Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Report: Toronto Raptors could play home games in Louisville next season

Raptors guard Norman Powell and former Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell

TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 01: Norman Powell #24 of the Toronto Raptors dribbles the ball as Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz defends during the first half of an NBA game at Scotiabank Arena on December 01, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Coronavirus has complicated international travel. Which is why the Toronto Raptors trained in Florida before the NBA bubble and the Toronto Blue Jays played home games in Buffalo this baseball season.

What will the Raptors do next season, when the NBA wants to play with fans in arenas?

Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports:

The Raptors face a similar dilemma, and league sources tell Yahoo Sports one alternate location that has been broached is Louisville, Kentucky.

Louisville has tried to get an NBA team before. This could be a nice audition.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Hornets (who later became the Pelicans) split time between New Orleans and Oklahoma City in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. That paved the way for Oklahoma City to get the Thunder (nee the Seattle SuperSonics) a couple years later.

Of course, expansion isn’t necessarily imminent. Neither is a franchise permanently relocating. Heck, there’s a long way before the Raptors play home games in Louisville. They’d obviously prefer to play in Toronto.

But among the many considerations for a complex next season, this one at least makes sense on paper.