The Chicago Bulls and Toronto
Raptors are involved in serious trade discussions for a deal that would include
Jalen Rose, Antonio Davis and others, The Associated Press learned Friday.
Other players whose names have come up in the talks include Alvin Williams,
Jerome Williams and Morris Peterson of the Raptors and Eddie Robinson and
Donyell Marshall of the Bulls, according to a source close to one of the players
who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The teams planned to speak again Saturday, the source said, and were likely
to focus on a two-for-two deal.
"Is it going to go down?" Vince Carter asked outside the team's Manhattan
hotel.
The people most qualified to answer that question, Raptors general manager
Glen Grunwald and Bulls vice president John Paxson, did not immediately return
calls.
Chicago has been rumored to have been shopping Rose, a small forward in his
10th NBA season. Rose, averaging a team-high 15.3 points but shooting only 39
percent from the field, briefly lost his spot in the starting lineup earlier
this season.
Davis, in his 11th season, has said that he would not mind being traded from
Toronto. He is averaging just 7.7 points for the offensively inept Raptors, who
are scoring only 77.5 points — the lowest in the league.
"The first thing I heard about that rumor was when I landed," said Toronto
coach Kevin O'Neill, whose team arrived Friday evening for a Saturday afternoon
game in New Jersey against the Nets.
Jerome Williams, a reserve forward for the Raptors and a fan favorite in
Toronto, said he had been hearing the rumor all day but was hoping he would not
be included.
"I live for the city of Toronto," said Williams, whose role has been reduced
with the arrival of first-round draft pick Chris Bosh. "I heard a few things,
but I assume it's just rumors."
