KC Raptors? Toronto’s NBA team is invited

Midwest city looks to example of Jays in Buffalo

If the Raptors aren’t able to play in Toronto this upcoming season, they have a standing invitation to make a “temporary home” in Kansas City.

The offer was formally extended in a letter sent to NBA commissioner Adam Silver that Kansas City’s mayor, Quinton D. Lucas, shared on Tuesday.

The letter was co- signed by three U. S. senators who represent the region, Roy Blunt, R- Mo., Jerry Moran, R- Kan., and Pat Roberts, R- Kan., plus Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D- Mo., whose congressional district includes much of Kansas City.

“Our dynamic fans would be thrilled to adopt the team as our own,” the officials said of the Raptors to Silver.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Canada instituted emergency orders mandating 14- day quarantines for everyone entering the country.

While that meant the Toronto Blue Jays were forced to play their Major League Baseball home games this year in Buffalo, the Raptors initially did not need to seek their own venue to host visit

OUR DYNAMIC FANS WOULD BE THRILLED TO ADOPT THE TEAM.

ing teams in the U.S. because the NBA had all of its participating teams finish their seasons in a “bubble” near Orlando, Fla.

For the upcoming season, however, the NBA does not appear to be planning to sequester all of its teams in one location again, creating a potential problem for the Raptors.

Lucas and his fellow politicians were happy to offer a solution, touting Kansas City’s recent successes in football, soccer and baseball as well as its “first- class arena,” culture and transportation infrastructure.

Also very much on board with the idea of luring the 2019 NBA champions to the Paris of the Plains: Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The reigning Super Bowl MVP and 2018 NFL MVP on Monday replied to a Twitter post about the possibility of the Raptors playing in Louisville by tweeting, “Bring them to KC!”

According to Louisville-based WDRB television, which cited three unidentified sources, some Raptors players expressed reluctance to play in Louisville because of the fallout from the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor by police.

A representative of the Raptors told The Canadian Press on Tuesday, “Our focus is on playing in Toronto.”