Raptors' Williams on wanting to stay in Toronto: 'I already tried to get them to do an extension'

After suffering a torn ACL two years ago and struggling through a first season back from injury last year, Lou Williams is enjoying somewhat of a career renaissance in Toronto.

The Sixth Man of the Year candidate is averaging a career-high 15.2 points per game on a solid True Shooting Percentage of 56.4 off of the Raptors' top-ranked bench, and while the team is currently in the midst of a slump, they remain on track for the best season in franchise history.

That individual and team success, coupled with Toronto's passionate fan base, have the pending free agent openly hoping for a return next season.

"Absolutely. I already tried to get them to go do it - get an extension," Williams told ESPN's Mike Mazzeo about his desire to remain north of the border.

"At this point in my career, I want to play somewhere where the fans appreciate you, your team is serious about winning and create something special," Williams said. "And these guys are bulldogs. They love competing. We have that us against the world mentality where nobody respects us because we're in Canada. We have an identity, and I love it.

"It's perfect for my personality," the 10-year veteran added. "I've always been the underdog, I've always been overlooked. I've always been the guy where it was like 'we'll see what he does and then we'll check on Lou.' That's been my career."

Williams is in the final year of a contract that pays him $5.45 million this season. The 28-year-old was acquired from the Atlanta Hawks (along with Lucas Nogueira) in an offseason trade that sent John Salmons' non-guaranteed deal the other way.

Williams is one of 11 qualified guards who have posted a Player Efficiency Rating of at least 20.0 this season. The Raptors perform 8.3 points per 100 possessions better with the sixth man on the court, according to Basketball Reference.