Raptors Rapture
Fansided

Masai Ujiri takes some shots from the press – are they legitimate?

By Brian Boake

facebooktwitterreddit

BACKGROUND

As soon as NBA Trade Deadline 2015 was done, the hoops press went into overdrive to offer their thoughts on which teams improved, tread water, or slipped back. I thought the fact the Toronto Raptors made no moves at all would render them immune from criticism. Wrong again, aging scribbler. The usually spot-on thinkers (specifically, Andrew Sharp) at Grantland decided we were in the “Losers” category, then added insult to injury by taking a run at Masai Ujiri. Let’s see if Sharp’s criticisms have any merit.

More from Raptors News

Criticism & My Rebuttal

“The greatest thing to happen to the Raptors in the past two years is Kyle Lowry, a player Ujiri tried to trade for a 2018 first-round pick.”  Whether Masai had a deal on the table with the Knicks for Kyle has never been confirmed by the principals, and is moot at this point. What isn’t moot is the fact that Kyle decided he wanted to stay in Toronto, at least partly because his GM was building a solid team. Then Masai swooped in with an attractive offer to keep our feisty, beloved point guard out of free agency. Likewise, Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez came by trade, and stayed by choice. Would proven players like these stick around if they didn’t believe in the team’s General Manager?

Feb 21, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) warms up before a game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

His two biggest moves have been dumping bad contracts on the Kings and Knicks, two teams on which, it turns out, it’s pretty easy to dump bad contracts! If it’s so “easy” to fleece both those teams, why is Masai the only GM who’s actually managed to do it? And while I certainly agree Masai hosed the Knicks on the Bargnani trade, I don’t think Sacramento management is having buyers’ remorse about Rudy Gay. They are talking about extending him. In short, last year’s big trade may be one of those rare deals which work for both sides.

Last, but definitely not least, is Sharp’s refusal to even mention how well the acquisition of Louis Williams has gone for our team. Was it a “big” move? Maybe not by whatever measuring stick Sharp is using, but it certainly was a brilliant one. Masai took a player on his last legs (John Salmons) and turned him into a contender for Sixth Man of the Year.

[Masai has] had a very good team for two years now, but the rotation is too big and probably not good enough to actually contend in the East, and he hasn’t done anything to even try to change it. The rotation is “too big”??? That’s a problem how, exactly? As for contending; we’re in second place. That’s 13 of 15 Eastern teams looking up at the Raptors. Why do we need a change?

The Raptors are still in good shape, but it’ll be interesting to see when “credit for Raptors success” turns into “blame for Raptors shortcomings” for Toronto management. How about “never”?

Look, Masai isn’t perfect. I continue to worry about the front court, where the Raps are paper-thin. Our GM could have found some cheap help by now. Hassan Whiteside was on the scrap heap a few months ago. Why didn’t we sign him? Now he’s putting up whacky rebounding numbers for the HEAT. Tarik Black was on waivers. Why not him?

That’s legitimate criticism, not the shallow noise Sharp cooked up.

I also checked in with our FanSided mothership. They graded our do-nothing day as C+.

OK, I’ve done my bit. What do you think, Rapture Nation? Do Sharp’s criticisms have any merit at all? Please drop a Comment.

More from Raptors Rapture

Home/Raptors News