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. 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. Wholesale Broncos Jerseys . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. John Elway Jersey . Louis against the Blues. The Canucks picked up their second straight victory in the swings opener on Tuesday in Calgary before getting routed in Minnesota last night, 5-1. http://www.cheapbroncosjerseysauthentic....klenburg-jersey. "After consultation with the Team USA medical staff and officials, it was determined that he should return to Winnipeg as a precaution due to his previous injury history," Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Wednesday in a statement. Shannon Sharpe Jersey . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U. Peyton Manning Jersey . Head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed on Sunday that his starting goalie has a head injury and the team will take it day by day. DALLAS -- Monta Ellis and Devin Harris scored 20 points apiece and the Dallas Mavericks extended Indianas season-long losing streak to four games with a 105-94 victory against the Pacers on Sunday night. The Pacers rallied from 17 points down in the first half and almost wiped out another double-digit deficit after halftime, but had the same offensive troubles late that plagued them early in the game. Paul George had 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Pacers, who stayed a game and a half up on Miami for the lead in the Eastern Conference after the Heat lost in overtime to Chicago. Dirk Nowitzki scored 14 points on a tough shooting night as the Mavericks swept the two-game season series from the Pacers, who were coming off their most lopsided loss in a 26-point defeat at Houston. Indiana was trailing 89-87 when Harris, who had a season high in points, had a three-point play on a driving layup and Nowitzki hit a pair of free throws. Ellis, who also had eight rebounds, put the game away in the final 2 minutes with a pair of jumpers that gave the Mavericks yet another double-digit lead at 102-92 with 56 seconds left. Lance Stephenson kept Indiana in the game early with 18 first-half points but was limited by foul trouble in the second half and finished with 21. George Hill scored 20 for Indiana. George was right on his scoring average from his last two trips to Dallas, but the Pacers couldnt get the defensive stops needed to make it three straight wins in Dallas. Shawn Marion scored 12 for Dallas, and Jose Calderon and Vince Carter had 10 apiece. Dallas reserves outscored Indianas 41-4. Two nights after blowing a 30-point lead before rallying in the fouurth quarter to beat Portland, the Mavericks went up 17 early in the second quarter only to let the Pacers get within 48-45 by halftime and pull even on the first shot of the third quarter -- a 3-pointer by George.dddddddddddd A sluggish offence had a lot to do with the Pacers early deficit. They had one shot-clock violation in the first half and three other times when the buzzer went off after a shot was taken. But they finally got going in the last 8 minutes of the second quarter and shot 64 per cent for the period. Indiana stayed close in the first half thanks to Stephenson, who was 7 of 8 from the floor before halftime and finished the second quarter by banking a shot in after floating across the lane. Nowitzki had plenty of open looks in the first half but just couldnt hit many, finishing 2 of 8 with five points before halftime. He was 3 of 14 from the field for the game. The Mavericks shot 28 per cent in the second quarter, best illustrated when Jae Crowder bounced a breakaway layup off the back of the rim and Ellis missed a short jumper after getting the rebound. NOTES: Pacers G C.J. Watson missed his second game with a sprained right elbow. Coach Frank Vogel said Watson could return Tuesday against Boston. ... Crowder left the game with an abdominal strain. ... Dallas recalled G Gal Mekel from the NBDL. He played three games for the Texas Legends in his first action since right knee surgery on Jan. 17. ... The Mavericks honoured Mike Modano at halftime a night after his No. 9 was retired by the Dallas Stars in the same building. ... A fan won $10,000 at halftime by getting three giant, inflatable dice to land on a dollar sign, drawing a huge roar from the crowd. 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