Blue_Bandana
November 22nd, 2003, 12:11:36 AM
Jalen Rose close to joining Raptors
Report: Rose close to joining Raptors
NEW YORK (AP) - The Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors were involved in serious trade discussions Friday for a deal that would include Jalen Rose, Antonio Davis and others, The Associated Press learned.
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.
Jalen Rose was in the starting lineup Friday night as the Bulls faced the Los Angeles Lakers.
The teams planned to speak again Saturday, the source said, and were likely to focus on a two-for-two deal. Rose, however, said he had been assured by Bulls vice-president John Paxson that he would not be dealt to Toronto.
"It's blown up and become the kind of item that everybody that I know is calling me about," Rose said prior to Chicago's game against the Lakers. "People that I know in L.A. feel like they're coming to see my last game as a Bull.
"If it does happen, that means he went back on his word," Rose said. "I see him as somebody that's a man of his word and I have no reason to believe otherwise."
The trade rumour spread quickly Friday, with Rose and several players from both teams getting numerous calls on their cell phones. Paxson and Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald did not immediately return messages.
"Is it going to go down?" Toronto's Vince Carter asked outside the team's Manhattan hotel.
Bulls coach Bill Cartwright said he talked to Rose about the rumours and told him: "Don't you dare get distracted with any of this garbage that's going on."
Chicago has been rumoured 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 per cent from the field, briefly lost his spot in the starting lineup earlier this season.
"I've never said that I wanted to play for another team. I'm not saying that now," said Rose, adding that he doesn't believe anyone in the Chicago organization wants him gone.
"I'd be lying to say I didn't think about it, I didn't analyze it, I didn't think about their roster, I didn't look at their schedule," he said about Toronto. "I just hope it's not an even bigger distraction, not only to the teammates, but to my fans. I got a ton of fans in Chicago that embraced me from day one."
Marshall said he didn't receive a call from Paxson and didn't know anything about a possible deal.
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 rumour 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 favourite in Toronto, said he had been hearing the rumour 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 rumours."
Report: Rose close to joining Raptors
NEW YORK (AP) - The Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors were involved in serious trade discussions Friday for a deal that would include Jalen Rose, Antonio Davis and others, The Associated Press learned.
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.
Jalen Rose was in the starting lineup Friday night as the Bulls faced the Los Angeles Lakers.
The teams planned to speak again Saturday, the source said, and were likely to focus on a two-for-two deal. Rose, however, said he had been assured by Bulls vice-president John Paxson that he would not be dealt to Toronto.
"It's blown up and become the kind of item that everybody that I know is calling me about," Rose said prior to Chicago's game against the Lakers. "People that I know in L.A. feel like they're coming to see my last game as a Bull.
"If it does happen, that means he went back on his word," Rose said. "I see him as somebody that's a man of his word and I have no reason to believe otherwise."
The trade rumour spread quickly Friday, with Rose and several players from both teams getting numerous calls on their cell phones. Paxson and Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald did not immediately return messages.
"Is it going to go down?" Toronto's Vince Carter asked outside the team's Manhattan hotel.
Bulls coach Bill Cartwright said he talked to Rose about the rumours and told him: "Don't you dare get distracted with any of this garbage that's going on."
Chicago has been rumoured 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 per cent from the field, briefly lost his spot in the starting lineup earlier this season.
"I've never said that I wanted to play for another team. I'm not saying that now," said Rose, adding that he doesn't believe anyone in the Chicago organization wants him gone.
"I'd be lying to say I didn't think about it, I didn't analyze it, I didn't think about their roster, I didn't look at their schedule," he said about Toronto. "I just hope it's not an even bigger distraction, not only to the teammates, but to my fans. I got a ton of fans in Chicago that embraced me from day one."
Marshall said he didn't receive a call from Paxson and didn't know anything about a possible deal.
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 rumour 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 favourite in Toronto, said he had been hearing the rumour 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 rumours."