Everything 2018 Off Season

[Barolt]

He's almost always the odd man out at dances. Poor guy.

A lot of fans seem to want Masai to just make a move.

I'd rather have him make the right move, personally. Sometimes that requires patience, even if that can be frustrating for all of us.

[Apollo]

Consider this scenario: if the Raptors wanted to, they could trade DD and KL for dead salary and 2nd round picks. Or, if they waited a year, they could trade both as expirings, and would get a prospect and 1st round pick. Which of these two trades is better for the team?

We don't know what is out there. I WANT the Raptors to trade DeMar for value, because I do think that value is there. But if Masai doesn't trade him, it doesn't mean he necessarily turned down that value. It could mean it wasn't there.

Doing stuff for the sake of doing stuff is a bad idea. Doing stuff, and taking risks, is really smart if there are risks and stuff that look good to you. Taking risks with no concern for what type of risk you are taking is dumb.

And none of that changes the fact that there is no ticking clock on Masai. He's going to get plenty more chances no matter which direction he takes the team this summer, next summer, and after this core set of contracts runs out.

I'm not suggesting he do things for the sake of doing things. I'm saying he has a reputation that is bigger than his game by my count right now and time is running out on this build. Like I said earlier, if he jumps ship in the next couple years we'll know what kind of GM he truly is. I hope he lives up to the reputation but I am not sold on that. It's good to be a skeptic.

[A.I]

Everything 2018 Off Season

Yes, he's good at finding cogs. He's not found a motor.

Because he hasn’t had a chance to. He almost traded Lowry to get the tank rolling before Dolan screwed it up, the Raptors started winning, so he stuck with the core and tried to build around them.

I’ve said it before, the next few seasons will be big for Masai, when Lowry, Derozan and Ibaka become free agents, while the team’s sense of direction is wavering. He isnt in the hot seat yet.

[JimiCliff]

Fact of the matter is most of the key pieces during his time here were brought in by Colangelo.

Key pieces that got Colangelo, himself, fired.

[Rudy Bargnani]

He's almost always the odd man out at dances. Poor guy.

Right but no one danced with anyone last night. There was no dancing (trades) taking place by any GM in the league.

Let’s revisit this after Lebron decides.

[Apollo]

Key pieces that got Colangelo, himself, fired.

Those guys never got Colangelo fired. It was all the stupid moves he pulled from Bargnani to mishandling Bosh to Hedo to Jermaine to Matrix(much love to the Matrix) and on and on and on. Bryan Colangelo had nine lives and I wonder if it had anything to do with Jerry's actions after he got axed in Philly...

[The Claw Reborn]

One thing I see a lot is people complaining about the Lowry/Ibaka contracts last summer. That wasn't the moment we locked in on this core. The DeRozan extension mandated those contracts, because it meant we were committed to building a core to win around him, and we couldn't replace Lowry and Ibaka within that core.

Well said. His re-signing of Derozan and Casey mandated the contracts of both Lowry and Ibaka. He built this team around Derozan. (Derozan-Casey-Lowry-Ibaka). I thought he tried to offload the contract of JV last summer but no takers. All his periphery moves (ie Tucker, Miles) after Derozan were all to hide Derozan’s flaws and at the same time masking the overpayment of a one dimensional player.

He tried to sell the culture change last summer after a Cavs 2nd round embarrassment. Then Casey was the collateral damage after another 2nd round humiliation.

Ujiri IMO is an executive who is reactionary. Being in a bind with no draft picks and no cap space with close to lux penalty speaks loudly of his poor long term planning. Though I would still take him as the top decision maker of my franchise.

[JimiCliff]

Those guys never got Colangelo fired. It was all the stupid moves he pulled from Bargnani to mishandling Bosh to Hedo to Jermaine to Matrix(much love to the Matrix) and on and on and on. Bryan Colangelo had nine lives and I wonder if it had anything to do with Jerry's actions after he got axed in Philly...

Of course they got him fired. That team was a disaster.

[Barolt]

Well said. His re-signing of Derozan and Casey mandated the contracts of both Lowry and Ibaka. He built this team around Derozan. (Derozan-Casey-Lowry-Ibaka). I thought he tried to offload the contract of JV last summer but no takers. All his periphery moves (ie Tucker, Miles) after Derozan were all to hide Derozan’s flaws and at the same time masking the overpayment of a one dimensional player.

He tried to sell the culture change last summer after a Cavs 2nd round embarrassment. Then Casey was the collateral damage after another 2nd round humiliation.

Ujiri IMO is an executive who is reactionary. Being in a bind with no draft picks and no cap space with close to lux penalty speaks loudly of his poor long term planning. Though I would still take him as the top decision maker of my franchise.

My gut feeling is that ownership was reluctant, after the team started winning, to blow it up. That it was an option for Masai, but one that would increase the heat on his seat a lot, so he made the choice to delay it, and try to keep winning. At the same time, he's built up the organization's development program, built a strong reputation as a good team, and drafted some talented young guys. He's done all of that with relatively little in terms of assets to play with, except the ones that he's brought in.

I think we underestimate the degree of difficulty on doing that.

[Apollo]

Of course they got him fired. That team was a disaster.

Masai would have never left Denver if Toronto was a lame duck. He was a hero in Denver for how he handled Melo. Toronto had promise, it just needed a more competent manager with a new leash.

[JimiCliff]

Masai would have never left Denver is Toronto was a lame duck. It had promise, it just need a more competent manager with a new leash.

My goodness, the revisionist history going on!

[A.I]

Masai would have never left Denver if Toronto was a lame duck. He was a hero in Denver for how he handled Melo. Toronto had promise, it just needed a more competent manager with a new leash.

It was a big disaster, one that was fixable, and Masai did for the most part. BC’s team had Rudy Gay and Bargnani, the main 2 who made it a disaster.

[Apollo]

It was a big disaster, one that was fixable, and Masai did for the most part. BC’s team had Rudy Gay and Bargnani, the main 2 who made it a disaster.

He bailed out a couple bad contracts(well done), filled in some good role players(well done) and this is the product. Pretty good but the expiration date looms not too far away. He had to make those moves and they were good moves. Before that he had to move Melo and that was an excellent move. He is too passive though. That's my whole point. I'm not saying he's bad, I'm saying he's the Vince Carter of GM's. That's how I view it.

[Apollo]

I'm also saying that if he leaves in the next couple years that seals it in terms of what he is as a GM.

[A.I]

He bailed out a couple bad contracts(well done), filled in some good role players(well done) and this is the product. Pretty good but the expiration date looms not too far away. He had to make those moves and they were good moves. Before that he had to move Melo and that was an excellent move. He is too passive though. That's my whole point. I'm not saying he's bad, I'm saying he's the Vince Carter of GM's. That's how I view it.

Fair enough, but as I said, the next few years will determine what kind of GM he is. The team’s direction is uncertain and our core players’ contracts will expire. Thats why I’m holding my judgement until then.