Air Canada Flight 10 Has Landed

It's over the Allen Iverson summer saga of where he will go is done. If you have not heard Allen Iverson will be suiting up for the Memphis Grizzlies this year. So now A.I has strange odd connections with both of Canada's franchises in the NBA. He will play obviously for the former Vancouver franchise in Memphis. He also could have been selected by the Raptors if not for the deal that restricted the Raptors from having the first pick. They would instead pick second and take Marcus Camby. This is a pretty sad thing to me. I started off hating Allen Iverson, but over time I came to respect and love him as a player. To see him now playing for a sad franchise in the Memphis Grizzlies, the only thing worse would have been seeing Iverson forced into an early retirement. Raptors wise, they will get to see A.I in his new digs right away as their first road game of the season against Memphis.

Iverson in his career has been a Raptor killer. Beyond maybe Kobe Bryant, I can not think of a player that consistently has laid the wood to the Raps. A.I was part of one of the greatest playoff series I have ever seen between the Raptors and Sixers. The duel he had with Vince Carter was truly fantastic.  This latest chapter of A.I's career is likely to be one of those things, where a great player finishes his career with a number of teams that we will try to forget.  When you think A.I you are going to think Philly and the Sixers...simple as that.

Welcome Demar DeRozan to his new home away from home in T.O.  Maybe one day we can say the same about him and a Raptor jersey.  It is going to be an adjustment from sunny California to snowy at times Toronto.  However judging by his Twitter does he see the outside of a basketball gym enough to notice? Some may remember, that I was hoping for Jonny Flynn to be the Raps pick. However I have really come to appreciate Demar DeRozan a lot.  Thanks go out to Justin Walsh and Holly Mackenzie for helping me get to know more about Demar over the summer. They both love the guy. After watching from a far, I am starting to understand why.

This kid works and works. He is what they like to say in basketball circles a gym rat. However he seems like a nice young man not sure I want to call him a rat of any kind.  He lives in the gym and is constantly looking to improve and grow his game. If he can carry this work ethic through his entire career he could be something very special indeed. It is always said you want your best players to be your hardest workers and it sure seems like Demar DeRozan has got that down. If he truly is to become "Heir Canada" it is going to take work. Ironically the original "Air Canada" often had his work ethic questioned. He for a lot of folks would just get by on his unbelievable skill and talent and not work to hard.  That is not DeRozan. He takes all his athletic skill and seems to want to get the absolute max out of it.

He also is concerned with caring for his mother who suffers from Lupus  and that at least was part of his choice to jump to the NBA early.  Vince of course also had a much noted relationship with his mother. The issue was never that Vince loved his mom. It was that his mom always seemed to have something to say and was all tied up in his business affairs.  Demar just wants to make money to improve the care his mother can get. If there every was a reason to be happy for an athlete getting paid a ton of cash is that not the best one you could have?

Will Demar DeRozan be a Vince Carter or an Allen Iverson? Long way to go on knowing that one. But what I think we do know is we have a very talented well adjusted young man that seems to have his priorities in order. Air Canada Flight 10 has touched down in Toronto and the quest to get his crown begins.