July 31, 2001

TORONTO (AP) - Vince Carter might be staying with the Toronto Raptors for a long time.

The NBA star is close to signing a six-year contract extension worth about $94 million that would keep him with the team through 2008, Toronto newspapers reported Tuesday.

"Wednesday, I'll probably make my decision," Carter said Monday at a youth basketball camp.

Wednesday is the first day NBA teams can negotiate an extension that would take effect for the 2002-03 season.

"Everything seems pretty encouraging," Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald told The Fan, a Toronto all-sports radio station, on Tuesday. "We don't have any official word yet, so we're waiting to hear about Vince. But the signs look pretty good."

The Raptors recently locked up three key free agents, re-signing Antonio Davis, Jerome Williams and Alvin Williams to long-term contracts.

"Vince is very happy with the direction of the team and the energy around it right now," Carter's agent, Merle Scott, told the Globe and Mail. "When you sign three major pieces of the puzzle, that shows the confidence these people have in the team."

Scott did not immediately return messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Carter has been Toronto's most prolific player in its six-year history, averaging 24.6 points a game in his first three seasons with the club.

Under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, Carter would become a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn't sign an extension by Oct. 31.

Grunwald may have given Carter another good reason to stay. The GM was in Houston on Monday for further negotiations with Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon.

The Raptors can offer Olajuwon a four-year contract worth $22 million, more than double what the Rockets reportedly had offered.