The three best quotes from the Toronto Raptors media day

The Toronto Raptors hosted their annual media day this Saturday. We sifted through the uneventful and found the three most interesting responses.

For the most part, media day is pretty boring. It’s a bunch of cookie-cutter quotes from players who don’t really want to be there and whose primary concern is saying nothing noteworthy. It was great to see the Toronto Raptors referred to as the defending NBA Champions for the first time, but other than that, it was largely a dud.

But through the hours of press conferences and formulaic answers, there are a few nuggets. A few times when a player or front office member either let their guard down or spoke honestly for just a moment. Through all of media day, here were the three best quotes:

Masai Ujiri:

With so many players on expiring deals, Masai Ujiri had a host of questions to answer. However, with contract negotiations ongoing, he needed to be careful not to tip his hand. When asked about Siakam, Ujiri gave an interesting answer, if you read between the lines.

"“Whether it’s going to be this fall or this summer, he’s definitely someone we’re going to keep here”"

To me, that only reiterates Siakam will likely be extended next summer, rather than before the year.  There are multiple reasons to wait to complete Siakam’s extension, particularly if they plan on giving him a maximum five-year contract.

This quote sounds like Masai telling Siakam’s agent very publicly, “We will give you the max”, please just be willing to wait.

Kyle Lowry:

Kyle Lowry was asked about a multitude of things, but nothing appeared to be as meaningful as when he was asked about free agency:

"Not really worried about the free agency thing. My representation have been talking to them about doing something and nothing has been ya know… obviously not taken care of. But it’s an ongoing conversation. But for me, it’s just going out here and doing my job like I always do."

The biggest takeaway from that should be, while Toronto may indeed reach an agreement with Lowry next offseason, don’t expect a deal to be done anytime soon. It sounds like the Raptors are very willing to allow Lowry to play out his contract year, even if it feels like Lowry wants something done.

OG Anunoby:

With Kawhi Leonard gone, the Toronto Raptors are no long the favorites to win the NBA title. Apparently no one told OG Anunoby, who still has incredibly high expectations for this season:

"“I think we’re gonna repeat. We have a really good team and we believe in ourselves, and that’s all that matters.”"

And why shouldn’t he? The Raptors are the defending champions and returning nearly everyone from last year’s roster. Obviously, the team is expected to take a step back without Leonard, but the players in the locker room shouldn’t feel that way. You want guys to be confident, even overconfident.

The bottom line is, media day doesn’t mean much. However, it does represent the season is coming soon. And we can all be thankful for that.