The Four Seasons: Analyzing Masai Ujiri’s Major Moves Since The Raptors’ NBA Championship
Toronto’s NBA Championship in 2019 was a run that raps fans Coast to Coast won’t soon forget A disruption from the routine finals dominance of LeBron and Golden State that year’s playoffs proved we the north could stand at top the NBA’s highest pedestal since his higher as GM in 2013 Messi ueri built a
Championship team by making intelligent Savvy moves and establishing a strong team culture earning him an impressive reputation as one of the League’s most respected Executives the risky seismic trade for Kawhi Leonard and swap of JV for Mar assol during the 2019 NBA season are deals that ultimately push the WPS
Over the hump to NBA Glory however the years following the Ws championship title have not been as illustrious after limited playoff success questions surrounding the current direction of the team and how Messiah yuiri will write the ship have slithered to the surface amid this uncertainty it is important to
Analyze and grade the moves that that have been made by Messiah since the chip in 2019 in this video I’ll grade Messi’s major moves over the past Four Seasons concluding with an overall grade of Messi’s work since the championship assessing whether he’s been the exact we
Know him to be or if he’s lost his managerial shine March 25th 2021 Norman Powell to the Trailblazers for Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr grade A minus after making few alterations to the Raptor championship roster of course baring the loss of kawhai the lack of success in the NBA bubble and
Stagnation during the 2020 2021 season prompted a change trading longtime Wing Norman Powell approaching the trade deadline the Raptor’s front office looked to cash in on his high trade value in the midst of a career season he was traded to Portland in exchange for shooting guard Gary Trent Jr a player
Who has improved while in the Raptor organization Trent’s ability to put up good production and flourish on the defensive side of the ball has since earned him a new contract extension so though the loss of a fan favorite is tough the wraps came out of this with a replacement for Norm who’s provided
Excellent defense been a good option from Beyond The Arc and still has Room to Grow August 6th 2021 Kyle Lowry to the heat for precious aoua and Goran drage Grade B though it would have been special to see the greatest Raptor of all time retire a raptor it was clear he wanted
To contend and the move to Miami seemed to make sense for both parties this sign in trade saw Lowry get a new deal with a competitive heat Squad in Toronto bringing a young forward and precious atua and a veteran guard in Goron drage now to say that goran’s introduction to
The team was unfavorable would be quite an understatement only appearing in five games he and his big bad contract were traded to San Antonio in a deal that will be discussed later in this video The big piece for the Ws in this deal is precious who has a ton of upside given
His athleticism good length and defensive versatility in the front court at only 24 years old A’s development on the offensive side of the ball particularly field goal efficiency and free throws think game three against Philly will be key in raising the grade of this trade so though the return for
The greatest player in franchise history wasn’t staggering this move definitely symbolized The Changing of the Guard and the absence of Kyle allowed for a transition of leadership most notably in Fred Van vet taking on the role of starting point guard the trade itself is
A b but it opened up the door for a new era in Raptor’s history and can still be improved if precious is able to take that next step February 10th 2022 Goron dragic and a 2022 first round pick to the Spurs for Drew Eubanks Thaddius young and a 2022
Second round pick grade C+ losing a first-rounder is always tough though the WPS managed to dump the expensive contract of Goron drage and added good depth in leadership in the recently extended Thaddius young this is still a curious move for the Raptors though young can be utilized as an asset come
The trade deadline his slightly expensive contract and limited death roll may not be worth giving up a first round Talent especially given the strong rookie season of Spurs Draft pick Malachi brandom of course it’s not a certainty that the Raptors would have drafted brandom and the rap second round
Selection Christian Koko still has plenty of room to grow in his own right the value CE for the slide and picks is questionable but to spin the trade positively getting rid of dragic’s contract needed to be done and Thad can continue to be a good presence in a
Locker room that had some question marks surrounding it after last season Scotty Barnes selected fourth overall grade A+ after an underwhelming and frustrating 2020 2021 season the RS got a bit of luck from the draft lottery and were awarded the fourth overall pick though the consensus number four pick
Was supposedly Gonzaga guard jayen Suggs the Raptors made a distinct left turn in taking Florida State standout Scotty Barnes with their selection this was understandably met with some backlash however Scotty’s impressive play infectious energy and Rookie of the Year honors were more than enough to sway any doubters Barnes has become an instant
Fan favorite and looks to be a player that this franchise can build around going forward Scotty selection speaks to Messi ability to continue to take managerial risks that end up falling in Toronto’s favor an area where the Raptors have seen limited success has been in free agency Acquisitions during the past Four
Seasons efforts to retool team death have primarily come through minor deals players like Patrick mcau Terence Davis Matt Thomas Justin champeny and Spa hilock were brought in to reshape the bench but with limited success Toronto’s attempts to fix their issues at Center through free agency such as signings
Like Alex Lyn and Aaron Baines were also fairly uninspiring however this past free agency period was a bit of a different story with the rap signing FEA World Cup MVP Dennis schruder as well as Jaylen McDaniels while these moves were made too recently to be graded it will be
Interesting to see how these larger Acquisitions can impact the Raptors this season particularly in regards to Dennis shuder and the question marks at point guard another move that’s too early to grade is SI final notable transaction since the championship trading Kim bur a 2023 second round draft pick a 2024
First round draft pick and a 2025 second round draft pick to the San Antonio Spurs for yaka purle the yak is indeed back having signed a 4-year $80 million extension since being reacquired by the Ws though this does fill Toronto’s need for a true big giving up a first rounder
In next year’s draft does raise a lot of questions about the direction of this team a lot of question marks surrounding this W’s team are based on the uncertainties surrounding expiring deals the contracts of Pascal cakam OG anobi and Gary Trent Jr will end during the 2024 free agency period however OG’s
Deal does have a player option for The Following season and he could opt in for another season in Toronto during the past Four Seasons Messiah has proved that he can be effective in extending players in June of 2022 he signed Chris buet to a 3-year 35 .25 million
Extension bue is a versatile offensive weapon and Shop blocker and both sides seem to want to get a deal done Chris will be a good depth piece going forward the other notable extension from Messi comes in the form of Gary Trent Jr who he signed to a 3-year $ 51.8 million
Deal following the 2021 season it was crucial that eugui was able to secure the asset he received from the Norman Powell trade especially considering his Improvement in Toronto’s system Trent has provided good value for his deal and established himself as an important part of part of this Raptor’s team with his
Extension however his contract expires at the end of this upcoming season what does his next deal look like and could it become a tradeable asset Messi’s ability to keep key players in the six will be tested big time this upcoming season until there’s more Security in the waps contract situation the
Direction of the team will undoubtedly be questioned at the end of season’s past it’s been clear that div Vision was for internal growth to fill the void of kawai’s loss and that players taking on bigger roles and more responsibility would lead to continued playoff success after a championship season MSI hoped
That the pieces he had already assembled would get that lucky roll of the dice take that next step and though the development of players like Pascal Freddy and OG had been positive inconsistency in Nick nurse’s system and a lack of success left many wondering what messiah’s next move should
Be now with a brand new head coach in Darko rakovich in an even more stacked Eastern Conference what are the Raptors aiming to do going forward will they ship out expiring deals like OG Pascal or Gary Trent at the deadline sakam has already been in trade rumors and the
Right Returns on bigname players could certainly Kickstart a rebuild though with the skill in the lineup Toronto will likely look to contend in a tight Eastern Conference which may pose the risk of losing high value players to free agency i l Fred Van vet they could alternatively look to retool and shape
The starting lineup to better match younger players like Scotty Barnes and Grady dick or msai could op to make a big splash to propel the wraps to the Next Level there are many Pathways the RS can travel down but it is clear that there are more question marks
Surrounding the team’s future than in season’s past overall I give Messiah ueri a B minus for his work over the past four seasons though Messiah has proved that he is still capable of winning trades and making risky but fruitful decisions the glaring uncertainties surrounding the current build of the team and the overall
Direction of the franchise have revealed themselves as a potential cause for concern this season will be vital for messiah and Fir establishing what team the Raptors are trying to be and all eyes will be on him to see how he’s able to get it done so do you agree with
These grades feel free to let me know your opinions on messiah’s most recent moves or your thoughts on this season in the comment section as always leave a like if you enjoyed the video and subscribe to this Channel or check out our website for more quality Raptors content with the NBA regular season
Underway there’ll be plenty more ball to talk about so we’ll see you there peace
Happy holidays folks! Today we ask Masai “what have you done for me lately?”; this video essay explores some of the major moves that Masai Ujiri has made since the Raptors became NBA champions in 2019. Notable trades, big draft picks, and free agency moves will be given letter grades, and the current state of the team will be analyzed and explored. Don’t forget to like, comment and share this video, and have a safe, festive holiday season.
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19 Comments
B- is incredibly generous. They're a sub-500 team who has to blow it up, but won't.
Are you watching this season?
GTJ isn't staying in
TORONTO next season ❤
You’re to generous to the front office with theses ratings and there’s a lot of things u fail to remember
1) Gary Trent has never been as good as Powell, costs the same, although he’s younger
2) The Kyle Lowry trade came after a refusal to deal him at the deadline, meaning we settled for less in a sign-and-trade. Precious is playing worse than a 37 year old Lowry right now
3) Second round picks are easy to come by, without giving up a first, Thad young was out of the rotation by least year, Dragic was an EXPIRING deal (getting off his contract didn’t matter)
4)You can 100% grade the poetl trade by looking at the context of how good the team was this year and last year. We shouldn’t have been buying, we were already on the timeline of a 22year old. Masai set back the franchise two years with that trade by refusing to focus on the draft last year and this year (no pick). The team is just as bad with Jak, it didn’t move the needle
5) U completely ignored the failure of the FVV situation
B – ? Are you for real?
SMH
D+ at the best…
Masai should be held fully accountable for a very poor roster construction!! No matter how good Scottie, Pascal or OG are individually are, they do not fit together!!! The team is badly in need of good gaurds to compliment Scottie. Masai has failed to build a good supporting act either!!
man, looking back at these moves masai made, none seem overly terrible until u get to jakob poeltl. My god is that looking like such a scam for the spurs
These grades are a joke. Gary hasn't improved since coming here and meanwhile Norm is one of the most efficient scoring wings in the NBA. We know the Yak trade was bad, it's not too early to give it a D -. We've been a lottery team making win now moves and yet still remaining a lottery team, but you think the FO has been good overall? Because that's what a B – grade suggests.
The demar trade broke masai. He’s too caught up in his feelings now to trade anyone
Norm for Gary Trent grade F
Dragic for Thad Young grade WTF
Poeltl grade OK (if they trade him)
Masai grade R (for arrivederci)
Bruh, that gtj deal is a c- at best.
We traded a guy who was a team player for a klutch athlete in gtj.
Klutch is always playing games. I'm not a fan of gary sr going to the media and pumping up his son's image.
Im also not fond of these burner account gtj fans.
B- ? This just isn’t objectively true, not even close. D grade would be generous.
In what world is trading a first for Thad a c+ ? Dragic was in an expiring anyways.
This new generation of RR journalists is an F. Speaking from someone who’s followed RR since ‘10.
What Masai lost is his ruthless mentality in making trades. He's used to be a risk taker and for whatever reason he is hesitant to do it to our current roster. Nevertheless, we have to take the good with the bad. No matter what happens, he will always be remembered as the greatest Raptors GM the Raptors ever had. The probability of the Raptors winning another championship in the next 25 years is close to nil, and that's a conservative estimate. Nothing to do with management or the current players, it's just the way it is with the majority of NBA teams. That said, I am forever grateful that Ujiri became our GM for our one shining moment. He's really the one who indelibly put the Raptors in the NBA map.
i stopped watching when you said "trents ability to put up good production and FLOURISH on the defensive end" lol.
Has this guy watched any of this season
Over-rated only good move was Scottie
Huh…Yo..is this u Bobby, still kissing Masai a@#, are u on crack. Are u serious guy, why even bother..Forget it.
Wow….who wrote these grades, Bobby Webster!? Terrible.
masai benefited from Colangelo's core, once he had to build his own team he failed