An Emotional Masai Ujiri Addresses The Raptors Future After Trading Away Anunoby, Siakam

An Emotional Masai Ujiri Addresses The Raptors Future After Trading Away Anunoby, Siakam

Um thanks everybody for coming out um it’s a tough couple weeks for us uh here um with uh the trades we’ve made uh losing um uh the players Pascal sakam o noi uh precious auua and Malachi Flynn um obviously we know what these players meant uh to our program uh incredible incredible ible

Human beings um incredible character um incredible players and what they brought to our franchise um Championship players um obviously you guys um you know my relationships with with with these guys and how hard um this is and I know how hard it is how hard it’s been for them

Too um yesterday with Pascal um incredibly difficult but um we’re we’re we’re also excited about the new direction of the of the team so um with that I I just wanted to say thank you to them and everything they bring they’ve brought uh to this program

Um I want to say there’s nobody that knows them better than I do and as close as as close to them as um I am um in every single detail I know what those guys brought every day how professional they were um yeah it’s it’s uh there things happen

But that that one is close to me I I’ll say this I hate I hate to go on like this low rent but on what I think of the world globally you know and what these guys represent and um where I come from where they come from yeah it means it’s me it

Meant a lot to me and trust me I’ve analyzed we’ve analyzed this in every single way um more than you can think uh to to come to this decision and um but I wish them all the best and I know they’re going to do big big things where where they

Are why did you think it was necessary to change direction like this in the last three weeks um uh obviously um I I think the uncertainty of free agency is is is a big factor um I think we also looked at um the trend of the team um we’ve tried

To give it as much as much time as we can um and I know there are a lot of questions after um last season why didn’t we do something at the trade deadline you know but um we look at the fits of the team um we looked at um the emergence

Of Scotty and um we’ve also looked at the age and uh coming down a little bit younger and and growing so dog honestly a lot of a lot of factors you know like um whether it’s now or thinking about the um the strategy of future you know like

So lot lots of factors in hindsight uh with what you just referred to do you wish you had acted sooner and moved on from OG or Pascal sooner uh no I don’t honestly um when I look at if you give an example I hate to go back here but if

You give an example to have a 48 win team in in in 13 um we tried to give that a chance next year and we came back um um and had 49 wins we didn’t have a honestly like a great year but had 49

Wins so when I look at this you know um the caliber of players and I look at um the year before I got better um I think um um I think that team in my opinion deserved us to give them um more than half a season a chance and that led to

Um us me thinking or us thinking that um one of the pieces Miss Missing at the time was um a big Center you know like and we thought it was good value to get um a starting center for uh for a pick and um we still we still

Think that so to your question um Eric the uh at the time our full-blown thought was to give this team a chance that team a chance uh to play and to win and I don’t I don’t know that you make a decision you know like half a season in

You know uh based on you know like our struggles or some of the things that we were not doing so well I I think that’s a short time in in our business you’ve talked a lot about wanting to remain competitive in the present while also developing for the future and balancing

Those things that seemed to be the motivation obviously with the OG deal and with the the plle deal that you talked about this trade sends a bit of a different message was was it simply that you felt this was the best offer that was going to be available or or do you

Believe that this can help you do that and continue to compete in the short term well when you look at both trades you know like I think we accomplished a couple things you know like that we’re trying to do um if you put them together um young players picks and flexibility

Uh of our of our team going into the future um and that’s how strategically we have to look at this um uh to your point I think um the marketplace is also determined yeah I you guys are a big contributor to where the NBA is going and um and how uh

Things are advertised or things are reported U but I I hate to tell you guys it’s not all reality yeah that’s that’s real yeah so um my point is some of the trades and things you hear you know like on Twitter or on social media I I’m not

Getting those calls yeah so the marketplace varies and changes you know like at different times that’s just the nature of the MBA and the nature of our jobs and um this is what was there uh for us and we measured it with what was

There for us uh in the past and it was consistent and we decided to move on it given the that you’re saying weren’t there on the table the media thought there was or whatever the case is was there then like how much thought was then given to potentially retaining

Pascal and making a decision later or was that off the table for you at this point yeah some thought was given to it let me make this clear to like all of you everybody I I see you know my guys tell me you know like with this whole

Like Pascal thing you know like there’s no Pascal success is My Success there’s none of you that knew Pascal or know Pascal more than me yeah let’s be real yeah so his success is My Success if that guy moves I move yeah so if I’m being even if I’m being selfish you know

Like I I there’s um for me there’s something there you you understand what I’m saying so I don’t um I’ve gone into every detail every single detail my team has gone into every single detail on how we measure him stain or for us doing this deal yeah

And fit comes into it and when we think of fit we think strategically we think on the court with Scotty Barnes who has emerged to be the player we’re going to like build around and also we have to think about um financials yeah we have

To think that too so you can imagine or you can say we will trade uh we will sign and do something later you know like but you never know how this Market changes that’s just the nature of the NBA just following up on that the talk strategy the future and the financials

How much is the new CBA restrictions play into things and change things in terms of Max contract super max all that having two Max three max guys whatever how much does that changed everything we say it does play into it and you’ll see as it comes we’ll see it yeah it does

Play into it and for us having flexibility I think um maybe uh speaks l and know like for us in terms of what could become available in the future we have to like think that way as we as we move forward you guys have had not a lot of draft picks over

The past few years in trying to add to this team over time and adding to the championship with this trade especially bring in three first round picks do you see it as an opportunity for the front office to kind of make a big stamp in that way on the franchise again I think

It does but but it also we have to look at it as honestly as flexibility yeah you can consolidate these picks you know like you don’t have to pick them you know like you can trade them uh you there are many things that you can do and that’s our thinking yeah with with

With those those picks it’s not uh necessarily that we are going to go into this draft and we have a lot of picks and we’re going to approach it that way um there are many ways to think about this you never know what comes up I think historically every year is always

Some kind of player uh in the last three four five years maybe even two players that just become available from um other team situations and we don’t know if that becomes a fit you know for us um but um we’re excited we’re excited about the young players we have we’re excited

About uh Scotty BNS and his emergence we’re excited about quickly and his style of play and how young he is and um the potential of growth we’re excited about bringing our J parro home and um his potential and what he could do uh as a as as a player I think there’s room

For growth uh for these guys um we’re excited for Grady you know like it’s going to take time and to be honest what does a rebuild take or a normal rebuild I’m not call I don’t know if to call this a rebuild or reset or um however we

Want to put it but a normal rebuild with other teams takes six five six years yeah do we have the patience for that you know like do we have the patience for three to five years you know like a building of a team some way somehow

We’re going to have to have patience and one of the things that I’ll tell you 100% I’m not going to you know BS anybody on is I am patient yeah I was maybe to a fault I was patient with that team uh last year because I believed in

Them I believed in those players I believed in what they brought but now we have to look to the Future yeah I think there’s many exciting things coming with this team we’ve seen it I think um the style of play that Darko has I think is very sustainable uh going into the

Future I think we’ll get better I think our guys will grow I think we’ll continue to add players and we’ll continue to see ways where this team can get better and I think it’s going to take patience and we have to see this guys grow and that’s one thing that I

Think we don’t have as much now in this day and age in the NBA you mentioned Scotty and the trades clear the way for him to officially be the the base of the franchise and obviously he’s taken a big step forward this year but he’s still 22

And that’s pretty young in terms of guys who take the Reigns of a franchise what makes you confident that he’s ready for that responsibility and everything that comes with it I I don’t know if he’s ready for that responsibility but we have to put him in position that’s our

Jobs yeah we have to put him in position to at least grow and start to um see dividends of the work he’s putting in yeah to become that kind of player and I think we’ve seen it yeah whether if he’s getting better rebounding whether he’s getting better um as a fourth quarter

Player whether he’s getting better passing the ball uh whether he’s getting better with his three-point shooting I think we’ve seen that the hardest thing to do in this NBA is to find those kind of players yeah that’s the hardest thing is to find that exact type of player

Yeah has that basketball IQ um that has that size uh that develops his shooting um has the Charisma has the character yeah to become that player and then the guys the other guys too that have upside quickly has incredible upside uh whether it’s um he’s shoo shooting that spaces

The floor for us uh his quickness um he’ll get better and better this team has only played how many limited games uh together or RJ bar Barrett we’re trying to teach him to play in a different way and I think he’s going to get better at it we already see it um

His shooting will get better and we continue to grow from there and add I think those pieces that are necessary for this team to continue to grow but I tell this to all of you guys and to our fan base it’s going to take patience yeah we’re going to we’re going to grow

Gradually and and and try to build this team like the right way the preferred style of play that you mentioned and also Bruce Brown skill set do you think he can be part of that future Beyond just a short-term thing well if you think of a guy you know like that has

Been on a championship team uh as one of the toughest players in the NBA um uh there’s something he he brings to us he’s Dynamic he’s 64 65 but plays every position there is in the NBA um for us it was uh he’s a key uh contributor to

This uh in what he brings uh to our team when you made the move for yob at the time you had you know an All-Star point guard you had an all NBA cward you had an all NBA Defender you had you know Scotty who you know clearly on his path

To something special and one of the reasons you were willing to make the trade with the was to because this draft 2024 was you know deemed to be quite weak and so you know when you look at where you are now where a lot of those pieces we talked about aren’t here and

Youve now potentially got four picks in this draft I mean was there would you have predicted that that’s the situation you’re in and would you have kind of wondered if there’s maybe a miscalculation along the way in terms of some of the judgment said uh yeah I I can see it where you

See it that way uh grains but um when you trade um a first round pick uh for starting center in the MBA in our business it’s like uh for us it’s it’s good for now and for the future whether it’s a fit on our team or um

It’s something else in the future yeah when you trade the first round pick for a starter um I yeah I don’t know how many times that’s yeah that’s been done or where it’s it’s it’s always available and that’s the way we look at it when I

Go back and look at what we did uh with our team at that time um met with the coaches met with the players and collectively and our front office we decided that to give that team a chance um allar playing Fred Benet you mentioned um all NBA Pascal sakam all

Defensive oana noi um Rookie of the Year Scotty Barnes they deserved and they wanted a rim protector yeah and maybe it was me being selfish and maybe it was a mistake on on my part uh but we went 15 and after that you know like and so um

I’m not going to sit here like and cry over spilled milk or give you guys any excuses if it was a mistake it was a mistake you know like but going forward for me um that’s good value for us you know like whether it’s now or sustainable in the future guys you mentioned

That you didn’t feel a full a half season excuse me was enough to evaluate that group when that season came to an end you obviously had a full season to evaluate that team over the summer like what were you guys you mentioned potentially making changes not just to the coaching staff but to

The roster as well you didn’t you didn’t make a ton of those were you thinking about those things and I guess why didn’t you make bigger changes or some of these changes during the summer yeah you I think um we we definitely like looked at the draft um we definitely

Looked at this um the summer and honestly our business you know is is what’s available and what the Market is you know like at the time and um what was available was not um what we wanted to do with with where or where we wanted to go with our team and that’s where

Sometimes you have to be patient and sometimes being patient is being risky just taking risks I know with with with what you do but when I measure what we have now and uh what was available then um it pretty much um balances out yeah so even at the draft you know like teams

Make decisions that um well we’re not going to go that direction or we’re going to decide to rebuild I know Portland was one of the teams that was mentioned a lot you know like in in this whole process but they decided to go in the other um Direction rather than um

Get better I don’t control that uh I I wait for this and I’m aggressive on this you know like but if it’s not on this I don’t know I don’t know what to do you know that’s go ahead you talk about um being patient and I can tell it’s a

Long-term strategy uh but just more so in the like immediacy like of this team right now what are your expectations what is the immediate next step with this group uh play and keep growing and keep learning I I think um learn a system um learn the MBA and learn what

It takes to grow in this MBA uh operate within space and when I say space I mean uh what the boundaries are to grow you know like and what the limits are and what the opportunities are U for this guys to grow and I think um the system

That dco has put into place you know like where we think uh sharing we’re going to try and add more shooting uh to this team and um we we’ll continue to um give these guys the opportunity to grow and expand their games even more a bunch of pieces now of varying age salary

Skill um can you see more trades in the next three weeks definitely that’s you you look at this and that’s why we have created uh flexibility um and um next three weeks is the all these windows whether it’s now whether it’s the draft uh whether it’s free agency that’s why we’ve created

Flexibility uh to make this team grow and uh continue to be bigger and and better and exciting for our fans because um I I think there’s there’s upside here Contra 100% yeah 100% why not I there are ways to consolidate there are ways to attach to contracts um there are

Ways to um think really big if if things happen where you have to pile on picks uh to put um in potential deals um we just wanted to create that room where we have that flexibility to grow and grow around these guys and build around these players you’ve said dating back many

Years that Canada has a lot of unta potential um and and I know you increased The Scouting efforts here since you’ve taken over so with that in mind what does it mean to you to have RJ on the team now I mean it means a lot

You know for us um that’s intentional um for us it’s 100% intentional yeah we wanted RJ Barrett uh we wanted quickly in that in that deal it meant um it meant a lot for us to bring him home and uh start to build on this you know and um we haven’t um

Really built on that like the last uh few years as these Canadian players have continued to you know rise in the NBA and this was an opportunity uh for us um learned any lessons about yourself in the past few years about you know your own leadership style and man yes a lot

Honestly I learn I learn every day um that’s um that’s just the kind of person I am that’s um that’s what this business is if you don’t innovate if if you don’t um I try to get better um if you don’t look at the things that you don’t do well or you

Don’t do so well um I have no ego in this game uh for me this is an incredible opportunity um to be at this job um so yeah it’s every day it’s it’s it’s learning I’m learning um how to dance afro beats you know like yeah like I

Have an afro beats dance class every twice a week you know um I’m clumsy dancing so I need to learn how to dance H started doing the more Thai boxing you know like there there’s so many things that you know like but even you think I’m thinking you know like I know your

Questions are towards like the business you know like but honestly every day we’re challenging our minds um because um this business has become so Swift so instinctive uh now so uh dayto day um you you don’t know what’s coming yeah you never know what’s coming thought you would have known the of

Pass you du is that one you know um I didn’t want to open with that because I didn’t want to get emotional Jonathan gone introduced me to Dei um many years ago in Serbia and this is when uh he was coaching at Mega and uh um and a lot of

My time was spent um in in Serbia on obviously learning how to Scout and I met um they on there and um yeah for this to happen uh just like this in the manner that it happened I I can’t even imagine for his family or their organization you know like but somebody

I knew somebody that I just saw yeah a couple days ago in in in Golden St when we play them yeah so yeah this one is hard because I know the NBA is is just one big family man and you know my time scouting and going back there and

Spending time and dinners and all those things information you’re trying to gather about players and um him wanting to be a coach I will tell you guys this yeah it’s not the man because the man is gone but out of the 15 coaches that we interviewed

About 11 of them mentioned his name and the potential to bring them on his staff 11 of them I just counted with Bobby 11 you know what does that tell you about the man incredible um jamama was besides himself yesterday and so was Darko you

Know like for this to happen like at a team dinner yeah think about like how that what that means yeah for us and that’s yeah that’s the reality of this MBA you know like we can do what we want trade all we want to say all the things

That we want you know yeah the things that I see precious to me and I see is the family of the NBA yeah the camaraderie of the NBA how we are together in this NBA that’s why this is hard that’s why trading Pascal or precious yeah is hard in in in in this

League and um yeah I don’t know what else to say about him he’s good man that untimely passing I mean there’s no good way to segue so I apologize um there’s been a lot out there between the your relationship and and the team’s relationship with Pascal since he was

Extension eligible uh I’m not going to ask for like a tick to of exactly how everybody felt at every moment but do you feel that the lines of communication were good and you leave the relationship for now in a fairly good place yes it’s a good question Eric you know um I think

The lines of communication uh in the summer were not that great you know like just because yeah sometimes I don’t have answers you know like and sometimes the answer that I’ve given you you know like is is the same answer that I’m going to give you you know like the next time I

Speak to you but based on my relationship you know like Pascal deserved that I even gave him you know like the over communication you know like which I didn’t and I apologize to him you know for it I apologized to him before the season uh started and um

And I apologize to him again you know um recently so um yeah that part I’m not I’m not particularly proud of you know like but there are so many things in our business that yeah bring about this type of um yeah this this type of communication or

Non-communication and um I go back again to say there’s there’s nobody in this world I don’t know you know like outside his close family his mom his um his brothers and uh yeah that guy is he’s right here s when you you think about Pascal

In 10 20 years from now what are you going to think about is there a moment that stands out to you when you think about him yeah two moments two African guys that won a championship share that with him and and I think of his dad and um Pascal at basketball Without

Borders a lot of people don’t know that um pascar came to basketball Without Borders in South Africa um here had been admitted into pastoral School in Cameroon and he only came to basketball Without Borders to see his sister who lived in South Africa and he was going to go back and

Go back to P pastoral school and all NBA all Allstar all everything championship and it’s not stereotype championship of African waving the flag on the bench scoring contributing yeah doing everything you know that you can think of that’s again I say to you guys that that guy’s success is My Success no

Matter where he is yeah I um you know you You’ your career has been pretty exceptional like going back to Denver like just remarkable run of really good teams that generally made better but one thing that really hasn’t happened as with you know as a GM is is

Kind of rebuilding like taking a team that’s whatever we are 10 12 games under 500 and kind of having a trying to ramp that up and I’m just wondering what are some of your thoughts on that challenge and um where do you think you’re going to have to sort of

Dig in in different ways than you have in the past yeah I have to dig in uh gr I have to dig in it’s not uh it’s the it’s the challenge of this business and I I I just a challenge of learning there a challenge of innovating um yeah

There’s nothing that honestly like when I look at this business and the things we have to do to stay on top of it to stay relevant um to win yeah because I think the game is about winning yeah we want to win in Toronto it’s the first thing I

Said when I came here and I’m going to say it again want to win in Toronto and we’re going to win in Toronto I can guarantee it yeah because we will do everything in our power yeah in my power I’ll do everything yeah to learn uh about what you are saying and

That’s um learning to build this team around youth all that’s that’s the challenge now and I accept it and we’re going to take it and and go with it you know building this team around Scotty is sort of the Forefront of that conversation I guess just more generally

Looking back at the past generation these these two trades have the end of an era in some ways what are some lessons you think you can learn from a building perspective when it comes to BR you know Scotty had a level year last year you know like um I I wish I could

Have predicted this um this jump um maybe uh maybe better um I’ve always believed in him you guys know I believed in him in the draft we believed in him uh as a team and uh this this jump has been has been good uh learning experience for me uh because

Um I feel there are many things that you know like maybe you can put around around him um but some of those things are sometimes difficult to project you know like in our business and we try our best to project them the best way we can M

Just a moment back to the scale you know talking about family you talk about the accolades he’s had on the court but you know you pretty much watched him grow into the human that he is today talking to fans and like especially young fans are just so sad to see him go because

He’s had such an impact the community through his foundation and who he is what’s it been like for you to watch that part of Pascal and just the impact that he’s had yeah you know Pascal would come to me and ask me about Giants of Africa

He’d go to Larry tanon Bal and ask him about rights to play you know like and how he wanted to um how he wants to grow um his foundation and some of the things he wants to do you know like when you look at a guy that has that kind of

Impact or that kind of um capacity in our league um it’s something it’s it’s some it’s something um that’s just who he is that guy worked harder than everybody came to practice before everybody um left after everybody um no excuses you guys saw it you know like there’s I played every freaking game

Every single game yeah I think that’s easy for me it’s not easy it’s not it’s not easy it’s the same as deard rosan same as KY Lowry and I’m proud of that culture you built a championship team in 2019 obviously your greatest professional uh feat so far but

Obviously you’ve also had to toble it in the past month but we’ve also spoken about being excited for what’s next on this team MH I guess just like how are you doing like that’s an incredible roller coaster to be on um I’m doing great man you know yeah

Like yeah that’s that’s for me you know it’s family if my family is doing well my wife and my kids and my parents and immediate family that that remains you know like important for me the Rapture family remains important for me that um I continue to do the right thing and

Treat people the right way and um build the right way yeah that’s important you know like uh for me listen guys this will end at some point you know like and I can guarantee you I can guarantee you something Toronto will win yeah Toronto will win with or without me Toronto will

Win yeah this is just what this Market is it’s a gold mine that people haven’t like really like discovered and I’m proud I’m proud of that but I’m telling everybody I’m fine yeah I’m 100% fine if I’m not doing this I’m fine yeah I’m 100% fine trust me yeah this is the love

Of what I do and the opportunity that the NBA has given me and I’m proud of it we do it to win yeah to win this Market means everything to me you mentioned the culture that run from dear to Kyle ascal include Fred obviously uh and others I’m not

Naming do you think that has been absorbed by the younger players here and I know the group is you know still getting to know each other but do you think that sort of put your head down in work mentality if I’m sort of reading what you’re saying correctly has been

Absorbed I I I think I think it’s going to be and I think we have to do you know like even a better job of of in stealing it um but um I think the pride of of these players and that’s one of the things I think a scouting team our front

Office team do a great job Bobby Dan um Patrick ingbert Keith Curtis everybody Teresa they do an incredible job I think of uh trying to find these kind of players characters you know like that are going to mean the same thing to our organization because this same question

You asked Eric was the same question that was asked when we had the bench mob it’s the same question yeah that was asked are these guys going to carry on you know like to what those guys did yeah and you know what Generations change yeah the way these guys are now

Is different yeah and everybody complain oh this generation this there we have to make that adjustment too yeah as much as they have to make that adjustment and we find that balance you know like of what it is and what this culture is of this organization and we’re going to find it

Yeah we’re going to find it but I think the young players uh whether it’s a Scotty Barnes uh or the Emanuel quickle or the RJ barretts and I think they have the huge potential yeah to carry that on you mentioned before the season kind of that that Prov it aspect of Pascal the

Extension on media day and with trade rumors with extension talks with his name being kind of clouded and everything and a lot about his intentions and his part and everything how do you found he moved through all that as a player changing to a hierarchy that featured

Scotty Moore as a man dealing with all the things that were said about him yeah he handled it like perfectly uh in my opinion I give him a 100 out of a 100 there’s there’s no way you can you know like that that’s it has to be difficult

You know like and I said that to him like I know it’s it’s difficult even a grown man like me you know like yeah if when you are in those situations of contract and stuff you know like they yeah you get you get tested yeah big time tested there’s nothing

That stopped him from coming to work every day that try to be the best he can try to be the best teammate he could be while he performed and yeah we we truly respect that you know like I respect that about him but um these are not easy situations

For players this is not easy at all M you know you mentioned rebuild or reset or whatever adjective you want to use or gets used um sometimes they do take a long time we can all think of examples but there’s others that have kind of turned around pretty quickly and you

Know you probably think of a couple like that too um based on what you have and what you think you need and the tools you have does this feel like something that’s going to be you know you can’t I’m not saying put a ear on it does it

Feel like it’s going to be something that’s closer than further um and I guess are you sensitive to you know Scotty is he’s almost ready to win now you could say and uh you know how do you take most advantage of his his use yeah it’s a good question gr we’re going to

Study that you know and continue to study that as as as much as we can you know like and I think that’s where we really have to be really instinctive you know like I don’t think is anything um said that we know he was going to make

This jump you know like uh in this in this year um it’s tough you know um incredible basketball mind you know and um and we have to be very mindful of uh of that you know like and uh trust me he talks to me about you know like about

Winning you know like which makes my I don’t want to say it makes my job easier you know like but that’s his mindset yeah you see the approach in the fourth quarters you see how the approach in the game you know like you see how he

Plays with his teammates you know and um winning plays um but um yeah I I don’t know what the actual number is on a timeline or date or you know um or projection there but it’s something every day I know uh me Bobby Dan Keith were paying you know like very close

Attention to obviously an unfortunate byproduct of the trade as you had to wave Christian or a player and and you waved Christian can you just take us through why he ended up being the person you with yeah that’s a that’s a tough one Eric you know um his medical status

Is is now in the hands of the NBA and I can’t comment uh on it you know but um yeah that’s that was a very tough one for us because some somebody we really believed in someone that had um I know that has uh incredible talent and we see and saw as

Um future of this team but um we’ve we’ve exhausted all our you know like our options there and um I I can’t comment on what it is particularly but it’s now in the hands of the NBA and I I stay private with my comments on him but um it’s really

Unfortunate for us because this is a player that we felt um was really a big part of um our future and uh you guys also know you know um someone that’s part of um the programs we’ve built in Africa and um what we believe is is

Now um a true pipeline of how we get future players in the NBA and this was a big one for us and it didn’t didn’t work out that way for now that’s I uh understanding that those draft picks can be traded or whatever right now you’re heavily invested in the draft how would

You characterize this year’s draft God I can see Dan TOS man on at this right shoulder telling me don’t say it shut your mouth right now yeah I’ll say this you know um in every draft there are players found yeah I think in one of the worst drafts in the NBA

History maybe you know um yanis ad to combo and goar came out of that draft um so um we I believe in our team and um what we do and um I think we’ll make the best use of it are we going to take uh three picks in that draft I strongly

Doubt it um that’s that’s that’s not the plan for now but um I think we’ll make uh good use and we scouted the best possible way we can I mean this time of year for now I mean Scotty RJ uh quick like for sure that’s three inten guys you got to be

Starting for a long time on this team um based on the flexibility potential cap space whatever how many guys you fit with their talents and their timelines you think you’re able you might be able to get um I think while scouring now uh grains you know like everywhere end of

Rosters rosters um draft picks free agents you know like this is this is the growth you talking about you know like this is the place um um where um we we we’re going going to have to like really dig in yeah and find um uh those that that type Talent you

Know like we’re really excited about jante Porter you know like a big guy that um has shooting skill and passing skill and the basketball IQ plays the right way size good age you know like with with us you know those are the kind of things that you know like we have to

Do that might be like a small level you know like but um we just have to start hdden on those you know like now to build around around this guys and honestly like we’re we’re excited about this and to get these young guys to start to play now and express themselves

Listen it’s going to take patience there’s going to be the first half of last night’s game and the second and the third quarter of last night’s game you know like a lot there’s going to be a lot of that let me warn you you know like so

Yeah in the next year a couple years um and we hope it’s shorter you know like we we do hope it’s shorter you know we’re going to do our best um for our team our organization our fan base you know like that um Championship is what we’ve experienced here and and what we

Want to experience again here yeah that’s where we want to go to but it’s going to take patience is it a priority for you to be in the playing tournament maybe push for I guess publica playoffs might be a bit of a stretch but you know

To be in that you know 8 to 10 range um or 7 to 10 range or you know would it be a reasonable outcome to keep your own pick honestly um gr we’re going to play to win yeah we’re going to coach these guys and know and and teach them and

Play to win yeah whatever that brings us you know um uh we will deal with and we will prepare for um we’re going to be well prepared you know like for any scenario that comes that comes our way that’s what flexibility you know like brings and we hope we can in the future

Whether it’s near or far we go away from what we call flexibility that means we’re getting better um as the further away we go from it but um yes we’re going to prepare for I think for both for both sides but pushing this team you know um to continue to play the right

Way to learn uh to get opportunity and to win when they can um that’s what we’re going to do here build a couple times um what types of players what types of people do you want to bring into the team to build a I think we started with RJ Barrett with Qui Emanuel

Quickly and RJ Barrett yeah like this this um shooting uh I think um athletic players um players with basketball IQ know um young players um we we have to start we have to start building spacing um those kind of things are going to be important but overall you know we have young

Talent you know we have to we have to go and uh find find those fits you guys could be a player in free agency if you guys choose to go in that direction is that something you see as the free agency being something that you guys

Want to explore or is it cap space is more valuable in other ways these days in the H we’ll see I think three out of the four I shouldn’t say this this is yeah three out of the four players in that the top free agents this year have played for the Raptors [Laughter]

Before specifically on RJ I think the last 10 games have been some of the best of his career R are you thinking about it come on I’m just trying to think of the third one H out of four out of the actually more oh five then let’s let’s keep going you guys me

Mentioning all of them cuz the NBA will find me if I say names yeah have that much money right now exion okay yeah he’s out yeah yeah he’s out specifically with RJ this has been one of the best stretches of his career there’s been conversations about how

He’s perceived as an asset and all that kind of stuff obvious you guys thought that there was untapped potential there such a great start have you been surprised at all by the level of play he’s been able to immediately wi no man you guys you know that tunnel

And and I swear like this seems like crazy to say but his dad every single time I was stand in that tunnel 10 years ago and I can’t believe I’ve been here that long 10 years ago how old was RJ 13 and his dad will walk through that tunnel and he

Would bring him to me every single time he brought him to a game he would bring him to me ask ran I’m telling you every single time I’m standing in that tunnel he’ll bring it to me there’s my son you know and he loves basketball please say something to

Him every single time and this guy full circle right here playing for the Raptors what do I think of him and can there be growth yeah absolutely he’s 23 years old you know like and I think um sometimes these players are put in those kind of situations you know like and

Sometimes right in the beginning of their careers they’re not in the right situation to be honest yeah that’s and we’re hoping with him that was the case yeah so that he can be better here can you be fine for tampering with a 13-year-old that was a Joke I I will have no money because they lot of 13 year olds in Africa playing basketball you gotta look at Lewis and MOA as well Lewis was a lottery pick I mean what do you see there say that again you got to look at Lewis and wara

As well in this in the deal I mean Le I think 13th pick he’s had some injuries I mean what do you what do you see there we keep we keep taking those those chances you know like these kind of players were excited I think um I think

They just arrived here you know um and I’m really excited to see Kyra I’m excited to see noira who I’ve known since it was five years old not 13 you know um his dad is a good friend of has been a good friend for many years and been part of the Nigerian basketball

Program and Bruce you know like yeah it is that’s the that’s that’s the beauty of this next challenge and we have we have to do well and we have to get it right Eric anything come on man I know I I know I’ve disappeared for like three

Months you know like but I was thinking prusty goes two and a half hours yes but how long have I gone an hour yeah and I know you guys are thinking of another one I mean you touched on jeante and that’s a good example and and Pascal is maybe the best

Example of the kind of successes you guys were able to achieve with players from off the radar or lower in the draft or whatever you know when you look at you know kind of Scotty aside from 2019 on you know you could argue that’s sort

Of been a challenge to this team you had a nice upper end group of talent and the hitting on some of the lower picks or you know kind of the undrafted player or whatever it might be hasn’t hasn’t just materialized recently um as you look at

It is that just just the nature of the business and you’re not going to nail these guys every year and like kind of 15 to 18 just an incredible run or was there some systems some things that you review and you go you know we’ve gota we

Made some mistakes we need to correct those I think I think it’s a mix of all of it you know like um you’re not going to get all of these um right I think in the mix of um in the mix of getting it right I

Think we had Bruno we had you know we had a couple that we didn’t yeah we didn’t get right Bruno is my guy man um saw the world yeah he made impact there um yeah it’s it’s it’s a mixture of of of all of it you know um I’ll stay on

This side and um and say we have to you know like uh learn more and and figure it out more I I I can stay on this side and say unlucky some wor you know like I believed in Christian you know and um I think he could have been something big

For us in um but Dynam Center um but um yeah we look at yeah Malachi you know like I think there’s still still more and maybe you know there and um I know you got how you guys felt about us drafting Scotty but I’ll leave

That you know like to another day I know if we go there yeah it’s not it’s not being Fred and Pascal and OG and uh yeah it’s not a norm you know like it’s not been that but um I always say the NBA you know like your time comes it goes to

Come back around again you know and um our time is coming again you know like you’re not going to have 100% success all the time you know like and I think after covid we have gone through pretty hard times here but we’re not using that as an excuse we’re going to something

Incredible came out of Co and I I think that’s Scotty Barnes you know like that will lead us that’s the hardest one to do so hopefully we will get better you know like and we take responsibility for whatever hasn’t worked I um I think with the whole

Dear trade that happened now ages ago somewhere along the way you got painted as maybe a bit cold in these negotiations and yet obviously you sit here today and anything but like it’s a very emotional toll it weighs on you to to trade these people you get to know do

You think it would benefit you to be a bit colder and be able to colder than I am now I mean godamn like like yeah pass me a cookie dog you like because obviously it hurts you like to have to move on from these guys man like yeah I don’t know if it

Gets any colder man yeah I don’t know you know like this this is tough business yeah I walked around a hotel for two hours two hours and Kenya to sum up courage to call dear yeah and I’m a tough I mean yeah excuse my language this is why

J I know I know exactly come on J you cut yeah no I’m my last one you know like honestly you know like it’s it’s the human part of this business is tough yeah that part like you can’t yeah my wife and my kids like yeah see me like

Suffer my my son text me uh and said you traded OG I know like yeah it’s it’s it’s tough It’s it’s really tough to to sum up the courage I Remember Me and Bobby sitting in my office yeah to walk from my office yeah to coach Casey’s office or to work from

Our office to Nick nurse’s office do you know how that hard hard that is yeah when you share like a championship yeah coach of the year yeah me and Coach Casey were in Africa together you know like this summer and with time you know with tomorrow with time you know like it

Heals a little bit you know but man it’s not easy man it’s not easy because there’s something about the NBA I don’t know if other leagues are like that but there’s something about the NBA as family no matter how you know like um cold we can get get no there’s

There’s just something about it and it remain the most difficult part of this business trading a player and when a player leaves it’s the most difficult thing Fred said it what did Fred say when he asked what’s the most difficult thing he said it was the call he made to me I remember

That call yeah it’s the most difficult thing in this business and you guys might look at it as simple or something that’s just done n two hours I was walking around this hotel at 3:00 a.m. 4:00 a.m. in the morning trying to sum up the courage yeah to call the M

Rosan what did it take with Pascal what did it take for you to have those words for him you know I think the only good thing about Pascal was um we had an incredible good conversation you know um prior to this leading up to this um in La

So I think it prepared all of us maybe a little bit better you know like for this being honest and having a good conversation thank you Guys

Watch the full press conference from Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri, after trading away fan favourites and core pieces Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby.

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An Emotional Masai Ujiri Addresses The Raptors Future After Trading Away Anunoby, Siakam

#NBA #Basketball #Raptors