Thank you, Alan Anderson.

Former Raptor, Alan Anderson, has signed a 2-year contract with the Brooklyn Nets, multiple media outlets reported. The news was then confirmed by the player himself via twitter:

I wanna thank the Toronto raptors and the fans for all the love and support.....now I'm off to BROOKLYN!!
— Alan Anderson (@ASqared06) July 26, 2013

Congrats on the first NBA multi year deal and thank you for your contributions to the Toronto Raptors. Below is a quick look / photo tribute looking back at Alan's tenure as a Raptor.

The Raptors Waive Linas Kleiza

NEWS: #Raptors announce they have waived forward Linas Kleiza and designated him as the team’s amnesty player http://t.co/erU4zfzNsl
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) July 16, 2013

All the best, Linas. We'll miss your spunk and the 3 ball. Get healthy and come back strong.

Tim Leiweke Article / Interview on bloomberg.com

Tim Leiweke, is sure not afraid of speaking out his mind. The newly-minted CEO of the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment offered some insight on his opinion of the state of MLSE's franchises (Raptors, Leafs, TFC, Marlies) in the recent interview for bloomberg.com.

A few Raptors-related quotes from the article after the jump.

Tim Leiweke at the Raptors Town Hall SSH Event

Ocho to Dallas

It's never been much a secret that Jose Calderon is my all-time favourite Raptor and that the Dallas Mavericks are my 2nd favourite team in the NBA. Last season, I finally had a chance to visit Dallas, see the Mavs in action vs the Philadelphis 76ers and tour the city. As you can imagine, I was rather pleased to see the following tweet pop up on my twitter timeline last night:

Agent Mark Bartlestein says guard Jose Calderon has agreed to a four-year deal with the Mavericks.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 6, 2013

If not Toronto, then Dallas is the next best thing in my book. Thanks for the great 8 years, Jose, and all the best the rest of the way.

"Ocho": CN Tower, view from Chinatown

The Raptor and Champ, the Horse

Raptors Decline 2013-14 Option on John Lucas' Contract

The #Raptors have declined the 2013-14 option on the contract of John Lucas III, making the pt guard an unrestricted free agent July 1.
— RaptorsMR (@RaptorsMR) June 28, 2013

The Raptors announced today that the option on John Lucas' contract for the upcoming season would not be picked up, making the Point Guard an Unrestricted Free Agent when the clocks strike midnight on July 1, the first day of the new NBA fiscal year.

All the best to JLIII in the new chaper of the NBA career. My camera will definitely miss him but if the first photo below is anything to go by (at Wizards on Feb.19, 2013), he will not be missing my camera! ;)

More photos after the jump

Bryan Colangelo, President of Team and Business Operations, steps down

News: Bryan Colangelo, President of Team and Business Operations, has stepped down from his position. #Raptors #RTZ
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) June 26, 2013

More on the news that Bryan Colangelo, President of Team and Business Operations has stepped down: http://t.co/EmoeLr9zT6 #Raptors
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) June 26, 2013

Bryan Colangelo

Raptors Name Webster VP, Basketball Management & Strategy

As per Raptors' twitter account:

NEWS: #Raptors name Bobby Webster as the club's VP, Basketball Management & Strategy http://t.co/SOCHcSOyw7
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) June 19, 2013

Here's a photo of Bobby Webster speaing at Raptors' Town Hall Season Seat Holder event last night, with Masai Ujiri looking on.

Bobby Webster

Season Seat Holder Event: Town Hall with Masai Ujiri and Tim Leiweke

Entering my 2nd year as a Raptors Season Seat Holder, I've attended quite a few SSH-only events and yesterday's Town Hall meeting with Masai Ujiri and Tim Leiweke held at the Adidas Practice Court was by far my favourite.

You can say or think what you want, but MLSE sure knows how to make the fans feel involved and appreciated. As always, we're treated to excellent food (those Real Sports' Southern BBQ sliders!) and upscale drink choices. Two elements of your your typical SSH event as I've been critical of in the past, were nowhere to be seen this time around!

First, nothing felt rushed. There was an ample amount of time to dine, followed by photo/autograph sessions with four Raptors' players in attendance (Rudy Gay, Terrance Ross, Jonas Valanciunas and Quincy Acy) who stayed as long as it was needed without getting yanked out of the party and leaving some disappointed fans behind. Second, the aforementioned presence of Rudy. It's great to see the teams' star player not getting shielded from fan fan interaction anymore.

The 2nd hour of the event consisted of a Q&A session with MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke and Raptors new GM & President of Basketball Operations, Masai Ujiri. Details of what was said should probably remain in that gym but let me just tell you the tone of the conversation was rather light-hearted and might or might have not included not so subtle jabs at former Raptors (one in particular #caughboshcaugh) and not exactly ringing endorsements for current ones (#caughbargnanicaugh). Also, it seems like the phrase "Sleeping Giant" is the new "Pound the "Rock" as far as frequency of mentions per conversation/interview is concerned, followed closely by "outworking everyone", "not going to be easy" and "patience".

Here are a few photos from the event. More after the jump.

Tim Leiweke, CEO, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment

Masai Ujiri, Raptors' GM and President of Basketball Operations