TORONTO RAPTORS
Wins: 502
Losses: 696
All Time Winning %: 41.9
Playoff Success: 2001 Conference Semifinals
Confession: I first visited Toronto this past April, yes it did snow, and I really liked it. I also liked the other parts of Canada I visited, Ottawa and Montreal, and I have some great friends there. But there is absolutely no reason for this team to exist. At all. They had a chance, with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, to be an absolute powerhouse. But they were not. Why? Because T-Mac wanted his own team and didn’t want to live in Toronto. He now admits it was a bad decision to leave, but he certainly left. His advisers wanted to send him to the Chicago Bulls, a franchise where his endorsement potential would have been much greater than Toronto. He balked, and went to Orlando because he’s a Florida kid who hates the cold.
And that’s the thing about Toronto. Chicago and New York can have nasty winters and players will put up with it because they can pull an extra blanket of $100 bills over them at night from all the products they’re representing. Those that play in Toronto cannot. Steve Nash is a Canadian by birth. He’s played in Dallas, Phoenix and will close out his career with Los Angeles. He’s had enough of the cold. Plus, the golden years of the Raptors weren’t really that golden at all. Sure Vince Carter was outstanding to watch, but the furthest they’ve ever progressed in the playoffs is to the second round, back in 2001. Since? Nada. They have the same problem Minnesota has vis-à-vis the weather, plus an issue of the currency difference between Canada and the United States and the tax difference between Canada and the United States. Chris Bosh took less money up front to go to Miami, but since Florida has no state income tax, he’s going to keep a lot more of it for himself and then can get some more endorsement deals and photobomb people on Ocean Drive. How can Toronto compete with that? The answer is that they cannot. I root for you, good Canadian people, and I feel your pain.
Wins: 502
Losses: 696
All Time Winning %: 41.9
Playoff Success: 2001 Conference Semifinals
Confession: I first visited Toronto this past April, yes it did snow, and I really liked it. I also liked the other parts of Canada I visited, Ottawa and Montreal, and I have some great friends there. But there is absolutely no reason for this team to exist. At all. They had a chance, with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, to be an absolute powerhouse. But they were not. Why? Because T-Mac wanted his own team and didn’t want to live in Toronto. He now admits it was a bad decision to leave, but he certainly left. His advisers wanted to send him to the Chicago Bulls, a franchise where his endorsement potential would have been much greater than Toronto. He balked, and went to Orlando because he’s a Florida kid who hates the cold.
And that’s the thing about Toronto. Chicago and New York can have nasty winters and players will put up with it because they can pull an extra blanket of $100 bills over them at night from all the products they’re representing. Those that play in Toronto cannot. Steve Nash is a Canadian by birth. He’s played in Dallas, Phoenix and will close out his career with Los Angeles. He’s had enough of the cold. Plus, the golden years of the Raptors weren’t really that golden at all. Sure Vince Carter was outstanding to watch, but the furthest they’ve ever progressed in the playoffs is to the second round, back in 2001. Since? Nada. They have the same problem Minnesota has vis-à-vis the weather, plus an issue of the currency difference between Canada and the United States and the tax difference between Canada and the United States. Chris Bosh took less money up front to go to Miami, but since Florida has no state income tax, he’s going to keep a lot more of it for himself and then can get some more endorsement deals and photobomb people on Ocean Drive. How can Toronto compete with that? The answer is that they cannot. I root for you, good Canadian people, and I feel your pain.
Ouch!
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