Official masai ujiri press conference thread

[Apollo]

Did he say where in the draft? There are some interesting players in the 20's who would probably come cheap. This is the kind of draft where you're just as likely to hit something in the 20's as the teens.

[ceez]

I've said this before but I'll say it again, this draft is low on star talent, but it's got talent. I remember reading a thing on insider where they all agreed there's great players to be had, even in the late first round.

[mcHAPPY]

I want to see a bunch of rookies play next season beside Rudy leading them and JV still emerging as a legit future C.

Ujiri was on sportsnet and hes seriously talking about getting some draft picks. BCs legacy he can be proud of is picking up JV as the real deal he can be proud of that.

Video?

Source?

[mcHAPPY]

I've said this before but I'll say it again, this draft is low on star talent, but it's got talent. I remember reading a thing on insider where they all agreed there's great players to be had, even in the late first round.

Agreed.

The only people complaining about this draft are those picking at the top.

Next year might be the exact opposite from the looks of things now (a lot can change, of course).

[mcHAPPY]

Colangelo got lucky that year because no one expected JV to drop to #5(himself included). The Raptors were fortunate that JV had contract issues.

It made no sense for the Cavs to pass on JV. It's not like they were going for the playoffs anytime soon.

Totally.

He had a deal lined up with Detroit to move down and ended it last second because JV did not go to the Cavs.

[ceez]

Guys I'd love the raps to target/draft:
Mclemore
Mitchell
Kabobgo
Schroeder
Burks
That guy from north carolina

[mcHAPPY]

Video?

Source?

Think I found it:




2:50 is the answer.

[planetmars]

You know what would be awesome? If the Raptors actually made a draft day trade where they acquired a pick (or moved up the draft). Bryan was always quick to sell his picks, but he never bought one.

[Apollo]

Totally.

He had a deal lined up with Detroit to move down and ended it last second because JV did not go to the Cavs.

I remember that clearly, my jaw dropped when the Cavs passed. I had been so focused on Kemba Walker being the guy because I thought neither Kanter and JV weren't going to be there.

Walker wouldn't have been a bad pick; I knew he was going to do well, he had it all going for him except height.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

You know what would be awesome? If the Raptors actually made a draft day trade where they acquired a pick (or moved up the draft). Bryan was always quick to sell his picks, but he never bought one.

It always irked me when other teams would 'buy' late 1st or early 2nd round picks, to snag players who had dropped for various reasons. That's another nice thing about ownership with deep pockets; the willingness to spend the maximum allowed $3M cash every season, whether as an additional asset in a player trade or to 'buy' additional draft picks.

It also fits quite well with Ujiri's stated approach of stacking young players at all positions (mentioned during his introductory press conference). If you look at Denver's roster, all their 3rd string players are young players with decent upside, that aren't ready to be relied upon for heavy minutes (even heavy 2nd unit minutes) right away:

PG - Julyan Stone, 24, undrafted in 2011
SG - Evan Fournier, 20, #20 in 2012
SG/SF - Jordan Hamilton, 22, #26 in 2011
SF - Quincy Miller, 20, #38 in 2012
C - Timofey Mozgov, 26, undrafted in 2008

I can't even begin to express how much more I like that approach to long-term team building than BC's approach to 3rd stringers, which was mainly 'veterans' like Anderson, Pietrus and Telfair.

[ReubenJRD]

Did he say where in the draft? There are some interesting players in the 20's who would probably come cheap. This is the kind of draft where you're just as likely to hit something in the 20's as the teens.

Especially because Ujiri seems to draft well late, i.e. Fournier, Faried. Like I said in the past, Ujiri is a terrific scout, and has a great eye for talent.

[Apollo]

Bread & Butter

Yeah the back end of the draft would appear to be his bread and butter. That's a very important trait for a team aspiring to make the playoffs and compete for a championship each season.

[white men can't jump]

And he's not really said much about his strategy, but...

I do distinctly remember him mentioning at the presser that he thinks the end of the bench (or 3rd stringers? not sure the word he used) should always be young players. To me, and his comments about wanting to get into the draft, I think this means he at least wants to make sure they get one or two picks. Hopefully a low first rounder and any 2nd rounder, in my opinion. I doubt his willingness to target a high pick in such a weak draft. It would only make sense if the deal was actually a win for the other pieces involved as well.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

Yeah the back end of the draft would appear to be his bread and butter. That's a very important trait for a team aspiring to make the playoffs and compete for a championship each season.

Methodical team-building with the long-term view, by adding young players, building depth and continually improving the back-end of the roster (you're only as weak as your weakest link), is the exact opposite approach to BC.

BC's approach was more often than not to go for the homerun/all-or-nothing move (ie: O'Neal trade, Marion trade, Turkoglu signing), then use the band-aid approach to fill the roster.

I much prefer MU's approach!

[Puffer]

And he's not really said much about his strategy, but...

I do distinctly remember him mentioning at the presser that he thinks the end of the bench (or 3rd stringers? not sure the word he used) should always be young players. To me, and his comments about wanting to get into the draft, I think this means he at least wants to make sure they get one or two picks. ...

If you always have 2-3 young developing players, you are bound to regularly have useful trade bait if nothing else.

What is the ration of players who are drafted/players who stick 6-7 years in the league? If you get one rotation player for every three draft picks, it probably makes sense for a team to buy and extra pick every year...or is my math wrong. Three draft picks every year, then you can expect to have one keeper every year to develop inhouse or use in a trade. Or always have 2 guys developing in Europe, at any given time. With the kind of money that late first round/second round players make, a team is crazy not to go that route.