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TORONTO, Canada -- Alvin Williams has long held the status of hardest-working Toronto Raptor. He never pulls himself out of any game and doesn't complain about aches and pains he may be suffering from. It is this commitment that may be his downfall.

During the Lenny Wilkens coaching era, when the Raptors team was thriving and surprising opponents in the Eastern conference, Williams was the team workhorse. Rumors of injuries were circulating at the time. Williams played on and performed at a good level throughout the regular season and the few playoff appearances the team made.

During the last few seasons, Williams' body started to really show the wear and tear. He seems to be fighting never-ending knee and ankle problems.

An ankle surgery and subsequent slow rehab contributed to a lackluster season for Williams in 2003-04. For the first time, he was showing a lack of trust in his body and how far he could push himself, either for fear of further injury or never recovering properly.

How Much Longer Will He Last?

Training camp has begun for the Toronto Raptors at Brock University in St. Catherines, Ontario. The players seem to be in good spirits and have enjoyed the new style of coaching Sam Mitchell is introducing, and that includes Vince Carter, whose trade request seemed sure to dominate all training camp talk in Toronto.

Although Carter's trade request has been put aside for now, the focus seems to lay on Rafael Araujo's rookie difficulties in adjusting to playing against bigger and more talented players, and Alvin Williams' injuries. He has stated that his knees are a major problem, that his knee joint is basically "bone on bone" lacking any cartilage, and this is a problem that won't go away.

In Toronto, the initial thought was that Williams would compete with new off-season signing Rafer Alston for the starting spot at point guard, but now the team hopes they may be able to count on Williams to give them between 12-18 minutes a night, and even that might be pushing it.

This is going to be hard for Williams to accept. He's a fighter and not a complainer, but even coach Sam Mitchell says, "Your heart goes out to him because his body's kind of letting him down. But the guy competes every day and he tries to do everything the right way and hopefully, he can fight through it and help us. It's a day-to-day thing with Alvin."

"I'm not going to try to determine his career for him in five practices, that's something that time is going to tell."

Williams is still owed $25.8 million on the remaining four years of his contract, through the end of 2007-08, the last two years of which are a player option.