The Toronto Raptors have come a long way. They went from being an ever-struggling team north of the border to a top-class organization, a perennial playoff contender, and even NBA champions.
Long behind are the early and exciting days with Vince Carter or the dark era of Andrea Bargnani and the bottom-feeding raptors.
Nonetheless, Fox analyst Chris Broussard still isn't so sure about Raptors culture. In a recent appearance on First Things First, he went as far as to say that the city is an 'awkward place' for African American players, which is why Kevin Durant would never want to be traded there:
“I don’t think KD will want to go to Toronto,” Broussard said. “Great city, but it’s not America and you feel it when you’re there, I’m telling you, especially as an African American. It’s a different situation than African Americans are used to being in. And I’ve talked to people in that organization pre [Masai] Ujiri about, can they keep African-American superstars there? Tracy McGrady left. Vince Carter left. Chris Bosh left. I don’t think KD will be happy there and that will be a problem."
Those comments didn't sit well with Vince Carter, who went on record to dismiss Broussard's narrative and state that his departure had absolutely nothing to do with the city. It's not a secret that Carter originally left on bad terms, yet the city embraced him back in the latter years of his career:
“I’ve had my ups and downs with Toronto for whatever reasons, being traded and all that, but one thing Toronto is not is an awkward city for an African American,” Carter said on his show.
Carter knows firsthand what it's like to be in Toronto, and not just in the arena. That's why he felt like Broussard's comments were uncalled for and simply not accurate:
“It’s just so far-fetched and it kinda bothered me because I spent six years there and seeing it grow to what it is now," explained Carter. "When you go there now, you don’t feel like, ‘I’m in some foreign country and I don’t know how to function.’ Everywhere you go feels just like being in the States."
Also, Carter described how proud Canadians as a whole are of the Raptors. How well they treat the players, and how much it means to them:
“When they win the championship in Toronto, this is all of Canada. They have one team and they support that. Every Canadian is now like, ‘My team, we won’ because they represent their country. It’s just next level,” Carter concluded.
So, if the Raptors have the assets to trade for KD or whatever star, they should pull the trigger right away. They've earned it.
