Counting Down Masai Ujiri's Greatest Hits
It's Ujiri's birthday and he started the day with a video tribute to Toronto
I’ll admit, I was ready to post something on Collin Murray-Boyles but then came Masai Ujiri’s tribute video to Toronto.
By the way, happy 55th birthday to Masai!
Ujiri expressed his love and gratitude for 12 incredible years with the Raptors. It was as heartfelt as ever, touched on the endeavours most important to him, and teased a little bit of what’s to follow.
As a final tip of the hat to a man who changed the Raptors forever, I wanted to look back on 10 of the best thing that happened during his tenure (they’re not all transactions). I’ve done it in chronological order and not a ranking. I’ll leave that for you to have some fun with and let me know in the comments!
As a reference: FRP = First Round Pick. SRP = Second Round Pick.
Reset (July 10, 2013)
Raptors acquire: Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson, 2014 SRP (Xavier Thames), 2016 FRP (Jakob Poeltl), 2017 SRP (Traded in 2014).
Knicks acquire: Andrea Bargnani.
To recognize what Ujiri has accomplished over the years, it’s important to remember the roster he first inherited:
PG: Kyle Lowry, John Lucas, Sebastian Telfair
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Alan Anderson
SF: Rudy Gay, Landry Fields, Linus Kleiza, Mickael Peitrus
PF: Amir Johnson, Andrea Bargnani, Quincy Acy
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Aaron Gray
The Raptors were somewhere between the European influence of Maurizio Gherardini and the next phase of trying to compete with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.
When Ujiri came over, the expectation was that he would initiate a rebuild and mould the team within his vision. That started with trading Andrea Bargnani, Bryan Colangelo’s prized possession who he was simply too stubborn to give up on.
At the time, some speculated that Bargnani was playing so badly that pick compensation may need to be attached to convince a team to take him on. Instead, Ujiri found a taker in New York that required no such draft capital and instead actually supplied Toronto with a first-round pick that became Jakob Poeltl and an inconsequential second-rounder.
Camby, Richardson, and Novak were necessary salary filler though Novak did at least provide a bit of his sniper shot for a period of time.
Whole > Sum (Dec. 9, 2013)
Raptors acquire: Patrick Patterson, Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Chuck Hayes.
Kings acquire: Rudy Gay, Aaron Gray, Quincy Acy.
In another move shaped towards a rebuild, Ujiri saw the clunky fit between Gay, DeMar DeRozan, and Kyle Lowry and sent Gay packing. A couple young players in Patterson and Vasquez along with Salmons and Hayes for some veteran guidance.
After Gay, Lowry was set to depart and had his bags packed, too. You have to be good to be lucky and James Dolan halting the Lowry trade is the greatest trade in franchise history to never happen. It doesn’t happen if Dolan wasn’t so fearful of Ujiri getting the better of him for a third time (won Carmelo Anthony trade in Denver and the Bargnani trade).
The Raptors found lightning in a bottle thereafter. All the new pieces fit like a glove and harmony was found. If you ever wanted to explain to someone how a team sport is about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, what Toronto was before and after the trade perfectly exemplifed just that.
Hello, Mississauga (June, 2015)
After a wasted year of trying to get Bruno Caboclo (20th pick in 2014 draft) on the right development track, Ujiri fast tracked the process of establishing the Raptors 905.
It was something that was first proposed in 2013 but became of paramount importance over the course of the 2014-15 season. Prior to the 905, the Raptors were designated the Fort Wayne Mad Ants as their affiliate team. The Mad Ants housed young players for several teams and not just the Raptors because many teams still didn’t have their own affiliate.
What that meant was players like Caboclo not receiving the attention and care they needed. It was also impossible to establish synergy in learning the “Raptors way.” That’s what the 905 made possible and why we’ve seen several success stories since.
Highway Robbery (June 25, 2015)
Raptors acquire: Norman Powell and 2017 FRP (OG Anunoby).
Bucks acquire: Greivis Vasquez
After getting swept by the Washington Wizards in the first round, Ujiri put the focus on defence and mental toughness. Vasquez was a great teammate and provided spunk with his fancy playmaking and timely shot making. He was a poor defender, though, and stood little chance against a backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal.
Trading Vasquez for the 46th pick in Powell and the 23rd pick in 2017 that yielded Anunoby was a shocking heist in hindsight. Bucks GM Jon Horst was a big Vasquez fan and so the Raptors were able to nab a first-round pick while the second rounder was viewed as inconsequential at the time.
Powell’s Toronto tenure alone — and especially the Buck hunter he became — makes it a win but Anunoby turns this into one of those Barry Bonds home runs that landed in McCovey Cove.
Change Of Indentity (July 1-15, 2015)
Raptors arrive: Cory Joseph, DeMarre Carroll, Luis Scola, Bismack Biyombo.
Raptors depart: Lou Williams, Landry Fields, Tyler Hansbrough, Amir Johnson.
While these moves don’t constitute a trade, the shift in mindset after the Wizards sweep could not have been more exemplified by these signings.
Joseph was coming in with championship experience, Carroll had a lot of respect for his time with the Atlanta Hawks, Scola is an all-time crafty veteran role player and Biyombo went on to deliver one of the greatest one-season stints in Raptors history.
It didn’t matter to Ujiri that Williams had won Sixth Man of the Year. He saw Williams’ weaknesses and knew it more than negated his strengths. Fields was a contract waiting to end and Hansbrough reached a point where he was out of his depth. Johnson, unfortunately, for as fun as his run with the Raptors was, had lost the impact he once had.
Train Better (Feb. 10, 2016)
If the Raptors were going to be a world class sports organization, they needed their own training facility.
Until this moment, Toronto practiced at Scotiabank Arena where there was one court and serviceable enough gym.
Graduating from that to what was first the Biosteel Centre and now the OVO Athletic Centre has been a major part of the Raptors’ emergence as a development haven. A 68,000 square foot facility with two NBA regulation-sized courts, a full commercial kitchen, a large gym, player locker rooms and lounges, recovery and regeneration areas that include water therapy pools, a massage area, and sauna/steam rooms.
Then there’s the analytics aspect of the facility which features development and performance analysis courtesy IBM as well as Noah Analytics to provide world renowned shooting analytics. It’s become a facility that the Canada senior men’s and women’s teams have used to train as well.
Draft Masterclass (June 23, 2016)
Raptors draft: Jakob Poeltl (9th), Pascal Siakam (27th)
Raptors sign: Fred VanVleet Exhibit 10 contract after going undrafted.
This was as good a draft as it gets in terms of value per pick. If you were to do a re-draft, it’s arguable that all of Poeltl, Siakam, and VanVleet would be selected in the top 10.
The other names of significance in this class include Ben Simmons (1st), Jaylen Brown (3rd), Jamal Murray (7th), Domantas Sabonis (11th), Brandon Ingram (2nd), Dejounte Murray (29th), Ivica Zubac (32nd) and Malcolm Brogdon (36th).
Point guard depth was peaking in Toronto across Lowry, Joseph, Delon Wright and now VanVleet. Siakam, as it turned out, was a desperately needed power forward upgrade over Jared Sullinger. Poeltl has been valuable to the Raptors in two very different ways across his two stints.
Getting a bench mob was a huge win initially, getting two all-stars and one of the better traditional centres in the league put Ujiri & co.’s draft skills in rarified air.
More Toughness (Feb. 14, 2017)
Raptors acquire: Serge Ibaka.
Magic acquire: Terrence Ross, 2017 FRP (Anzejs Pasecniks).
With all of DeRozan, Anunoby and Powell in place, Ross had become surplus. He had also stagnated. The Raptors still had a hole to fill at power forward and acquiring Ibaka proved genius.
Orlando did not gain much value with the first-round pick they also received, making this another top notch transaction for the front office. Ibaka became a fan favourite and a pivotal piece in Toronto’s championship run. Ross remained an inconsistent bench piece. The Raptors acquired P.J. Tucker at the deadline, too, another effort to bolster the physicality and toughness.
Ibaka became a cultural influence, too, embracing the city in a way that made him feel like a local. His visits to Chinese restaurant Rol San became the stuff of legend. His show ‘How Hungry Are You?’ became appointment vieweing. What about scarves?
He was amazing in the title run and because of the deserved attention given to Kawhi Leonard and ‘The Shot,’ I think it gets forgotten just how impactful Ibaka was in that game. After a bit of a slow start, watch how impactful he is the rest of the way:
Believe In This City (July 18, 2018)
Raptors acquire: Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, cash.
Spurs acquire: DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, 2019 FRP (Keldon Johnson).
Raptors fire: Dwane Casey.
Raptors hire: Nick Nurse.
This is as brave as it gets. With ‘LeBronto’ staring Ujiri in the face, he went for the jugular. Ujiri could have got rid of Casey when he first arrived citing the need to hire his own coach rather than inheriting one. He could have fired Casey after the Wizards sweep, or even the 2017 sweep. No argument could be made that Casey wasn’t given enough chances.
What was really brave here was that after an extensive coaching search, Ujiri went with the internal option of Nurse. After all the speculation that there needed to be a new voice, many criticized Ujiri believing it would be more of the same old with someone who was an assistant under Casey. Nurse proved he was his own man in stellar fashion.
If that wasn’t brave enough, Ujiri then went ahead and traded someone in DeRozan who wore Toronto on his sleeve more proudly than any other star in Raptors history. Moreover, he did it for a man who reportedly had no desire to be in Toronto and had a chronic knee issue.
GM Bobby Webster recently recounted a story on Hello and Welcome about how when Leonard arrived in Toronto, he asked Ujiri why he traded for him. Ujiri, unflapped, simply answered, “Because I think you’re the best player in the world.”
That tells you all you need to know about Ujiri’s confidence and conviction.
All-In (Feb. 7, 2019)
Raptors acquire: Marc Gasol.
Grizzlies acquire: Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, CJ Miles, 2024 SRP (Juan Nunez).
Going into the trade deadline, I remember thinking the Raptors had done so well to put themselves right there with the Bucks and Sixers. The Celtics were there but both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown still seemed a bit too young.
The swing for Marc Gasol took the Raptors up another level. This was the front office saying it’s now or never. An important aspect of this deal is remembering what was happening behind the scenes.
Lowry was still upset about DeRozan getting traded and it caused a divide between him and Ujiri. The relationship became all business. Ujiri knew Lowry — as much as he cherished his friendship — wanted a title, too. He spoke to Lowry about how he needed to get back to being his full self or that he would be on his way to Memphis with Conley coming back.
Ujiri and Lowry were able to set things right again, Gasol became the ultimate connector, and a piece the Raptors could not have won the title without.