TORONTO - On the eve of his memorable exit interview, Greivis Vasquez sat down for dinner with the leagues most famed and influential global ambassador, carrying on his mission to secure a new contract with the team that gave him new life in the NBA. Charvarius Ward Jersey . In Vasquez time, the meal may have lasted six hours. What did he and Drake discuss? Perhaps a certain 2013-14 MVP came up in conversation. Thunder forward and four-time scoring champion Kevin Durant has been on the minds of Raptors fans for the better part of the last year. Could Drake help lure Durant from Oklahoma City when he becomes a free agent following the 2015-16 season? He may have found a partner in crime. "Hopefully I get to play with him one day in the NBA," Vasquez said of Durant, his high school teammate and old friend, guesting on TSN Drive with Dave Naylor on Monday. "Hopefully its here in Toronto." He wasnt done. "Imagine if we get KD, Kevin Durant in 2016 and he leads us to a championship," the Raptors point guard added, unprompted in an interview with Bryan Hayes on TSN 1050 the following day. "I think hed have statues right outside the ACC." Well played, sir. Vasquez, the quote that keeps on quoting, is angling for a new deal and with the offseason barely a week old, he has positioned himself favourably. In case you havent heard, Vasquez is quite fond of being in Toronto. A week ago, on a day in which Kyle Lowrys impending free agency took centre stage, it was his backup, Vasquez, that stole the show delivering an emotional 19-minute soliloquy, with the occasional question sprinkled in. He thanked the city, its fans, his teammates, coaches and general manager. He thanked the Toronto school board. "My son cannot wake up at 8:00 in the morning, he wakes up at six because hes excited to go to school." He thanked his waiter at the local all-you-can-eat Brazilian steak house. So, he was thorough. It was exit interview meets academy award acceptance speech, only no one had the heart to play him off with music. "Thats Greivis," GM Masai Ujiri said a day later. The 27-year-old point guard rarely holds back on the court, playing the game with a refreshing passion that helped spark Torontos remarkable turnaround in 2014. The same could be said about his approach away from basketball. "Id use the word passionate for Greivis," said newly extended head coach Dwane Casey. "He has stones. Hes probably, truth be told, probably the most confident player on the team. He feels like he can score on LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan in his prime, which is great and you need that." "If you tell him, Greivis, run through that window right there, hes going to do it. Now he may look at you a little bit, but hell do it." Vasquez, a restricted free agent this summer, is sincere in his sentiments, he truly hopes to remain a Raptor and the way hes gone about publicizing it could go a long way in ensuring hes back with the team next season. "It would be heartbreaking if I dont come back," Vasquez exclaimed on a Monday afternoon in the bowels of the Air Canada Centre. "Im an emotional guy, so I really embrace, Im really committed to the team, to the city, to this franchise." Seven days later, there was Vasquez, on stage shaking hands with Torontos Deputy Mayor and representing the organization as May 12 was proclaimed "Raptors Day". After arriving in an early-season trade from Sacramento - where he says he lost his passion for the game - Vasquez averaged 9.5 points and 3.7 assists in 61 games for the Raptors, his fourth NBA stop in four years. He has not wasted the opportunity. Hes gone all in. The Venezuelan-native has established himself as an emotional leader on the team and an ambassador in the city. For good measure hes also offering up his services in recruiting one of the NBAs premier talents, should he still be around in 2016. But will he be around? Ujiri will not be pressured, not by elaborate speeches or the promise of an endorsement in two years from now. Vasquez will be retained if Ujiri determines it makes sense in basketball terms, and it may. Still, the extracurricular incentives cant hurt, especially if the Raptors GM values continuity and chemistry as much as he has indicated. "We hope to get something done," Ujiri told TSN.ca, in reference to Vasquezs contract status. "Hes one of those pieces on the team where you know that hes always going to be a great teammates and hes going to go out and compete." As Vasquez walked off the podium, an audience of assembled media brimming after he captivated them with a season-ending speech for the ages, he left the room the same way he entered it 20 minutes earlier. The "loveable underdog" - as he once referred to himself - wore a black cap decorated with the words "We The North" on his head and a big smile across his face. "Im not taking this for granted," he told the city and its acting mayor on Raptors Day. "Im saying it because I mean it." And he does, but he knows exactly what hes doing. Sammy Watkins Jersey . The result means Atletico Madrid now tops the table, with Madrid level on points in second and Barcelona a point behind in third with nine games remaining as the title race shapes up to be the closest in years. Kendall Fuller Jersey . The light-heavyweight champion and number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world is on an 11-fight UFC winning streak, the longest in the history of the weight class. http://www.prochiefsauthentic.com/Youth-Martinas-Rankin-Elite-Jersey/ .com) - Eric Fehr and Marcus Johansson each registered a pair of goals, as Washington spoiled the head coaching debut of Peter Horachek by picking up a 6-2 victory in Toronto on Wednesday.With the NHL Draft and free agency approaching, the rumour mill is in full swing, with TSN hockey insiders Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger weighing in with the latest on the Maple Leafs interest in Aaron Ekblad and why Dave Bolland looks primed to hit the open market. “Dave Bollands initial ask of the Toronto Maple Leafs was seven to eight years in length and a little under $5 million,” McKenzie said Wednesday on TSN 1050. ”That was probably too long and too rich for Leaf blood, so it looks like hell go to market at this point.” Despite not being on the same page in negotiations at the moment, McKenzie thinks a deal between the 28-year-old and his hometown team could still be a possibility if he adjusts both his term and salary expectation. “If the Leafs counter, I think they would probably counter more in the five year range, at a number closer to Tyler Bozak-type money, $4.25 or $4.5 million,” McKenzie said. “The Leafs have some interest, but I dont think theyre prepared to give the seven or eight-year deal at that kind of money to Dave Bolland. LeSean McCoy Jersey. ” Besides their soon-to-be free agent centre, Toronto is also engaged in talks with the Panthers regarding the no. 1 overall selection in Friday nights draft. If they were to move up, it would be with the purpose of taking the consensus top-rated prospect Ekblad. “Toronto feels like not only is he the best player in the draft, but when you look at the best player in the draft being a defenceman, then you cant waste that opportunity, youve gotta take that player,” Dreger told Mike Richards in the Morning on Wednesday. Dreger noted that Panthers GM Dale Tallon is open to a deal, but would likely wait until draft day to pull the trigger on any sort of trade. TSN Radio 1050 reporter Jonas Siegel is reporting that the agent for Jay McClement says there have been no talks with the Leafs and none are planned for the future regarding a new contract. McKenzie: Bolland likely to hit open market Dreger: Ekblad appealing for Leafs Button: NHL Draft preview, Leafs/Ritchie Dellow and Simmons get heated about Bolland ' ' '