The Toronto Raptors are scheduled to begin the 11-12 regular season on Wednesday, November 2 versus the Philadelphia 76ers.

Toronto's road debut is set for Friday, November 4 at Cleveland.

The longest road swing is four games which occurs on three occasions: December 10-14, January 22-27 and March 13-20. The longest home stand of the season is seven games March 21 – April 3, which equals the club record set from November 30 – December 14 in the 1999-2000 campaign.

The Heat will make just one appearance in Toronto, visiting the Air Canada Centre on Friday, December 2.

The majority of the team’s home games will fall on the weekend with 15 games on a Friday and seven on a Sunday, accounting for more than half of the 41 home dates.

The Raptors will have 17 back-to-back games this season (down one from last season and four from 2009-10), with a high of 10 being a road game followed by a road game.

Lithuania have launched their preparations for the EuroBasket in Druskininkai and the country’s hottest name is battling for a place in the squad.

Jonas Valanciunas, the MVP of the U19 FIBA World Championship in Latvia, is the youngest of the 20 players in the preliminary group.

Lithuania coach Kestutis Kemzura believes that despite the quick return to the court after the success in Riga, where Valanciunas led the country to the gold medal, the 2.10m center will be able to cope.

"Take into account the fact that he only had one week to recover after the World Cup," Kemzura said.

"Jonas Valanciunas has already reached a certain peak athletic form, played a lot of games.

"After this exercise at a young age, he is recovering quickly and is with the team but we're trying not to put too much on him."

Raptors fans have watched players such as Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby, Vince Carter, and Chris Bosh leave for greener pastures, leaving the franchise barren of stars. While DeMar DeRozan, Ed Davis, and Andrea Bargnani make up a young, talented core, the team desperately needs direction.

“The misnomer that you are in Canada and not in the States is totally misplaced,’’ new coach Dwane Casey. “Because it’s a great sports city. I can’t imagine if you turn the program around how exciting it would be. It’s a melting pot for anybody. But a lot of times players just come there in the dead of winter and don’t really get a taste of the city. That’s one thing that’s going to be our mission, is to try to change that image and go back to my recruiting days at Kentucky, and try to recruit.’’

Sources close to the situation confirmed that Philadelphia Sixers GM Ed Stefanski will interview for the same position in Toronto early next month.

Stefanski came to Philadelphia to be the president and GM in late 2007, but has worked just as the GM since Rod Thorn was brought in last summer. The duo had a similar arrangement in New Jersey earlier in the decade, when they built a team that went to two NBA Finals. 

His tenure with the Sixers has been more tumultuous, with the team finding Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner in the draft but also signing Elton Brand on the down-side of his career.

The Raptors are searching for a general manager to serve under president Bryan Colangelo and three candidates have emerged, according to sources.

Former New Orleans Hornets GM Jeff Bower, Philadelphia 76ers GM Ed Stefanski and San Antonio assistant GM Dennis Lindsey are on Toronto's list.

The Raptors have begun seeking permission to interview candidates, but formal interviews may not begun until August.

Raptors lottery pick Jonas Valanciunas carried Lithuania over Serbia 85-67 at the FIBA U19 World Championships in Latvia, scoring 36 points, adding eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

Valanciunas has now led his country to the gold medal at the European U16 and U18 tournaments and now, the world U19, earning tournament MVP each time, believed to be an unprecedented feat.

He led this event in scoring (23 per game), rebounding (13.9), blocks (3.2), double-doubles (seven in nine games for 7-2 Lithuania) and was second in field goal percentage to Canada’s Dyshawn Pierre.

The Lithuanian under-19 national team has been turning heads all week in the FIBA U-19 World Championships in Latvia. Led by Toronto Raptors draft pick Jonas Valanciunas, they made quick work of the Russian team that shocked the US a few days before.

At the end of the first half, Lithuania was up 53-26, getting 15 points and 9 rebounds from their star center.

When asked about how they would fare in the NCAA, Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, one of the leading draft-evaluation sites on the internet, said they would be the best team in the country.

Sonny Weems has joined Zalgiris Kaunas of Lithuania, signing a contract that will keep him in Europe all season rather than risk sitting out an entire year if the NBA lockout lasts.

Roger Montgomery, Weems's agent, said his client signed the deal Thursday without an NBA opt-out clause because he believes the league's uncertain labour situation makes it “in our best interest to unpack our bags and stay the entire year.”

Weems played last season for Toronto and was a restricted free agent. The Raptors extended a qualifying offer, meaning they would maintain the right to match any offer by another team if he returned to the NBA.

Sources say Sonny Weems, the NBA swingman who played the past two seasons in Toronto, is expected to sign a one-year deal to play with Lithuania’s BC Zalgiris in the coming days.

Sources say it’s expected Weems will be paid an after-tax net salary approaching 1 million euros, or about $1.4 million.

That’s a relatively rich deal for a player who earned a pre-tax salary of about $854,389 in Toronto this past season.