the two guard position.

Miles was recently rumored to be heading north with center Zydrunas Ilgauskas for Vince Carter, a deal shot down by the Raptors.

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Raptors laugh off trade rumors

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reports that Raptors GM Glen Grunwald denied any trade talks involving Vince Carter and the Cleveland Cavaliers. After reports that Toronto may be talking about trading Carter to Cleveland for Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Darius Miles, Grunwald reacted.

"There is absolutely no truth to that story whatsoever," Grunwald said yesterday. "Someone doesn't know what they're talking about."

Smith adds that the Raps would not trade their franchise player for a Center who has missed 185 of his last 325 games due to injury and a kid who has done nothing in the NBA except jump high. Not only that, but the deal does not come close to working financially under the Collective Trade Agreement trade rules.

While the Raptors are not trading their star player, they are coming apart on the court.

Missing Carter and Antonio Davis has taken a huge toll on the team. Smith writes, "So far, the public displays of acrimony have not emerged, but there's an uneasy feeling that an explosion lies not too far beneath the surface."

"Adversity is always tough. I understand adversity and I know what it can do to you emotionally and physically," said 10-year veteran Lindsey Hunter. "It's just a matter of staying focused. Somehow, we'll do it."

Players are getting frustrated with each other and their coach. "You can't get down on your teammates. Everybody out there is trying hard and doing the best they can do," said Jerome Williams, who sat for long stretches of Friday's loss in Golden State as Wilkens went with Michael Bradley. "You definitely don't want to go to pointing fingers because there's no one to point at."

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Air Canada to Cleveland?

Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun reports that there may be some trade talk going on between Toronto and Cleveland. Vince Carter's name is being linked with a trade rumour involving Darius Miles and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Zicarelli says that it is unknown how serious the talks are, but that there is an uneasiness between the Raptors and their oft-injured star. Carter is unhappy in Toronto and would not object to a trade according to various sources.

Sources also say that the Raptors are unhappy with Carter. They feel that he hasn’t worked hard enough to come back from his various injuries and hasn’t practiced with the team when healthy.

Zicarelli notes, "At first glance, a Carter for Ilgauskas and Miles swap makes sense."

The Cavs have given up on this season and would love to have a box office draw like Carter to fill the empty seats at The Gund.

Miles and Ilgauskas have battled injuries, but each brings something to the table that is lacking in Toronto. Ilgauskas is a legitimate center and when his game is on there aren't many centers better in the Eastern Conference and Miles is an emerging star who is young and extremely athletic.

RealGM Note: Carter’s BYC status would make this particular trade impossible and any trade involving Carter very difficult to complete.

Late Evening Update: Responding to today's rumors, Sportsnet.CA reports Raptors GM Glen Grunwald has deemed Carter "untradeable" and stated that there's "no truth" to the Cleveland trade rumors.

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