The Past, Present, and Future of the Toronto Raptors on its 20th Anniversary
PART 3 OF 3: A TRUE BREATH OF FRESH AIR
As I watched the 2014 to 2015 edition of the Toronto Raptors secure a convincing 109 to 102 victory in their October 29th season opener at home against the Atlanta Hawks, I couldn’t help but feel that the lone-Canadian franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA) has finally turned a corner.
Over this past summer, like none others that I could remember, we saw the team successfully retain the core of its promising young roster, highlighted by Kyle Lowry re-signing with Toronto to a 4-year contract worth $48 million. The Raptors were also able to bring back two key supporting cast members, as both Greivis Vasquez (who signed a 2-year contract extension worth $13 million a day before the free agency window officially opened) and Patrick Patterson (who earlier agreed to a 3-year contract extension worth $18 million) also chose to re-up with the franchise after joining the team midway through the 2013 to 2014 season in the Rudy Gay trade with the Sacramento Kings. For the long-suffering Toronto Raptors fans, what is even more satisfying is that these players made a choice to stay with the franchise!
The fact that Lowry, Vasquez, and Patterson all chose to return to the team on multi-year contracts when they could well have inked deals with American-based franchises as unrestricted free agents is what truly separates the current Toronto Raptors from its past counterparts from a cultural standpoint. Lowry, Vasquez, and Patterson wanted to be here! They did not re-sign with the franchise for the money as they arguably could have gotten a richer (and possibly longer) contract had they bolted to other rival teams. They came back because they love the fans in this city (as evident by the overwhelming support in Maple Leaf Square–also known as Jurassic Park when the Toronto Raptors are in action–during the franchise’s hard-fought 7-game series against the highly-experienced Brooklyn Nets, which was anchored by Future Hall-of-Famers Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce as well as former All-Star Deron Williams–in the 1st-round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs). They came back because they believe in their teammates. They came back because they believe in management, especially the vision of our present GM, Masai Ujiri (who made his mark for the Raptors by somehow managing to ship the much marginalized Power Forward/Center Andrea Bargnani to the New York Knicks for Steve Novak, Marcus Camby, Quentin Richardson, and 3 draft picks–including a 2016 1st rounder). Indeed, upon inking his 4-year contract with the Raptors, Lowry expressed that “Toronto is just the right place for me.” Vasquez was even more emotional and emphatic, saying this past summer that “it would be heartbreaking if [he does not] come back” and that he is “really committed to the team, to the city, to this franchise” because “Toronto really changed [his] life.”
It may have taken two decades, but we have just witnessed a fundamental cultural shift in the perception of how NBA players perceive Toronto. No longer are the Raptors sacked with the label of being an expansion franchise. No longer are players here because they were drafted by the team and thus have no choice but to play through their entry-level rookie contract for Toronto before departing because the Raptors own their NBA rights. No longer are players trying to force a trade (by either putting in sub-par effort and/or making it abundantly clear that they would leave as soon as they become an unrestricted free agent). No longer are players counting down the days to unrestricted free agency so that they can sign with a U.S.-based team the minute they can do so. In sum: No longer is Toronto seen as an undesirable place to play because NBA players genuinely want to be here and made a choice to be here!
Historically speaking, the NBA is a league defined by superstars. Yet, in the rarest of circumstances, a franchise that is defined by well-balanced talents who truly function like a single-minded entity (think of The Borg from Star Trek: The Next Generation) can win, and win it all. Case in point, the Detroit Pistons won the NBA title in 2004 despite having no superstar (or Big 3) on its roster. Instead, the team featured 5 very good starters: Chauncey Billups (at Point Guard), Richard Hamilton (at Shooting Guard), Tayshaun Prince (at Small Forward), Rasheed Wallace (at Power Forward), and Ben Wallace (at Center). All of them knew how to play the game the right way, had high basketball IQ, were unselfish (meaning that they are willing to share the rock to free up the open man), were committed to winning, and were willing to sacrifice their bodies when and if needed (e.g., taking charges from opponents to get to the free throw line).
The current Toronto Raptors has the makeup of this 2004 Detroit Pistons squad as we have Lowry (at Point Guard), DeRozan (at Shooting Guard), Ross (at Small Forward), Johnson (at Power Forward), and Valanciunas (at Center). They trust each other, are confident that they can compete against the best teams in the league, are unselfish, and have tremendous chemistry on the court. In fact, we can make the case that the 2014 to 2015 Toronto Raptors arguably have a higher ceiling than the 2003 to 2004 Detroit Pistons, given that Lowry is more explosive than Billups, DeRozan is more of an offensive force than Hamilton, Ross is more athletic than Prince, Johnson is more composed than Rasheed Wallace, and Valanciunas is a superior shooter compared to Ben Wallace. If the present Toronto Raptors continue to grow and mature, they can be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.
Just how can we know for certain? Should we need assurance, we need to look no further than Las Vegas, which labelled the Toronto Raptors as the favoured team to win the Atlantic Division this season! Enjoy the ride, WE THE NORTH!