Trade speculation amazes Baylor

Inaccurate reporting about supposed trade talks is nothing new to General Manager Elgin Baylor, who has been in the NBA for almost 40 years.

But this season’s wild speculation took things to another level, the longtime Clippers executive said, especially considering no major moves were made before Wednesday’s noon deadline.

“These things that are written about and you hear about, I don’t know where all that conversation comes from, because it’s just not true,” Baylor said. “I talk to teams often, and based on my conversations, it just starts from [media] speculation. This has been going on since I played. It’s just part of the business, and it’s not going to change.”

The Clippers reportedly could have acquired New Jersey Nets All-Star forward Vince Carter, but supposedly were unwilling to trade Shaun Livingston.

The Nets had no interest in trading Carter to the Clippers, and the teams never got to the point of discussing make-or-break offers, team sources said.

Moreover, Carter has a salary of $15.1 million this season and Livingston makes $3.4 million. To make a Carter-Livingston trade work under salary-cap rules, the Clippers would have been required to include other players in a proposal.

The Clippers don’t have enough depth to trade multiple players in their rotation for one player, they said. In addition, Carter could terminate the final season under his contract – more than $16.3 million – become a free agent after the season and sign with another team.

Baylor spoke with many teams about potential trades before the deadline, but nothing proposed would have significantly helped the Clippers in their bid to earn a Western Conference playoff berth.

The Clippers (25-29) have lost four in a row and are tied for 10th in the conference with the Minnesota Timberwolves, half a game behind the Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Hornets for the final playoff spot.

“We’re not out of it,” Baylor said. “We’re a solid team when we’re at full strength, so we just have to get it done with the group that we have.”

 jason.reid@latimes.com