Report: Did Carter tip off the Sonics?
TSN.ca Staff with Seattle News Tribune files
12/19/2004
Vince Carter may have written his ticket out of Toronto in more ways than one.
The Seattle News Tribune reported Sunday that Raptors general manager Rob Babcock was informed last week that Carter may have tried to sabotage his team in a game against the SuperSonics a month ago.
Though there is no correllation between the information and Babcock's trading of Carter on Friday, the once popular Toronto guard was dealt less than 48 hours after Babcock was interviewed for a story about Carter's actions in the Nov. 19 game.
According to the News Tribune, three members of the Sonics said they believed Carter intentionally tipped off a play during the final minute of the Toronto's 101-94 loss.
With 29 seconds left in the game, and the Sonics leading 97-90, the Raptors called a timeout. After returning to the court, Carter lined up along the edge of the key, facing the Sonics' bench.
According to the players, Carter said directly to the Seattle bench, "It's a flare. It's a flare," hinting that the Raptors were running the flare play.
The Raptors then ran a flare play for Carter. He then made his way up the key with Sonics guard Ray Allen following him. Raptors forward Matt Bonner then set a screen on Allen for Carter, who then flared toward the opposite corner. A pass from Morris Peterson was made too long for Carter. Unable to make a clean shot, he passed the ball to Bonner, who hit a 22-foot shot from the top of the key.
According to one Sonics player, the bench reacted by saying, "Did you hear that? Did you see that? That's (expletive) up."
Allen, who was guarding Carter, told the paper: "I didn't hear it, but that's what those other guys were saying (after the game), Reggie (Evans) and those other guys. But all I said was, 'Why would he do that?' I don't know why he would do that."
"I don't want to get involved in that stuff, man," Evans said. "That stuff is deep. I ain't scared of Vince or nothing like that, but that is between him and his conscience. I ain't saying it did happen or it didn't happen. I'll leave that for Ray. I'll let Ray do all that type of talking, man."
Carter, reached through Raptors spokesman Jim LaBumbard, responded, "I'm not going to comment on something as ridiculous as that."
Babcock was reached by the News Tribune on Wednesday and said: "I hadn't heard that. I would hope that would not be the case, but I am not aware of that. If he did do that, I would be quite upset with that. But I don't know anything about that. It is nothing I heard."
"That's the type of thing that, if I was aware of it, we would deal with it internally, and we certainly would deal with it. But I am not aware of that.
"If something comes up to me like that, and it is solid, and it is obvious that it did happen, we would take care of it internally."
Files from the Seattle News Tribune were used for this report.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/st ... 3627c.html
http://www.tsn.ca/nba/news_story.asp?id=108594
Thats messed up if he actually did that. stupid: