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Cavs renting UCLA court forced Raptors to crummy student gym

Tom Szczerbowski / USA TODAY Sports

Long after knocking the Toronto Raptors out in the Eastern Conference finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers continued to impose their will on their conference rivals during the offseason.

Raptors wing Terrence Ross was working out with teammate Bruno Caboclo and some coaches this summer at UCLA for about a week, before they were told they couldn't use the practice gym anymore.

When Ross asked why, he was informed LeBron James and the Cavs rented out the entire gym for the week.

"I'm parking my car one day, I see this Maybach and a couple of other cars pull up, (and I thought) 'That's probably LeBron and them,'" the four-year pro recalled recently on the "Cabbie Presents" podcast.

"When I get done working out, I see him and Tristan (Thompson) and a couple other guys working out."

While the reigning NBA champs used the Bruins' facility, Ross and company were relegated to the run-down court used by more, er, casual hoopers.

"They get the practice gym, we went to like the students recreational side," he said. "We had to put the curtain down to keep the students from getting into our workout. And on top of that, the basket on the other side of the court was like tilted all the way. You can't even use it. The thing was falling off.

"I was like 'Man. How much money (James) got? I was like (grunt). It must be nice to be a world champion.'"

To add insult to injury, Ross was literally insulted by a random elderly man during his workout. The 25-year-old former dunk champion was finishing up a 3-point shooting drill when a "super old" man, who he said "might've been like 75," started talking smack to him.

Ross said he missed 2-3 straight shots when the senior chimed in, "Oh so when I walk in, you start missing? When you're ready, the big dogs are playing on the next court."

Clad in Raptors gear with his coaches, the former lottery pick declined the invite, joking on the podcast, "I don't want to dunk on this guy and kill him."

Ross averaged 9.9 points on 43 percent shooting from the field and 38.6 percent from long range, to go along with 2.5 rebounds off the bench in 2015-16.

He mentioned his coaches have been pushing him to handle the ball more, so expect to see more of that this upcoming season in Toronto.

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