NBA Rumors: Toronto Raptors say they will spend money to win

The Toronto Raptors, despite playing in a major metropolitan city, have always been outcast as a ‘small market’ team. Much of that has come from the lack of spending and the inability to retain stars who’ve opted for greener pastures (at least so they thought).

But now under new ownership, these aren’t the same Raptors you were accustom to. Nope – these Raptors want to win and will be aggressive in doing so.

Not only have the Raptors plucked away one of the most coveted general managers in the NBA, Masai Ujiri, they’ve also been aggressive on the trade front – recently sending Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings. And as if that wasn’t enough, they’re ready to spend money – when the time is right, of course.

"Watching all of this unfold in person was Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri. I showed him a tweet I sent out to the effect that if MLSE is spending $100-million on soccer players, it’s hard to imagine they won’t spend into the luxury tax for their NBA team.Ujiri smiled at the thought, but Leiweke must have been reading his mind.“This is a great day for Raptors and Leaf fans,” Leiweke said. “Everyone that’s a sports fan ought to walk away today – and whether you love soccer or not – the message you ought to take from all of this is: this ownership is going to do whatever they can to win now and they’re not just focused on the bottom line.”"

With a division ripe for the taking, Toronto could barge through that playoff door this season and if the Raptors ownership has anything to say about it, they won’t be leaving anytime soon.