Raptors rookie Uros Slokar says he has everything he needs for life in Toronto.
The Raptors helped the young Slovenian find a house, lease a car and open a bank account. And he never ventures far from home without his trusty map of PATH, the 27-kilometre-long underground pathway system that links the major buildings in downtown Toronto.
The first year in the NBA can be challenging enough. But after an off-season overhaul that brought several European players to the Raptors, Slokar and a couple of his teammates face their first year in the league far from home.
"All the major things — phone, somewhere to live, a place to eat, banking — the Raptors help me with everything, which I really appreciate," said Slokar. "Here it's different for us. We come here, you know you need a bank but you don't know where to go, you need to go into a bank, but who to turn to, what to say, how to open an account. . .? The Raptors help me a lot.
"I know the main things now — the CN Tower, the PATH, things like that. I have a map with me all the time, because you get lost immediately," Slokar added, laughing.
The 23-year-old forward from Ljubljana, Slovenia, lives alone in Toronto in a condo near the Air Canada Centre. Italian Andrea Bargnani, the 20-year-old rookie who became the first European taken No. 1 in the draft, lives nearby with his mom Luisa, who will stay with him until December. Jorge Garbajosa moved here from Madrid with his wife Ainhoa, and lives in the same building as Spanish teammate Jose Calderon and his wife Ana.
"Most of our guys who are on the team this year have travelled the world, but it's certainly a big change for them," said Marc Eversley, the Raptors director of basketball operations.
Eversley, who was hired by the Raptors in June after 10 years working for Nike, grew up in suburban Brampton. Part of his job is to help the new players adjust to life here.
"Whatever that means — setting them up with bank accounts, housing, cars, transportation, accommodations, all of those types of things," said Eversley. "Sometimes it's literally going and picking them up and taking them to see houses, or taking them out to the dealership to secure transportation for the year. Whatever needs to get done, we get it done."
GM Bryan Colangelo looked overseas when he revamped the Raptors this past off-season, prompting the nickname Euro-Raptors. Along with Bargnani, Garbajosa and Slokar, he added Slovenian Rasho Nesterovic, acquired in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs, and Anthony Parker, an American who had played the past six seasons with Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell bristles at questions about the cultural differences of his players, saying recently: "I don't see these guys as being from different parts of the world. They're basketball players. The world has shrunk."
But the Europeans do face unique challenges, which the Raptors try to address. There's the language issue, ranging from Bargnani and Calderon, whose grasp of English is shaky at best, to Garbajosa, Slokar and Nesterovic, who speak excellent English.
Last season, a team official accompanied Calderon and his wife to English classes. This year, Eversley made sure the two Spanish players had rooms in the same hotel, and then condos in the same building, so their wives could be close to one another.
"They are together so it's easier for them," Calderon said of the wives. "When we start flying, going away to play, it's hard because they feel like they are alone here, but with somebody, they can go out, they can do something. Without somebody, it's tough for them."
The new players live in a cluster of condos near the lakefront.
