Can we stop this shit? Seriously. If you’ve been living under a rock or in Saskatchewan you might not know what I’m talking about so I’ll elaborate.
There was a man named Kawhi Leonard who came to Toronto last year, played for our NBA team called the Toronto Raptors, won a championship, and dipped. That’s it and there’s nothing else to discuss.

Unless of course you’re in this small yet increasingly vocal segment of ding-dongs’ who are suggesting that the Toronto Raptors RETIRE the jersey of Mr. Leonard. This my friends is ABSURD!!

Let’s be clear. Kawhi Leonard was a hired gun who was brought in to help the Raptors win a championship. He did that, then played the city like a donkey chasing after a carrot-on-a-string, and then bounced the F out of here. He had no desire to ever stay here. He was not involved in the Community. He played 60 games. He was a good basketball player. That’s it. To suggest that we should be retiring the number of a man who lived in Toronto for less than a year, and then bounced to warmer climes is sheer idiocy. It actually makes the fan base and the city look like sad wiener babies. Might as well retire Conrad Black’s ill-fitting suit while we are at it.
But who’s jersey should we retire? Well, I’m glad you asked.

ZAN TABAK

This guy was an OG. I don’t care that he had 6 or 7 points per game, you KNEW who he was and you knew he wanted to be here. At least I think he did. I don’t speak Croatian but I’m sure that’s what he said.

THIS FRIGGIN’ GUY

I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO EXPLAIN THIS CHOICE!!!!!

DEMAR DEROZAN

DeGone DeTexas had been through the wringer with the Raptors, before finally getting shipped out to Texas for Mr. Leonard. We did him dirty after being a mainstay with the team, the community, and the city itself. DeMar was beloved and still is. He was the defacto leader on the team for years and if anyone gets their jersey up in the rafters it should be him. Sure he didn’t win things like Championships or conference finals, but he had the heart, the head, and the smile.

KYLE LOWRY

This is literally a no-brainer. Kyle Lowry has been a stalwart and a mainstay on some bad Raptors teams and some very, VERY good ones. Yes, he has the odd game where you throw your shoe at the TV or at someone near you. Sometimes I like to think that he is the Jake Gardiner on the team. Kyle is a premiere point guard, a five-time NBA All star, and was named to the All NBA third team in 2016. Like DeRozan, Lowry has earned the right to have his jersey retired before the mercenary we hired last season.

As stated, this shouldn’t even be a topic of conversation. Kawhi did not win the championship by himself. He had a deep and talented supporting cast that showed up at all the right times. Retiring his jersey after a year of playing out the schedule in a city he didn’t even want to be in makes us look like idiots. So please, stop this conversation and work on getting Jeremy Lin’s jersey hoisted first.