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Editor's Note: InsideHoops.com does not subscribe to conspiracy theories. Not this one, at least. But, for a good time, read on.

The first round voting totals for the all star game have come in and once again I have to wonder how this voting can be at all realistic. At first I believed that like any other voting procedure, it would be filled with flaws and favoritism. After all, why wouldn't someone vote for their local favorite even though he may not be anywhere near the best in that position?

Here's exhibit number 1: Vince Carter is the leading vote getter for Eastern All Star forwards. What's that? Yeah… I said it; he's also second only to Shaquille O'Neal in Eastern Conference votes.

Overall, if you look at the players trailing Carter in votes, you see an impressive list. Lebron James, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett (last season's MVP), Tim Duncan, Grant Hill (comeback player of the year this season), and obviously the list goes on. What is going on here?

I'm starting to get the feeling this is some NBA ploy. The conspiracy theorists would have you believe that Carter is a great face the league would love to market, if only they could pry him from our cold Canadian hands.

Look at the facts. This player is merely a shadow of what he used to be when he captured the league's imagination in winning the slam dunk trophy in unprecedented fashion. His average point production is hovering around 10 points less than last year, when many fans in Toronto thought he let his game slide somewhat.

After asking for a trade out of Toronto, Carter has played so inconsistently that the team seems unable to get the proper value back in any potential player moves. Toronto GM Rob Babcock sees the buzzards flying overhead, but he's too intelligent to just trade a player because he asked to be traded. Many a seasoned GM would have pulled that move already.

So back to the conspiracy. In steps the NBA, finally seeing a real possibility that Carter can finally land in one of their gem markets, and decides to influence the value of the freefalling player.

I can just picture a sweaty David Stern in his New York offices taking a bite from his "Kobe" Nutella sandwich and feverishly clicking the Vince Carter dot on the online ballot. After all, you can vote every day, can't you? The votes for Carter go up; the other teams in the league see the mirage. There must be something left in Carter, if the fans are voting for him this much, doesn't it stand to reason? There must be something.

Babcock should ready himself. Sooner rather than later, a team will be knocking on the Air Canada Centre doors, just dying to give him anything he wants to get take Carter back across the border with them.