Nash and Nowitzki could have been Raptors ?

[R.J]

At least according to John Shannon.......... pretty sure he's a hockey "insider".
http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/2..._carter_davis/

[DanTheFan]

Back when that Nash/Dirk for Carter/Davis trade was allegedly proposed (2001??), the Raptors would have needed a GM with a heck of a crystal ball to see that deal would have been a no-brainer. Vince was a top 5 NBAer in terms of popularity, and was easily the most popular athlete playing in Canada. Still, while that would have been quite a ballsy trade, it would probably be the best deal in NBA history assuming everyone's career panned out similarly to date. I hate learning of what could have been, no matter how much of it is BS.

On another note, it shows how little I pay attention, but I didn't even know John Shannon was once an MLSE executive.

[Will]

If this deal was indeed on the table, history tells us that Grunwald should have made it. However, the likelihood of the Toronto Raptors trading Vince Carter in 2001 was slim-and-none. That was when the Raptors were at the highest point in their history. They had just one their first playoff series against the Knicks and lost to the 76ers in the second round.