It's Official. Toronto, Drake and the Raptors land the 2016 All-Star Weekend

It's official. Toronto has themselves Canada's first NBA All-Star weekend.  NBA's deputy commissioner Adam Silver made the official announcement on Monday.

Via the Raptors official press release:

“We are thrilled that Toronto is hosting our first NBA All-Star Game outside the United States,” said Silver. “As the site of the first game ever in the NBA, Toronto is an ideal location for this global basketball celebration.”

NBA TV Canada's "Open Gym" Series is back, Raptors Summer League Edition

The NBA TV Canada "Open Gym" series is back y'all!  The series returns on Thursday, October 3rd on NBA TV with a look back at the Raptors summer league action.  It all takes place in Vegas and in this Open Gym teaser we get to see a few new faces in the mix along with a few returning faces to Summer League with a few young Raptors: Quincy Acy, Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas.  We've got few cameos from a few Canadian ballers in the promo, too.  Vegas, baby!

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Who's the new guy? Raptors new face: DJ Augustin

by Romy Aquino
With Jose Calderon and John Lucas III out of the picture, the backup point guard spot to Kyle Lowry is wide open.  Masai Ujiri signed DJ Augustin a one-year deal this offseason to potentially fill that backup role.  Augustin was a highly-touted prospect and was the ninth overall draft pick in the '08 draft that included a talented group of point guards: Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, George Hill and Jerryd Bayless.

NBA All-Star Weekend is moving north, Toronto set to host the 2016 NBA All-Star Weekend

Toronto, Canada...it looks like might have your first NBA All-Star weekend.

As reported by the Toronto Sun:

Multiple sources told the Toronto Sun Tuesday that the Raptors are on the verge of landing the 2016 NBA all-star weekend. An official announcement is expected within a week that will reveal further details of how one of the sport’s biggest weekends will tie into Toronto’s 20th-anniversary season. 

T.O. - The Cavs #1 pick Anthony Bennett gives back to the T-dot

This year's #1 NBA draft pick, Anthony Bennett helped unveil the new youth centre in Toronto's Jane and Finch this past Thursday where the young Toronto native began his early basketball career.

Via The Globe and Mail:

“The Boys and Girls Club played a huge part in my success,” said Anthony Bennett, the NBA’s No. 1 overall draft pick in 2013, who grew up around the corner. “Seeing [the club] expanding, reaching out to the kids, is just real heart-warming.”

Raptors Camp is just around the corner

posted by Romy Aquino
The fall season is almost here which can only mean one thing, the NBA season is just around the corner.  NBA training camps will be underway soon and the Toronto Raptors will be starting their own camp in just a couple of weeks.  Another fresh Toronto Raptors squad will be making a return to Halifax, Nova Scotia under new general manager Masai Ujiri.  The team will be back for a portion of their training camp on October 4th and 5th.  The Raptors held their training camp here in Halifax last season at the Canada Games Centre.  There will be two practices on the Friday with an intra-squad game on Saturday, October 5th at the Halifax Metro Centre.