So what happened to the Toronto Raptors?

Wasn't this an up and coming team? Didn't this franchise miss the boat somewhere? Is there a chance to recover? Is there a chance to climb out of a huge salary cap hole and the apparent indifference to hard work by a player with a superstar reputation?

Ah, you say, they got Vince Carter back this week after losing five games in a row (and promptly lost No. 6 in a row ... to the Knicks). But don't forget: This team underachieved with Carter and only made a dramatic playoff run after he left for knee surgery last spring.

	Vince Carter's dedication to hoops has often been questioned in Toronto.

It's a lot about Carter. But we'll get to that later. It's a lot about roster choices, too, some confounding and too many undermining the Raptors' chances.

Take a look at some of the talent Toronto acquired and discarded or lost through circumstance. It goes beyond some players' dislike for being in another country and paying a little more tax than you would in the Northeast U.S.

Start with Doug Christie and Keon Clark, now important members of the Sacramento Kings' championship playoff hopes. Christie was traded for Corliss Williamson, who was dealt for Jerome Williams and Eric Montross. Clark, an active shot blocker, was allowed to walk as a free agent, even though it was obvious late last season that Hakeem Olajuwon had declined badly. Cap problems or fuzzy thinking? Badly needing help inside, they dumped Michael Stewart, three years after signing him as a free agent, then declining not to play him.

A team that already has Morris Peterson and Carter, they got Lamond Murray, who quickly went on the injured list. They also gave up a first-round draft pick.

Toronto is in trouble on the business side as well. As one of the league's free-spending teams with a cap number above $60 million, the Raptors are far beyond the rarified air of the estimated luxury tax ceiling of $50 to $52 million.

The word in Ontario is that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment may have to sell both the Raptors and the Leafs of the NHL. There is no suggestion that the NBA team is going anywhere, especially in the standings.

Current ownership has allowed the Raptors to get in trouble while functioning without a true center. Thank goodness Antonio Davis volunteered. Now, Toronto is stuck with $12 million in cap money over the Olajuwon deal for the next two years. The one saving factor: Insurance will pick up the check at midseason.

Maybe they were desperate. It's been documented that most U.S. citizens want to stay clear of Toronto. Americans are uncomfortable in another country, especially one that doesn't offer SportsCenter on its cable system. They don't like the perceived tax disadvantages, although they are about on a par with New York. They don't like the hassle of going through customs to go home, even worse to play 41 games.

It was a combination of circumstance -- go ahead throw in jealousy -- that forced a fire sale of brilliant young Tracy McGrady. They had him three years and in company with cousin Vince for two and couldn't make it work. Hard as general manager Glen Grunwald tried, he couldn't convince McGrady to stay as half of the most lethal potential perimeter pairing in the league. McGrady wanted his own show. He wanted to go home to Florida and off he went in a sign-and-trade.

	“	Vince thinks 10 minutes in rehab and 20 minutes of shooting is enough. He understands nothing. He'd rather be home playing video games with his mother. ”
		— Raptors insider

McGrady inherited a damaged Grant Hill as a partner in Orlando, but he left a flawed Carter behind. Vince's reputation and career are floundering. McGrady is emerging as a superstar.

Raptors insiders won't forget that the team dropped 13 straight games from early February to early March with Carter and that, after he opted for knee surgery, went on to win 11 of 12 to sneak into the playoffs. The same people question Carter's commitment to the hard task of rehabilitating his injured quadriceps. Said one team observer: "Vince thinks 10 minutes in rehab and 20 minutes of shooting is enough. He understands nothing. He'd rather be home playing video games with his mother."

In fact, there is the legitimate question of what Carter was doing over the summer, touring the Orient and playing in all-star games when he should have been getting ready for the season. The result: four weeks without Vince at a time when games count and in a season when his salary jumped from $4 million on his rookie contract to $10 million -- and on the way to a top-out salary of $16.3 million in 2007-08. And these are U.S. dollars.

It makes you wonder how Lenny Wilkens overcomes this or even keeps his job in the face of his team's uninspired play of late. Remember, Wilkens is essentially a freebie.

The Hawks agreed to pay Wilkens $5 million a season, then fired him with four fat years remaining on his deal one year after moving into Philips Arena. Toronto's financial commitment to Wilkens amounts to pennies by comparison. The deal runs through next season.

That will get the Raptors through their over-capped dilemma. And since Wilkens at mid-week was only 41 losses shy of Bill Fitch's all-time record of 1,106, he is almost certain to depart as both the biggest winner and biggest loser the game has ever known.

On this half-a-loaf team, that's appropriate.

Jeffrey Denberg, who covers the NBA for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.