"During the Nets' summer overhaul, Vince Carter learned that people were speculating and some said he would ask for a trade because he didn't want to go through a rebuild. That was news to him.

Carter insists he wants to remain a Net and believes he proved it by helping organize the voluntary workouts and pickup games at the team's practice facility in August and September.

"When they said, 'You're going to jump ship,' I don't believe that," Carter said. "I'm here. It says New Jersey on my jersey and I'm going to do my job."

In his first Nets' training camp without Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson as teammates, Carter is doing his job. He's leading this mostly young group. Devin Harris and Eduardo Najera are helping, but this is Carter's team.

The Nets are trying to come together and Carter, who is healthy after off-season ankle surgery, has been in everyone's ear, pushing, encouraging and listening.

The perennial All-Star shooting guard has been talking to and supporting second-year forward Sean Williams, working closely with rookie Chris Douglas-Roberts and reminding everyone that no matter what outsiders think, he believes the Nets can be a playoff team. Getting this team in transition there is all that's driving Carter now.

"I'm OK with that," Carter said of playing through a rebuild. "I would love to win a championship. But to take a team that is considered rebuilding and become a playoff team, there's a lot of satisfaction in that for me."

That would be a huge facial for everyone who has said Carter can't carry a team or will never be a winner. The number is countless, including all of Canada, but Carter is used to it.

"I don't care," he said. "People are going to say whatever they say. I worked my butt off this summer. I said I'm going to do whatever I need to do to be ready the first day of training camp. That was my goal."

Nets coach Lawrence Frank talked to Carter often during the off-season and was never concerned that his star player would revolt."

"No, because I trust his character," Frank said. "Plus we had proof. Once we traded Jason, he could have shut it down and had surgery. He fought through it, got three cortisone shots and gave his best to the team.""