The Associated Press reports: Hakeem Olajuwon's NBA career appears to be over.

Olajuwon has a serious back injury, and the Toronto Raptors are awaiting a decision on whether he will retire. Toronto general manager Glen Grunwald said Monday he doesn't foresee Olajuwon playing this season.

Toronto coach Lenny Wilkens said he expects a decision from Olajuwon soon.

"We're going to know in a couple of days,'' Wilkens said.

The 39-year-old center is in Houston, where he spent 17 years playing for the Rockets before joining the Raptors before last season. He has been excused from training camp by Toronto.

"He can either try and play or decide it's too much,'' Grunwald said. "We don't expect him to play this season or in the foreseeable future.''

Olajuwon, who led the Rockets to NBA championships in 1994 and 1995, went to the Raptors in August 2001 after turning down a three-year, $13 million contract offer to stay in Houston. He signed a three-year, $18 million contract with Toronto.

"It was a gamble and I think we lost on it,'' Grunwald said. "It didn't turn out the way we had hoped.''

Olajuwon averaged 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds in 61 games last season.

Grunwald denied the Raptors were negotiating a buyout to his contract. Olajuwon is due $12 million over the next two seasons.

"We had hoped he would be here for a couple of more years, but it doesn't look like that's going to be the case,'' Grunwald said. "It could have worked great, but it didn't. We have to move on now.''

Olajuwon was selected as one of the NBA's 50 greatest players and was on the 1996 gold medal-winning Olympic basketball team. He is a 12-time NBA All-Star.

According to Terry Pluto of the Akron Beacon Journal, the Cavs will receive the Raptors #1 pick in 2003 unless the Raptors miss the playoffs. Any conditions are after that are not specified.

The Cavs traded Lamond Murray and a future 2nd round pick to Toronto for Michael Stewart and a future 1st round pick. See the article posted on the front of the Cavs team page for my analysis and commentary.

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have acquired forward Lamond Murray and a future second-round draft pick from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for center Michael Stewart and a future first-round draft pick.

"Lamond is a talented veteran who will solidify our rotation and improve our scoring," said Glen Grunwald, Raptors senior vice-president and general manager. "He has proven to be a consistent performer throughout his NBA career."

Murray averaged a career-best and team-high 16.6 points with the Cavs in 2001-02. He also added 5.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 32.6 minutes per game. He started 68 of his 71 appearances last season, where he tallied 20 or more points on 26 occasions, including a career-best 40 points January 2 versus Golden State. He ranked 13th in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage at 42.4 (101-238).

Murray is a first cousin of former Raptor Tracy Murray.

Stewart was signed by the Raptors as a free agent January 21, 1999. He missed 59 games last season with three separate stints on the injured list. He averaged 2.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 8.5 minutes in 11 appearances during the 2001-02 season.

"We thank Michael for his time and dedication to the Raptors and wish him well as he continues his career," added Grunwald.

Think the Cavs are a wee bit desperate to ditch Lamond Murray? You don't know the half of it.

They are considering swapping their leading scorer for 4th string center Michael Stewart.

Bob Finnan of the Morning Journal writes that the two sides are talking but, according to Cavs GM Jim Paxson, "nothing is imminent".

The Washington Wizards are one team who have completely revamped their roster this offseason.  Gone are their future stars in Courtney Alexander and Richard Hamilton, with the likes of Larry Hughes, Jerry Stackhouse, Juan Dixon, Jarred Jeffries and Byron Russell taking their places.

But are the Wizards done with their alterations?  If Bill Harris' article in the Toronto Sun is any indication then the answer is no.  The Raptors and Wizards are currently discussing an Eric Montross for Chris Whitney.  The move would free up some of the backcourt crowding for the Wizards but beyond that it is hard to see why Washington would go for such a move.  While Chris Whitney is in the last year of his contract (the team does hold an option for additional seasons) Eric Montross, who has been rather ineffective wherever he has played after a promising career at North Carolina (key word?), has three years remaining meaning it will cut into the Wizards' cap space.

'NBA sources yesterday confirmed that discussions along those lines took place earlier this summer, although it's not known if the potential swap remains a front-burner issue for either team,' Harris writes, using an article in the Washington Post as his basis.

Doug Smith of Waymoresports.com reports: Hakeem Olajuwon is suffering from a series of injuries that may force the Toronto Raptors centre and future hall of famer to retire.

The 39-year-old veteran, who missed a quarter of last season's games with several different injuries, is in Toronto to be examined by team physicians with less than three weeks until the opening of training camp.

"The primary issue now is his back," Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald said yesterday. "He has other things; there's a lot of wear and tear on his joints. Whether he'll be able to play is the issue; he's still a question mark."

However, the toll of the various injuries may be too much. The only time Olajuwon has been able to play a full season in the last five was in the lockout-shortened, 50-game campaign in 1999. He's suffered from a variety of leg, foot and now back woes and was close to retirement two seasons ago because of a blood clot in his leg.

Sources say there is no chance Olajuwon will negotiate a buyout of his contract, instead choosing to retire and collect the full two years and $12 million (all figures U.S.) that is owed him on a three-year, guaranteed deal he signed about a year ago, leaving his entire salary on the team's cap.

However, if injuries force him to retire, the Raptors could apply for a salary cap exception but that, too, would count against the cap. With the team unwilling to increase its payroll past the current amount because of luxury tax considerations, the chance of it using that exception is as remote as Olajuwon taking less than is owed him.