Everything Masai Ujiri

[Dr Hannibal Lecter]

I missed the part where Masai said "This year we are going for the championship."

U missed the part about him saying I want 2 win. Every time his on a podium, a microphone in front of his face, he says I want 2 win, I want winners. I remember him saying, yeah one championship is ok, I want another one. That's pretty clear, Siakim and Freddy ain't getting any younger..I'm pretty sure they want 2 be competive and win another chip..

[Puffer]

....I'm pretty sure they want 2 be competive and win another chip..

Agree 100%. But Masai wisely hasn't put a timeline on it. Nonetheless, I am sure he/they have a plan and a timeline in place. Enjoy the ride.

[Dr Hannibal Lecter]

This season is interesting bc what I said, this team is not in any way ready 2 compete for championship, unless u get lucky and trade Nameless 23 and Chuck T with other compensation, filler contracts, draft picks, 2 get that guy or you blow it up.

Another interesting take, stamped at 6:40..

https://youtu.be/C86pcjiBDag

[JawsGT]

This season is interesting bc what I said, this team is not in any way ready 2 compete for championship, unless u get lucky and trade Nameless 23 and Chuck T with other compensation, filler contracts, draft picks, 2 get that guy or you blow it up.

Another interesting take, stamped at 6:40..

https://youtu.be/C86pcjiBDag

Yeah but very few thought before the season began that we would be competing for a championship. I mean, did anyone, on here anyways think we have a championship caliber team? Even if we had not dealt with any injuries to date, we still wouldn't be a championship caliber team. Even if all the guys were playing to their capability we still wouldn't be a championship caliber squad. They, as a group, need time. And hey, maybe moves do need to be made but everyone knew coming in that this wasn't a "we can go all the way" year.

[Kagemusha]

Yeah but very few thought before the season began that we would be competing for a championship. I mean, did anyone, on here anyways think we have a championship caliber team? Even if we had not dealt with any injuries to date, we still wouldn't be a championship caliber team. Even if all the guys were playing to their capability we still wouldn't be a championship caliber squad. They, as a group, need time. And hey, maybe moves do need to be made but everyone knew coming in that this wasn't a "we can go all the way" year.

Exactly.
There's a few that believe otherwise especially when the Durant rumour came into the picture

[The Great One]

Not sure if anyone has seen this yet.

[golden]

Not sure if anyone has seen this yet.

The hard truth is that the top guys are playing for contracts, stats and individual accolades.

-Fred and Gary are playing for 30M+ contracts when they opt out.

-OG is playing for DPOY and more usage to get a max contract when he’s eligible.

-Pascal is playing for All-NBA, which nets him a super max.

Scottie should be more professional, for sure, but when your leaders are playing selfish ball, and especially your coach actively encourages them to get paid, it’s no wonder he’s depressed.

Scottie history shows that he is the ultimate team player and culture builder. But Raptors team culture has shifted this year… it’s a Bet on Yourself and Get Paid culture.

[JawsGT]

The hard truth is that the top guys are playing for contracts, stats and individual accolades.

-Fred and Gary are playing for 30M+ contracts when they opt out.

-OG is playing for DPOY and more usage to get a max contract when he’s eligible.

-Pascal is playing for All-NBA, which nets him a super max.

Scottie should be more professional, for sure, but when your leaders are playing selfish ball, and especially your coach actively encourages them to get paid, it’s no wonder he’s depressed.

Scottie history shows that he is the ultimate team player and culture builder. But Raptors team culture has shifted this year… it’s a Bet on Yourself and Get Paid culture.

I don't think pascal or OG are playing selfish ball, far from it actually. They've been our best players by far, and deserve the opportunities to expand their games this season. Pascal is a great playmaker and OG is a very willing passer. There's an argument to be made for Fred and Gary, Fred moreso I think. Gary is the same type he's always been. Fred hasn't changed much this season either, except he's hoisting ill advised shots more than normal, either to net the bag as you suspect, or to get himself out of his slump or whatever he's got going on. Personally, I wonder if Fred is feeling that his position on the team hierarchy is threatened ( which of course could affect his future salary), with the emergence of OG as a viable shot creator and, of course, the need to develop barnes' skillset which requires him to have the ball more. The offseason dreams of more off ball Fred aren't coming to fruition unfortunately, and maybe he doesn't like the possibility of becoming a 4th or 5th option or strict 3&D type. But we need to develop Barnes, so he's gonna have to deal with it.

I still think Barnes has to take control more. Be aggressive, demand the ball more if necessary, stop deferring if that's what's happening. It wasn't like this last season so it's curious what's going on. I never considered Fred the selfish type, but maybe with that fat contract looming he's forcing things too much to the detriment of the team. I don't see the argument for the other players though.

[LJ2]

Not sure if anyone has seen this yet.

Wish we had some insight into what those "hard truth's" were.

Scottie is definitely not playing with the same sort of energy and passion he did last year. Heck he seemed more engaged even during the Rico Hines runs. He's playing basketball like it's just a job to him now.

[The Great One]

Wish we had some insight into what those "hard truth's" were.

3 things that i've noticed:

1. He doesn't play as hard as he did last year.
2. His body language is awful when he's asking for the ball and doesn't get it.
3. His defense is suspect. Wagner who schooled him the other day is a good player but when you see scrubs beating him off the dribble easily? then that's concerning.

I'm glad that article came out though because a lot of people here were using injury as an excuse for his poor play.

[Limited Upside]

The hard truth is that the top guys are playing for contracts, stats and individual accolades.

-Fred and Gary are playing for 30M+ contracts when they opt out.

-OG is playing for DPOY and more usage to get a max contract when he’s eligible.

-Pascal is playing for All-NBA, which nets him a super max.

Scottie should be more professional, for sure, but when your leaders are playing selfish ball, and especially your coach actively encourages them to get paid, it’s no wonder he’s depressed.

Scottie history shows that he is the ultimate team player and culture builder. But Raptors team culture has shifted this year… it’s a Bet on Yourself and Get Paid culture.

Garbage take.

[LJ2]

3 things that i've noticed:

1. He doesn't play as hard as he did last year.
2. His body language is awful when he's asking for the ball and doesn't get it.
3. His defense is suspect. Wagner who schooled him the other day is a good player but when you see scrubs beating him off the dribble easily? then that's concerning.

I'm glad that article came out though because a lot of people here were using injury as an excuse for his poor play.

Hope it's just a sophomore slump or maybe just a kid raised in Florida getting use to the weather in Toronto or something LOL. Seems to be lacking energy which is probably why he's not playing as hard and has that bad body language.

[A.I]

Hope it's just a sophomore slump or maybe just a kid raised in Florida getting use to the weather in Toronto or something LOL. Seems to be lacking energy which is probably why he's not playing as hard and has that bad body language.

He's had a good stretch of games recently. 17 and 9, 17 and 14, 21 and 7 and 13 and 17 in his last 4 games before the Magic game.

He does seem to be the type that when things don't go well for him, he shows it on the court with lack of energy and effort. Hope he can change that.

[Kagemusha]

I still think Barnes has to take control more. Be aggressive, demand the ball more if necessary, stop deferring if that's what's happening. It wasn't like this last season so it's curious what's going on. I never considered Fred the selfish type, but maybe with that fat contract looming he's forcing things too much to the detriment of the team. I don't see the argument for the other players though.

It is a Van Vleet problem.
I suspect he's been the one reining in Scottie, saying that Scottie is his 'toughest challenge' yet.
You can easily see how Scottie hot potatoes the ball to him everytime.
How can he be aggressive in the situation that he is in now?
Last year he was grabbing a lot of rebounds and scoring coz his role is not confined to shooting 3s.

Nurse and Masai should fix this before it's too late.

[The Claw Reborn]

It is a Van Vleet problem.
I suspect he's been the one reining in Scottie, saying that Scottie is his 'toughest challenge' yet.
You can easily see how Scottie hot potatoes the ball to him everytime.
How can he be aggressive in the situation that he is in now?
Last year he was grabbing a lot of rebounds and scoring coz his role is not confined to shooting 3s.

Nurse and Masai should fix this before it's too late.

It is a choice.

I really believed that this competition to who gets the helm will pester. Masai has to make a choice. His ROY or his former All Star who is also the defacto so called leader and part of the Championship team.

Scottie and VanVleet cannot co-exist

Tough choice

p.s. VanVleet referred to Scottie as his project. That is some crazy ego driven talk.