NBA Trade Deadline: Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson Could Be on the Move

Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson were once teammates. Eight months after the New Jersey Nets dumped Jefferson to Milwaukee, both guys could be sharing something else in common:

Being traded at the trading deadline.

Jefferson and Carter have emerged as the two hottest names as the league's 3 p.m. EST deadline approaches on Thursday, and they have both been linked to one team, the Portland Trail Blazers.

As of Wednesday night, sources were saying that the Blazers and Bucks were talking about a deal that would send Raef LaFrentz's expiring contract as well as Travis Outlaw to the Bucks for Jefferson.

New Jersey is equally desperate to dump Carter, who is signed through 2010-11 and has an $18 million player option for 2011-12. ESPN's Chris Broussard reported Wednesday night that there's a possibility the Nets could get desperate at the last minute and do a straight "salary dump" for Carter. They would then take back expiring contracts and nothing else.

Another team believed to have shown interest in Carter were the San Antonio Spurs, but the Spurs seem reluctant to include Roger Mason in the deal. San Antonio has been said to include swingman Bruce Bowen and center Fabricio Oberto in a potential deal, but giving up Mason, whom they signed to a two-year contract last July, may be a deal breaker.

The Houston Rockets were interested in trading Carter's cousin, Tracy McGrady, for the 32-year-old swingman out of North Carolina straight up, but the announcement of McGrady's season-ending injury earlier this week killed any deal.

Another team extremely active in trade talks have been the Cleveland Cavaliers. After the Cavs' proposed deal for Amar'e Stoudemire fell through over the weekend, GM Danny Ferry targeted Washington Wizards' forward Antawn Jamison earlier in the week. Washington has stayed with their resolution to evaluate a healthy roster before making any decision this summer.

The Cavs also inquired about the Los Angeles Clippers' Marcus Camby, but the Clippers have stated that they are not looking to dump salary and won't do a move unless it makes their team better. Cleveland's proposals centered around Wally Szczerbiak's expiring contract do not do that.

With the rest of the league chasing the Lakers and Celtics, there could be a myriad trades that go right down to the 3 p.m. EST deadline on Thursday. And as all fans know, one of the moves could elevate a mediocre contender into a serious heavyweight.