In 2004, when Vince Carter left the Toronto Raptors to join the then New Jersey Nets, a piece of hope died in Canada. A piece of every Canadian basketball fan was lost as they watched their golden boy, “Air Canada,” leave his throne to move onto the States. That moment was more than just a trade, it was the loss of one of the only pieces of hope that Canada seemed to have for basketball to be a mainstream success in this country.