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Masai Ujiri said "We need a culture reset"

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  • #31
    CalgaryRapsFan wrote: View Post
    If MU's statements are more than just "BS" as he mentioned these pressers are, it's hard to understand how the core (Casey/Lowry/DeRozan) could be retained through a culture change.

    Especially if Lowry walks, then the timing and situation is perfect to dump Casey and trade DeRozan while his value is high.

    As has been argued on RR for years, DeRozan epitomizes the 'old' NBA - an ISO volume-scorer, who can't hit a three or defend. When you try to build around a fundamentally flawed player, how can you possibly expect to legitimately compete with the true contenders? Spoiler - you can't.
    I think we should make a distinction between building around DeMar and building with him.

    Should he be your number one franchise guy? No.

    Could he be a starter on a contender, a 2nd/3rd option? Sure.

    The problem is we never got a number one guy and now that we're capped out it's a very difficult obstacle to overcome (capwise and opportunity-wise). Not to mention that institutional inertia is very powerful and we're already seeing its effects with these hints of Casey returning.

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    • #32
      CalgaryRapsFan wrote: View Post
      If MU's statements are more than just "BS" as he mentioned these pressers are, it's hard to understand how the core (Casey/Lowry/DeRozan) could be retained through a culture change.

      Especially if Lowry walks, then the timing and situation is perfect to dump Casey and trade DeRozan while his value is high.

      As has been argued on RR for years, DeRozan epitomizes the 'old' NBA - an ISO volume-scorer, who can't hit a three or defend. When you try to build around a fundamentally flawed player, how can you possibly expect to legitimately compete with the true contenders? Spoiler - you can't.

      Could any/all of Casey, Lowry and DeRozan embrace a major shift? Sure. But that's not their character, and it goes against every instinct and fiber of their basketball being.

      It's just hard to imagine MU actually following through with any meaningful change, but a culture change can't be achieved by simply changing the secondary pieces, so only time will tell.
      I think Casey would be the one whom could embrace a new offence easiest. He may fail miserably at it because he hasn't shown to be a great tactician, but I don't think running iso's is ingrained in him. I just think that was the best suited option with DD and KL as your main guys.

      Only time will tell if this is all talk or major changes are coming

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      • #33
        I didn't see the game but San Antonio beat Houston in overtime, with Kawhi Leonard missing the 4th quarter and overtime.

        The Spurs clearly have the right culture that the Raptors are trying duplicate. Their role players buckled down and beat Houston in overtime in a playoff game and were confident that they could accomplish it without their star. Amazing.

        To me, this is what Masai means when he says culture reset. Are their role players head and shoulders better than the raptors? Maybe, but I don't think so. But they have a culture and style of play that leads to winning basketball.

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        • #34
          Rudy Bargnani wrote: View Post
          I didn't see the game but San Antonio beat Houston in overtime, with Kawhi Leonard missing the 4th quarter and overtime.

          The Spurs clearly have the right culture that the Raptors are trying duplicate. Their role players buckled down and beat Houston in overtime in a playoff game and were confident that they could accomplish it without their star. Amazing.

          To me, this is what Masai means when he says culture reset. Are their role players head and shoulders better than the raptors? Maybe, but I don't think so. But they have a culture and style of play that leads to winning basketball.
          If by role players you mean LMA, Manu, Mills, Simons and Green. Yes, they are better than OURS. I would take that group in heart beat over JV, 2PAT AND CARROLL
          @Chr1st1anL

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          • #35
            I love MU but it took you 3 playoffs to make his deduction?
            @sweatpantsjer

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            • #36
              Casey's "huh, that 3 point ball sure is something" quote filled me with so much rage. i'm not sure how he's still around.
              @sweatpantsjer

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              • #37
                Chr1s1anL wrote: View Post
                If by role players you mean LMA, Manu, Mills, Simons and Green. Yes, they are better than OURS. I would take that group in heart beat over JV, 2PAT AND CARROLL
                My point isn't just who's role players are better, but how they respond to missing their MVP with an injury. The Spurs culture just seems great.

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                • #38
                  slaw wrote: View Post
                  Culture usually is driven by vision, values, practices, people, narrative and place. In the Raps case, I got the sense that Ujiri was saying that the practices of the team are off the rails a little. Some of that is ordinary course stuff (every org constantly tweaks things) but there was definitely more to his comments. To Bendit's point, for example, Casey has always preached defence first but maybe Ibaka and Tucker were surprised to see that, in practice, that didn't apply to Lowry or Derozan. Stuff like that.

                  If that's what he thinks is wrong then he needs a new coach and maybe some new management blood, too.
                  There is so much talk about ball movement and hitting 3's but this overall point about defense cannot be emphasized enough. In fact, I'm surprised and disappointed that neither Masai, nor any of the astute reporters asked MU a pointed question about the defense.

                  If you look back at the roster moves that were made after the Wizards playoff debacle, the majority of them were made with a clear intention towards improving the defense. CoJo, Biyombo, Wright, Powell, Siakam, Ibaka, Tucker, etc... all pretty much defense first guys. A general manager goes out and gets players to fit the culture of the team the coach is trying to create. And Casey has always preached defense first, yet we didn't slow the Cavs down in the slightest. Tucker and Ibaka were especially disappointing on the defensive end.
                  Last edited by golden; Wed May 10, 2017, 10:55 AM.

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                  • #39
                    Yea, if masai brings back this core along with Casey, then all this talk about "culture change" will be pure bullshit. We've heard sweet nothings from Masai before as well. Most notably he said "we'll not be a mediocre team stuck in a treadmill" or something to that effect and that's EXACTLY where we're headed.
                    "Stay steamy"

                    - Kobe

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                    • #40
                      hotfuzz wrote: View Post
                      Yea, if masai brings back this core along with Casey, then all this talk about "culture change" will be pure bullshit. We've heard sweet nothings from Masai before as well. Most notably he said "we'll not be a mediocre team stuck in a treadmill" or something to that effect and that's EXACTLY where we're headed.
                      To be fair,

                      2013-2014 - Surprise run
                      2014-2015 - Let's see what these guys were capable of. However, horrible sweep in 1st round
                      2015-2016 - Bring in defensive minded guys, made it to ECF. Took Cleveland to Game 6. Optically speaking, how could he shake things up significantly if this was the teams first ever visit to the ECF?
                      2015-2016 - Cleveland added even more firepower. We couldn't contend and got embarrassed.

                      Now, Masai is upset and rightfully so. Perhaps now he'll push his agenda more, rather than what Casey wanted. As for what he'll do, obviously I have no idea.

                      I don't think he intends to have this team tread-milling.

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                      • #41
                        Rudy Bargnani wrote: View Post
                        I didn't see the game but San Antonio beat Houston in overtime, with Kawhi Leonard missing the 4th quarter and overtime.

                        The Spurs clearly have the right culture that the Raptors are trying duplicate. Their role players buckled down and beat Houston in overtime in a playoff game and were confident that they could accomplish it without their star. Amazing.

                        To me, this is what Masai means when he says culture reset. Are their role players head and shoulders better than the raptors? Maybe, but I don't think so. But they have a culture and style of play that leads to winning basketball.
                        Manu Ginobli, soon to be Hall of Famer had an out of body ballgame to win that game for the Spurs....on both sides of the ball! The closest I can come to making a comparison (and I am shy about this) of a supporting player on the Raptors is Norman Powell's performance in the 4th game (?) against the Bucks. We must also remember that both Manu & Parker are only really good for a few mins per game now (this was an exception) and take a much lower salary as well. This too is cultural.

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                        • #42
                          The other part we're not talking about is how do you think Serge and PJ feel hearing the GM say the franchise needs a culture reset?! While they may agree is that what you wanna hear from a franchise you're deciding on whether or not you want to give the last few good years of your career to?!

                          I don't think so.

                          We sound like a team that is lost in No Man's Land and not sure how to get out of it. For guys like Kyle, Serge n PJ, you're not trying to wait around in your 30s for a team to figure it out. You want one that has it figured out and now it's about going out n doing it.

                          I think we're in deeper waters than we realize.

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                          • #43
                            JamesNaismith wrote: View Post
                            The other part we're not talking about is how do you think Serge and PJ feel hearing the GM say the franchise needs a culture reset?! While they may agree is that what you wanna hear from a franchise you're deciding on whether or not you want to give the last few good years of your career to?!

                            I don't think so.

                            We sound like a team that is lost in No Man's Land and not sure how to get out of it. For guys like Kyle, Serge n PJ, you're not trying to wait around in your 30s for a team to figure it out. You want one that has it figured out and now it's about going out n doing it.

                            I think we're in deeper waters than we realize.
                            I suppose it depends on whether or not those players agree or disagree with MU's assessment. For all we know, the equal two-way accountability for all players is something they championed (remember the report about the closed-door video session), so they could actually be more likely to stick around if the status quo changes.

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                            • #44
                              JamesNaismith wrote: View Post
                              The other part we're not talking about is how do you think Serge and PJ feel hearing the GM say the franchise needs a culture reset?! While they may agree is that what you wanna hear from a franchise you're deciding on whether or not you want to give the last few good years of your career to?!

                              I don't think so.

                              We sound like a team that is lost in No Man's Land and not sure how to get out of it. For guys like Kyle, Serge n PJ, you're not trying to wait around in your 30s for a team to figure it out. You want one that has it figured out and now it's about going out n doing it.

                              I think we're in deeper waters than we realize.
                              If they came to the team and found they didn't like the culture (and judging by the various stories about the two of them holding players more accountable on defence than the coaching staff was, I'd expect that to be the case), I'd think any sign of change would be far better than any sign of complacency.
                              twitter.com/dhackett1565

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                              • #45
                                Partly my fault as the OP of the thread...not including the vid where Masai tries to articulate the "reset culture" theme and how he intends to address it.

                                I notice that a few posts may/do not reflect his comments so I link the vid of yesterday's interview and urge a relook from the beginning and specifically the "culture" comment @ 6:27 min. to about 7:30 min.

                                You might be a bit more forgiving on what Masai's believes his tasks will entail this summer ...unless of course you believe he is just blowing smoke.


                                http://www.nba.com/raptors/video/

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