Jamie Nye: If Saskatchewan can do it, Toronto should as well

Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri gave an impassioned answer about the interest his new star Kawhi Leonard and others have in coming to Toronto.

Ujiri, emphatic, said Toronto has to stop with the insecurity of not being a desired destination, urging those to have more pride in what their city is and what it has to offer.

Though the question was fair, the answer Ujiri gave had me thinking. We used to do that in Saskatchewan in the Canadian Football League.

There was always the talk of how are the Riders ever going to attract free agents. It was clear in the 90s and early 2000s especially free agents were avoiding Saskatchewan unless they got a much better and likely overpriced offer.

It was little old Regina after all and living in the fishbowl was a deterrent.

Now, not so much. Especially with a brand new facility that has players feel like they’re actually in a professional league when they show up and see the meeting rooms, training centre and locker room.

Saskatchewan is a destination but it took some time for most to get their head wrapped around that.