Jeff Zillgitt

USA TODAY Sports

Tim Leiweke heard all of the reasons NBA players didn't want to play for the Toronto Raptors. He called them excuses.

The hard-charging and energetic CEO and president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Raptors, shot them down one by one.

Too cold. "Last time I checked, Detroit and Chicago have a lot of banners up in their ceilings. It's just as cold, if not colder there," Leiweke said.

Higher taxes. "The taxes are a myth. I pay less in taxes here than I did in California," he said.

Constantly going through customs and changing money. "It takes an extra 10 minutes at most based on the way our players travel. I think for the most part that doesn't bother anybody," Leiweke said.

No ESPN. "That's my favorite one," he said.

Of course ESPN is available.

"Ultimately, I don't believe they keep any good player from coming here," Leiweke said.

Then he put the hard sell on.

"I'm an optimist," he said. "You look at Toronto — it's the fastest growing city in North America. It's the No. 3 metropolitan area in North America. It's clean. The people are kind. It's a vibrant economy.

"And by the way, we have 35 million people in our fan base. Not the (New York) Knicks, not the (Los Angeles) Lakers, not the (Los Angeles) Clippers, not the (Brooklyn) Nets. The No. 1 largest fan base potential in the NBA in the history of our league is the Toronto Raptors."

The Raptors are coming off a franchise-best 48-win season, an Atlantic Division championship and a seven-game series loss to the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs. They are intriguing, a team with talent and promise but faced with the difficulty of making the franchise a destination.

They started free agency by retaining point guard Kyle Lowry, who turned into a fan and league executive favorite by the end of the season. They re-signed forward Patrick Patterson and are working on keeping backup guard Greivis Vasquez. They drafted Brazilian forward Bruno Caboclo on June 26 and acquired Brazilian big man Lucas Nogueira and guard Louis Williams from the Atlanta Hawks last week.

The Raptors have every reason to think they will be better next season with the nucleus of Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas, Amir Johnson and Terrence Ross. They have a good coach, Dwane Casey, who has connected with his young players, and general manager Masai Ujiri has an easygoing personality that belies his cutthroat approach on the trading market.

"I have an obligation and a responsibility to build this basketball team," Ujiri said. "It's my job. I'm being paid for it, and I swear to you, I completely enjoy it. I'm passionate about it. I want this basketball team to grow."

Ujiri values building around his young, talented players and drafting well, especially with late picks. That's why Caboclo, not rated even as a second-rounder on many draft boards, was such an intriguing selection. Ujiri knows how valuable those picks are and understands they can't be wasted.

"Are we elite? No. Have we arrived? No," Ujiri said. "But we're building slowly to where we hopefully can be one of those teams in a couple of years that grows into a team that really contends."

Ujiri also has financial resources at his disposal, a product of Leiweke's trust in his GM.

"Is there a better trader and better builder of the team than Masai?" Leiweke said. "If I'm a player, I look at Masai and believe that at the end of the day he will be smart enough, shrewd enough and well-respected enough to be able to make the moves ... necessary to win."

Indeed, Ujiri has built a strong front office and coaching staff. Executive vice president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman left the Milwaukee Bucks for the Raptors, and Ujiri brought Dan Tolzman with him from the Denver Nuggets as scouting director. Bobby Webster, vice president of basketball management and strategy, was a key member of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's collective bargaining, salary cap and analytics teams.

Shortly after the season ended, Ujiri rewarded Casey with a three-year extension.

There's also team ambassador Drake, the Toronto rapper who has led promotional efforts and been a regular presence at games.

But while the Raptors' staffing is exceptional, they still need players. Leiweke came from entertainment giant AEG, which owns Staples Center and has an ownership stake in the Lakers. Leiweke is fond of what the late Jerry Buss did with the Lakers.

"If I'm a player, I have to be sold on the idea that the culture is such that they're driven and all they care about is a championship," Leiweke said. "I do believe we are developing a reputation as an organization that is absolutely focused, intense and dedicated to winning championships. It's why I'm here. It's why Masai is here.

"Players have to look at people who are on top and the culture they have created, and they have to believe we will do whatever it takes to win. And we wake up every day thinking about it."