Toronto, home of the only Canadian basketball team in the NBA, has often been considered less-than-hot spot for free agent players.
You would think that winning an NBA championship earlier this month would improve on that reputation.
Alas, that is not so – according to former Raptors Lou Williams, anyway.
Williams recently spoke on a podcast about his time in Toronto, a one-year stint four seasons ago in which he was a fan-favourite and took home Sixth Man of the Year honours. It started off on a positive note: “Toronto’s a dope organization,” Williams said.
He then went on to say what’s pretty much been said of Toronto since the franchise was founded almost 30 years ago, despite having one of the biggest markets in the league, not to mention unparalleled organizational stability and competence. “I don’t think they’ll ever sign free agents up there. The problem they’re going to have is trying to keep guys there,” said Williams. “By the fourth or fifth month into the season, you’re just like damn man, I wanna go home.”
And why is that? Buckle up.
Here are 5 reasons why Lou Williams thinks playing in Canada is a nightmare:
- 1. You feel like you’re playing overseas
- 2. Little shit you don’t think of, like the channels on your TV
- 3. Your phone bill
- 4. You gotta get a f*cking Canadian bank account
- 5. If you have kids, you’re raising your kids in Canada
If all that doesn’t have you wishing for a life in Cleveland…
It should be noted that Lou Williams is currently a member of the Los Angeles Clippers, a team highly touted to challenge the Raptors in signing Raptors free agent Kawhi Leonard this summer.
Lou, my man, why not just come out and say you yearn to play for the Utah Jazz?