Everything Masai Ujiri

[Rudy Bargnani]

Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri: “If I grew up in a shithole, I am proud of my shithole.” ESPN story on first African-born GM’s response to Trump: https://t.co/jauZCvjVo4

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 12, 2018

[octothorp]

A good idea in theory, but the tallest player in the league now is 7'3, so you may have a hard time finding 5 giants who can pass and move with anything resembling coordination

You don't find them. You make them. That's the future of pro-sports and the human species.

[Puffer]

Good listen. Good peek into the life of a GM, history of Masai, general thoughts on where the league is at and where its going. Not really going to gain much on what Masai wants to do with this Raptors team, basically he left everything open.

EDIT: One thing, just listening to him, it seems like he will bring a super star to Toronto someday.

It is easy to believe in Masai because he believes in himself and the Toronto Raptors. From day one he has been clear what the goal is. Championship. I believe he measures every decision he makes with "How is this going to get us closer to a championship?"

What was that movie about the genius who had strings all over the wall leading from images to newspaper clippings to quotations? Russell Crowe. I am certain Masai has a wall somewhere that looks just like that.

[S.R.]

https://www.thestar.com/sports/rapto...were-from.html

Masai is amazing. Proud to have this guy here.

[KeonClark]

You don't find them. You make them. That's the future of pro-sports and the human species.

Dr evil is that you?

[Mitch P]

This might sound ridiculous but I believe the Raptors have become one of the most admirable franchises in pro sports. They have a brilliant African GM, a class act African-American coach, a mixed bag of smart assistants, an impressive medical/training staff, a huge national and local fan base which fills the building every game and most of all a philosophy of player development and stability modelled after the great San Antonio Spurs. Masai and Greg Popovich are always worth listening to; whether about basketball or world affairs. Kudos to the Raptor's corporate owners for letting this all happen. Hopefully they can still turn a profit while allowing us to enjoy the quality.

[Puffer]

This might sound ridiculous but I believe the Raptors have become one of the most admirable franchises in pro sports. They have a brilliant African GM, a class act African-American coach, a mixed bag of smart assistants, an impressive medical/training staff, a huge national and local fan base which fills the building every game and most of all a philosophy of player development and stability modelled after the great San Antonio Spurs. Masai and Greg Popovich are always worth listening to; whether about basketball or world affairs. Kudos to the Raptor's corporate owners for letting this all happen. Hopefully they can still turn a profit while allowing us to enjoy the quality.

Good post. Don't worry about them turning a corporate profit. They will pay attention to that.

[The Great One]

He needs to be realistic going into the offseason. It's pretty obvious to me that this team is not winning anything with this core.

If tanking is not an option - then make a trade. Trade everyone for Kawhi or trade for a good young player who you think has potential to be a star. No one should be untouchable on this roster.

[Nilanka]

He needs to be realistic going into the offseason. It's pretty obvious to me that this team is not winning anything with this core.

If tanking is not an option - then make a trade. Trade everyone for Kawhi or trade for a good young player who you think has potential to be a star. No one should be untouchable on this roster.

I keep having to remind myself that from a purely business model, there is nothing that justifies changing a perennial 50 win team that can win a round or two.

The dream of chasing rings is for players and fans only.

[Since95]

I keep having to remind myself that from a purely business model, there is nothing that justifies changing a perennial 50 win team that can win a round or two.

The dream of chasing rings is for players and fans only.

Truth.

[Scraptor]

I keep having to remind myself that from a purely business model, there is nothing that justifies changing a perennial 50 win team that can win a round or two.

The dream of chasing rings is for players and fans only.

Depends on your time horizon. The Sixers ranked 29th, 30th, 28th in attendance during their tank, jumped to 18th when Embiid started playing last year, and hit 3rd this year. Their core is probably going to compete for 7-8 years.

On the other hand the Hawks were slightly below average in attendance (17th) during their 60 win season. Their best two players were Paul Millsap and Al Horford. Both walked for nothing.

As a result, average attendance dropped by about 15% over the last two years (to 30th) AND the team got no assets to help start over again faster.

If you could ensure that after our two year window the Raps would continue to be a 50-win team that can win a round or two, then the business case stands.

But if the 2 year window leads to a full rebuild anyway, I would argue that bringing that pain forward and acquiring assets is an investment in our success 3-5 years from now.

[S.R.]

I'd put money on tanking Toronto having better attendance than 60 win Atlanta.

[Nilanka]

Yeah, Hawks are a tough comparison. Worst fan base in the league. Not sure why that franchise hasn't been moved to Seattle yet.

[Just Is]

Yeah, Hawks are a tough comparison. Worst fan base in the league. Not sure why that franchise hasn't been moved to Seattle yet.

I've wondered this as well.

My only guess is history.

[LJ2]

I see that a lot of fans on this site have faith in the Sixers and Celtics competing in the immediate future. They have some great parts but neither team has been able to put it together consistently yet. Embiid could be injury plagued for his entire career, or Kyrie and Hayward may never fully recover from their injuries. There's a lot that goes into a stable roster which can continually compete year after year, so I wouldn't take things like their health for granted. I remember there were a lot of people talking about the Bucks as the team that would challenge Cav's and jump ahead of Toronto in the standings, but look at them now.