So... Knicks are targeting Masai to replace Phil...

[Nilanka]

- Masai's making $3 million a year with the Raptors right now.
- Phil Jackson was making $12 million, anything close to that is a huge raise for Masai
- While the Knicks are dysfunctional, Dolan (as we saw with Phil) tends to stay out of the president/GM's way so Masai would have a lot of autonomy and basically free reign to spend
- Raptors aren't really going anywhere. Similar spot to where Denver was when he left them mid-project.

That's a lot of reasons to leave.

The bold is yet to be determined. A Melo-less Nuggets team is much different than what we're looking at in Toronto.

[Nilanka]

Hahahaha Montreal sucks!! The only better (Canadian) city than Toronto is Vancouver.

Vancouver is amazing.

You probably wouldn't be saying this if you weren't a Leafs fan

[TrueTorontoFan]

The bold is yet to be determined. A Melo-less Nuggets team is much different than what we're looking at in Toronto.

I think we are in a much better position than that. I want to see what he can build up. I think overall this is a much better situation. I don't think Masai leaves. That said if he some how does... Please please please give us your draft pick lol....

[rocwell]

Totally disagree. Give me Montreal over Vancouver 10 times out of 10.

F Montreal. It's just a shitty version of Toronto. Full of angry and depressed people.

Like every city, it does have some good qualities.. Montreal's nightlife and green spaces are top notch and their women are dammnn hot! Nothing more. Overall, just a shitty place to live.

[lewro]

This is missing the point of the fact that big market, poorly run franchises do not have a track record of plucking under contract executives from healthy organizations in smaller markets (define big market/small market however you want). To the contrary, currently healthy organizations like Houston, GS, and SAS have had management in place for years while openings have come and gone in LA, NY, Chicago, etc. Guys don't flee these small market organizations just because New York is a big city. Smart executives know when they're in a good situation.

I don't think he will go while under contract. I also don't think Toronto is a small market - it's not.
I could see masai drawn to NYC after his contract. Perhaps wrongly, my perspective isn't entirely based on the basketball situation. Many professionals, in any field, are drawn to NYC as the apex of their career and incentivized by what some consider to be the center of the world.
Personally, I'm very interested in culture and Toronto is a bit of a cultural backwater, from a global perspective. Toronto is becoming increasingly modelled on faceless condos with franchise fast food, convenience stores and dry cleaners. It's a great place to work but fairly bland and sterile.
There are pockets of the city that are great and much of that is populated by the working class, whom import and try to retain their culture, as it is increasingly gentrified and displaced. Caribana is a great example.

[KeonClark]

So which canadian city takes the 4th spot? Seems they drop off a cliff after the big 3

[c-troop]

So which canadian city takes the 4th spot? Seems they drop off a cliff after the big 3

St. John's Newfoundland, Halifax or Calgary

[LJ2]

This is missing the point of the fact that big market, poorly run franchises do not have a track record of plucking under contract executives from healthy organizations in smaller markets (define big market/small market however you want). To the contrary, currently healthy organizations like Houston, GS, and SAS have had management in place for years while openings have come and gone in LA, NY, Chicago, etc. Guys don't flee these small market organizations just because New York is a big city. Smart executives know when they're in a good situation.

If players want to leave small markets for bigger ones, why wouldn't an executive? I'm not saying this is what Ujiri wants, but it's not unfathomable. New York is the mecca of basketball, and one of the most well known cities in the world, so working there would be just about the height of his profession. He would never get the same notoriety in Toronto as he would in New York. Again, that might not be what he is looking for, but he didn't make it all the way from whatever beginnings he had in Nigeria to top executive of the Toronto Raptors by lacking ambition.

[S.R.]

I don't think he will go while under contract. I also don't think Toronto is a small market - it's not.
I could see masai drawn to NYC after his contract. Perhaps wrongly, my perspective isn't entirely based on the basketball situation. Many professionals, in any field, are drawn to NYC as the apex of their career and incentivized by what some consider to be the center of the world.
Personally, I'm very interested in culture and Toronto is a bit of a cultural backwater, from a global perspective. Toronto is becoming increasingly modelled on faceless condos with franchise fast food, convenience stores and dry cleaners. It's a great place to work but fairly bland and sterile.
There are pockets of the city that are great and much of that is populated by the working class, whom import and try to retain their culture, as it is increasingly gentrified and displaced. Caribana is a great example.

If players want to leave small markets for bigger ones, why wouldn't an executive? I'm not saying this is what Ujiri wants, but it's not unfathomable. New York is the mecca of basketball, and one of the most well known cities in the world, so working there would be just about the height of his profession. He would never get the same notoriety in Toronto as he would in New York. Again, that might not be what he is looking for, but he didn't make it all the way from whatever beginnings he had in Nigeria to top executive of the Toronto Raptors by lacking ambition.

I don't totally disagree, just speculating over here, but I'm inclined to think the big market draw is overhyped in the NBA, for players and management. Players and management are drawn to healthy or winning situations. For a few years now the on-court and front-office situations in some of the NBA's biggest markets have been some of the worst in the league - NY, LA, Chicago - and not coincidentally those teams haven't drawn big name FA's during that time at all.

For sure there's a mix of motivations - career, money, on-court product, organization, and city, but city gets too much hype imho.

The Knicks have almost never been great, Chicago basically had the MJ teams and not much else, and LA's shine post-Magic has been limited to the Kobe era only. Those are the three biggest US markets, I don't think that track record warrants all the talent-drawing hype that comes up every time a player or executive is on the move.

Off topic but for players we are definitely past the bright lights era (if there ever really was one) and into the superfriends era.

I think it's the occasional Steve Francis/Vancouver situation that gives the impression this is a bigger issue than it is.

It would be great to see a rundown of the top 3 FA's every summer for the past 20 years and where they actually signed. I wonder how balanced/unbalanced the results would be based on market size.

If Masai gets a big money offer when his contract is up, does MLSE match anything to keep him? Does he even want to stay that long or does he look for a new challenge at some point?

[lewro]

Knicks should hire hinkie

[lewro]

It's cool SR, I'm not even thinking about bball in my comments.
There are outlier examples of guys like Monroe turning down Knicks to sign with bucks but I think that was a money decision and not bball/market.
George seems intent on LA bc that's his home and DeMar turned down his hometown to be loyal to his adopted home.
There are generalizations but also variation among specific cases too.

[Apollo]

St. John's Newfoundland, Halifax or Calgary

Calgary is one of the nicest cities I've ever seen. There is no drop off from Toronto to Calgary, it's just smaller, that's all.

[DanH]

Calgary is very nice. So is Ottawa - I'd put it in the running for 4th.

[golden]

Will he take D.C. with if he goes?

D.C., as in Dwane Casey?

[lewro]

http://www.tsn.ca/radio/audio/armstr...nicks-1.768157

I love jack Armstrong but seems like he's a lifelong Knicks fan.
The part about the league office coercion is intimidating a bit.