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Juan Dixon was walking through the Toronto Raptors' dressing room before the game as curious as everyone else about his near future. "Hear anything?" the little-used shooting guard wondered.

Dixon is the most likely Raptor to be moved before today's 3 p.m. EST NBA trade deadline, but even though Raptors president Bryan Colangelo and assistant general manager Maurizio Gherardini were working the telephones most of the day yesterday, the likelihood of a trade - major or minor -appears to be diminishing rather than increasing as the deadline approaches.

His expiring contract and ability to score points in bunches - if not man the point guard spot - make him perhaps the easiest Raptors player to move, but inquiries were at a minimum last night. Instead Raptors management have spent most of their time convincing teams that no, they don't want to trade Jose Calderon.

The Raptors have made inquiries to Golden State about the availability of small forward Mickael Pietrus, but those talks weren't generating much heat yesterday.

While the most recent injury to T.J. Ford had raised the possibility of the Raptors trying to add insurance at point guard, Colangelo dismissed that suggestion early in the week.