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Owner James Dolan is reviled by the team’s fans and Oakley remains one of the most popular New York athletes ever.

He was traded to the Raptors after 10 seasons in New York and his skills, toughness and gift of gab quickly endeared him to Canadian hoops supporters as well.

“He kind of set the tone. I think he was a big part of the turnaround, here in Toronto, getting veteran experience for Vince and those guys here,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said.

“Kind of set the tone and made it feel like, ‘OK, you’re not going to come into Toronto and beat up Vince Carter.’ He’s going to have a backup in Oakley.”

The Cleveland native has been around for various alumni events in Toronto.

“All the interactions I’ve always had with Oak have been positive. Sat with him before a game last year, he was talking about our team, some of the things he saw with our team it was a positive experience,” Casey said. “I think he’s old school, tough guy, he helped our league get started. Nothing but great love for Oak.”

DeMarre Carroll said the game has changed significantly, phasing out enforcers like Oakley.

“(The ejection) was crazy. I don’t know the whole details. That’s just pure Oakley, he’s always been a fighter and he lay it down, that’s basically what he does,” Carroll said.

“I feel like those type of guys right now, the league has shifted from those type of guys, but it is what it is … They don’t let you get away with the hand check or fouling hard … Right now it’s just a lot of talk. They don’t want to lose their money,” he said.

“At the end of the day, guys just talk a lot these days. It’s almost pointless to get into an altercation.”

Whereas in the old days, Oakley would seek out that sort of thing.

rwolstat@postmedia.com