Raptors Unique Dilemma: How to Solve American Basketball Players Lack of Desire to Play in Toronto

An NBA title is not sufficient for the Toronto Raptors to attract top tier talent in the NBA.  It’s long been an issue from day one of the Toronto Raptors’ existence.  There has never been a truly high profile free-agent signing in Raptors history.  The acquisition of Hedo Turkoglu was a sign and trade with Orlando and it was a bust.  DeMarre Carroll was a free agent signing in the summer of 2015 for 4 years $60 million and it is proof that Masai Ujiri can make mistakes.  Tracy Murray and Bismack Biyombo were good free-agent signings for the Raptors but not top-notch talent.

Both former NBA star Gilbert Arenas and current sixth man of the year award winner Lou Williams expressed their sentiments on why American players are not enamored with the idea of playing in Canada.  It’s troubling and has been troubling for many years.  Gilbert Arenas  in an interview with Fanatics View had the following to say:

“Raptors being in Canada is hard for American players.  You gotta remember, most kids are coming from the hood, that this is where my family, friends are. So me going all the way to another country, my friends, family can’t get there. So that’s already a conflict. So that my mom, my dad, my brothers and sisters can’t get there often. They can drive to Atlanta. They can drive to Chicago, and go and follow me and come to all my games.”

“When someone like Kawhi is a free agent and you’re like ‘why would he leave? He just won a championship.’ That’s exactly why he leave. He’s already won two championships. What is he playing for now? Maybe he wants to play 41 home games in front of his mother for the first time in his career. That’s important. It’s the little things. It’s not the money.”

Former Raptor Lou Williams also chimed in with the following statements in an episode of  a podcast called No Chill host by Gilbert Arenas and Mike Boticello:

“When you play in Toronto, you feel like you’re playing overseas,” explained Williams to Arenas and Botticello. “We can’t wait to go on the road sometimes, just to be in America.”

“It’s like little [things] you don’t think of, like the Channels on your TV, phone bill, you got to get a Canadian bank account. [Stuff] like that that people don’t think about. That [stuff] is s hard. And then you have kids, you’re raising your kids out in Canada…”

“One you’re there, you’re like ‘oh, this is dope.’ But the hard part is keeping guys there.”

The Value of the Comments Are Silly by Nature but a Problem

Some of these statements seem silly it’s not hard to open a bank account.  The raising your kids in Canada has been heard before when Antonio Davis back in the summer of 2001 was prepared to leave Toronto for Chicago he was floating the story he didn’t want his kids learning the metric system (The USA uses the imperial method for measurements).   The Chicago Bulls low-balled him with their offer.  The Raptors, his only option to getting paid handsomely for what he did on the court, were then able to get his name on a contract.

Certain parts of the USA suffer from severe cold weather as bad or worse than Toronto and Florida gets hit with Hurricanes, Texas with Tornados, and California has earthquakes.  Canada is North of the USA and while it is a sovereign nation with different laws and customs it mimics and promotes many American styles and cultures like tv channels, shops and entertainment (movies, tv shows, etc.).

Gilbert Arenas’ comments and Williams’ comments about taxes are understandable an athlete is paying taxes in his country of residence and also where he works as a non-resident.  What’s truly frustrating about the whole concept of the lone Canadian NBA team not being able to attract top free agents or keep key free agents when their contracts expire is the Raptors still have to compete in the NBA.

The Solution

What never gets addressed is how the Raptors overcome this snub that they are an outpost of the NBA.  We have seen previous Raptors management teams address the issue by signing foreign players as Bryan Colangelo did in the summer of 2006 with Anthony Parker who had been playing in Israel, Spaniards Jorge Garbajosa, and Jose Calderon.  The other method Toronto general managers have employed is to find young players who could become solid role players like a Jamario Moon through free agent camps or even more recently Ujiri signing an undrafted Fred Vanvleet.

There is a very unique way the Raptors could address the problem of not being an attractive destination for top-flight free agents and that’s to develop your talent.  The Raptors 905 is a good destination for young talent already identify and signed but the Raptors should look to set up a system or network of world youth basketball leagues in places like Africa, Brazil, Argentina or anywhere really.  Once that talent reaches age 19-21 the Raptors simply approach the top talents to either try out for the Raptors 905 or sign a 2-way contract with the Raptors.

Last season, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban suggested sending American youth players to Europe to learn to play the game the right way from a young age in comments he made to Eurohoops.net.  Most people focused on the words Cuban used in expressing their outrage at his insinuation.  When those comments are examined for actual relevance and value he wasn’t wrong entirely.

College basketball in the USA does not prepare big-men (forwards and centers) for life in the NBA in particular.  It’s a guard driven style of basketball and big-men are confined to play around the basket (rebounding, dunking, and short-range shots).  In today’s NBA power forwards and centers are expected to shoot from distance spacing the floor and be able to drive the lane from the wing positions when necessary.  NBA rules today now restrict back to the basket low post moves.

NCAA basketball is dramatically different from the NBA and is less than half an NBA season,  and its played in 2-20 minute halves winding up 8 minutes shorter than an NBA game.  There is also the difference in offensive urgency in that NBA offenses must get up shots in just 24 seconds in contrast to the 45 second NCAA shot clock.

The Perfect Template to Train Talent

In Masai Ujiri’s work in Africa as Co-Founder of Giants of Africa, his program offering basketball to the youth of various African communities has changed lives for the better.  The nefarious aspect of it is, of course, the potential of mining talent to play professionally.  Ujiri could be the guy that sets it up.  It would address the issue of the talent that avoids Toronto in the future.

As a franchise, imagine getting teenaged players playing a style and system of basketball you endorse knowing you have allowed them to personally improve but also in an environment under which they practice their passion but its a job that pays them, teaches them discipline and hard work.    The ultimate goal is an advancement to the NBA if they so deserve.

This was the part Mark Cuban wanted people to focus on in his statements last year.   It eliminates the hero-worship of college ball where egos swell because the player is always told he’s the greatest.  It breeds the notion like Allen Iverson years ago who expressed 33 times in an interview his disgust for practice or the need for improvement until its too late.

For the Toronto Raptors, it means also employing local scouts to keep you abreast of player developments and yes investing in a developmental system.  Any concerns as to cost should be minor as according to Forbes Magazine in February of 2019 are valued at $1.7 billion and generated revenue of $275 million.  While expense like operating expenses needs to be factored in already at$76 million and payroll which was $127 million at the time, a developmental network of youth leagues could be sustainable and adequately address the lack of interest in star American basketball athletes considering Toronto as a place to ply their trade.