Everything Masai Ujiri

[slaw]

Turner was a risk due to his injuries and Masai is really risk averse. Had Turner not been injured we probably make that deal.

It’s why Turner never got moved and the Pacers got him for cheap. No one else wanted him.

[Primer]

Teams probably thought Turner was worth the prospect and pick or 2 picks Pacers were looking for. Or maybe they weren’t comfortable paying him the $20m/yr salary. Also, Turner was injured at the time, which would’ve killed the market for contenders that season. A lot of reasons why there wasn’t a big market for Turner at that moment in time, but Raps should’ve been thinking longer term.

Turner was a risk due to his injuries and Masai is really risk averse. Had Turner not been injured we probably make that deal.

[golden]

What a missed opportunity.
Jonathan Isaac was another one. Maxey too!
This organization is just never proactive in their approach.

This organization was very proactive and risk takers before the chip. But success breeds complacency & hubris.

But they clearly fell into the trap of believing they had found the secret formula and cracked the code and just needed to keep doubling, tripling and quadrupling down on what worked before. Masai still believes he can replicate what happened before, and said as much in the season opening presser. That shows a lot of ego and hubris. It’s revealing.

[Kagemusha]

Teams probably thought Turner was worth the prospect and pick or 2 picks Pacers were looking for. Or maybe they weren’t comfortable paying him the $20m/yr salary. Also, Turner was injured at the time, which would’ve killed the market for contenders that season. A lot of reasons why there wasn’t a big market for Turner at that moment in time, but Raps should’ve been thinking longer term.

What a missed opportunity.
Jonathan Isaac was another one. Maxey too!
This organization is just never proactive in their approach.

[JawsGT]

Unless the point guard is a Maxey type player then yes. The problem with this core is that there is not enough skill and firepower with the main guys. Pascal is a terrific player but scoring for him is not natural or easy. OG is not a scorer. Barnes is more a jack of all trades guy. Raps need a natural, easy scorer and they don't have one. Moving Pascal for one would be ideal but if you had to move Pascal and OG then you do it. OG is great but you can get a poor man's OG easier than you can get dynamic skill and scoring. And that needs to be the priority - not just shooting. Get the scorer and orient the team around Barnes and him going forward.

This also makes sense to me too. Just doubtful Pascal can get you that top tier natural scorer unless you can find that breakout candidate that hasnt exploded yet. I too, would be also willing to move on from OG to get that type of player. But feels like a tough task with expirings.

[golden]

I know Masai bungled that one but how come none of those other teams got him?

Teams probably thought Turner was worth the prospect and pick or 2 picks Pacers were looking for. Or maybe they weren’t comfortable paying him the $20m/yr salary. Also, Turner was injured at the time, which would’ve killed the market for contenders that season. A lot of reasons why there wasn’t a big market for Turner at that moment in time, but Raps should’ve been thinking longer term.

[MixxAOR]

[Kagemusha]

Precious is shooting 26% from 3. That's not a good fit if you're building around Pascal & Scottie. Precious had very low BBIQ, so if you're trying to play .5 offense with smart, quick decisions, then Precious is the complete opposite of the player you need. And didn't we start Precious at center for a year & a half with people complaining about not having a real center?

Just a friendly reminder that we could've had Myles Turner for Precious + that precious FRP we coughed up for Thad Young.

I know Masai bungled that one but how come none of those other teams got him?

[planetmars]

No I don't think we should start Precious either:

[golden]

This is how I feel as well. At this point, I'd like to see Trent and Precious start and have schroder and poeltl off the bench. I'd start Precious cause last in line is the best place for him and he might turn into a plus player spending most of his time next to starters. And I don't want to break up Jak and Dennis cause they seem to be developing some chemistry and could probably feast on opposing benches.

Precious is shooting 26% from 3. That's not a good fit if you're building around Pascal & Scottie. Precious had very low BBIQ, so if you're trying to play .5 offense with smart, quick decisions, then Precious is the complete opposite of the player you need. And didn't we start Precious at center for a year & a half with people complaining about not having a real center?

Just a friendly reminder that we could've had Myles Turner for Precious + that precious FRP we coughed up for Thad Young.

Precious + Dragic + FRP could get it done for Myles Turner. Would ya?

[JawsGT]

While I previously talked about trading Pascal to unleash Scottie, I've kind of stepped back on that stance. If he gets traded this season, so be it, but don't mind re-signing him and trading him later.

I would like to see Pascal and Scottie with shooters around including a stretch 5. OG is perfect where he is, so the two to replace would be Schroder and Poeltl.

It feels like at the moment the team plays 2 different styles of ball. Schroder and Poeltl pick and roll and Scottie/Pascal doing their thing, attracting doubles and going from there.

This is how I feel as well. At this point, I'd like to see Trent and Precious start and have schroder and poeltl off the bench. I'd start Precious cause last in line is the best place for him and he might turn into a plus player spending most of his time next to starters. And I don't want to break up Jak and Dennis cause they seem to be developing some chemistry and could probably feast on opposing benches.

[The Claw Reborn]

We won’t be pounding a deadhorse days away or probably weeks away before Dec. 15 or the February 2024 trade deadline if Pascal Siakam is shooting around his career average from the 3 point line of 32%.

For this dude to shoot 19.8% outside of 22 feet is a sin.

the main and only reason why this team is 2 games below 500 and Darko with his coaching staff struggling to incorporate the offense that they wanted.

if your team’s No.1 offensive option/ high usage and high possession player is hurling 5 Hail Marys a night and he only makes 1 or sometimes post a zero….

you are royally fucked! Simple as that.

[golden]

Not sure there's that much homerism around Siakam. Pascal was a rebounder and transition bucket guy who turned himself into an all-NBA player and that should absolutely be lauded. He's also taken a lot of flack through the last few years.

OG is probably overvalued by the fanbase. Not that he isn't really good but a lot of what he brings can be replaced and, at the same time, they need a lot of stuff he can't do. If they had a proper NBA backcourt then OG-Barnes would be fine but they don't.

I think when it comes to the front office it simply boils down to the fact that they value big wings over all other player types. They probably felt like they'd done the hardest part getting Barnes-OG-Pascal and could just fill in around them. Obviously, that is not the case.

Insecure Raptors fans don’t believe in the concept of replaceability. Mainly because that would require watching other teams play and admitting that they have good players too.

[A.I]

I'm curious if Jaden Ivey could be available. He came off the bench a bunch this season. Who knows what the Pistons are doing. They kept Bogdanovic around who is 34 and reportedly turned down trades for him last season that included FRPs. They are also rumored to show some interest in Zach Lavine, which would push Ivey to the bench permanently.

[G____Deane]

Yes, I understand, you think that Masai, who has the 2nd most wins in the league during his tenure with the Raptors is not good at his job, because his team has only the 13th most wins since winning a championship, and because his job is actually easy and he should just have done who you and some random media people say he should have done, which is for sure 100% realistic and incorporates of all possible factors. I get it.

If this is your analysis, great, good luck to you. I know what to expect from you. Carry on.

I thought you said you'd stopped responding 3X already lol

You keep demonstrating how out of touch you are with the present situation even though multiple people have tried to enlighten you. Keep worshipping at the altar of mediocrity and be fine with it.

The discussion is Masai needs to be better now (as he demonstrably does) and you keep trying to turn it into has he been good over 10 years and could they find someone better.