Masai Ujiri, Raptors remain directionless after Damian Lillard trade fiasco

Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors have subjected their fans to a wild swing of emotions in the last few days, as they went from out of the Damian Lillard sweepstakes to the front of the pack. Ultimately, the front office was not able to close the deal.

Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for a three-team package headlined by Jrue Holiday and Deandre Ayton heading to Portland. While the Raptors couldn’t offer an All-Star player off one of the best seasons of his career like Holiday, not trading for him was still a tough blow.

This trade was not only a chance to add one of the best players in the league without dismantling the rotation, but it was also a way for the Raptors to finally pick a direction after years of indecision. With so many big names entering free agency, Toronto could have shown they are more than ready to win now.

Instead, Toronto appears resigned to running it back and accepting its fate as a team projected to be in the middle of the pack. Ujiri missing on a golden opportunity to plant his flag in the “going for it” column has been very tough to watch for someone who looks like he’s making it up as he goes along.

Toronto Raptors stuck in the middle due to Masai Ujiri.

The Raptors appear to be leaning more towards winning this season, as evidenced by the Jakob Poeltl signing and an alleged desire to extend Gary Trent Jr. that has slowed down. If we are to operate under that assumption, why is Ujiri so unserious about committing to that philosophy?

The Raptors missed out on Lillard and Jrue Holiday, who joined a rival in the Boston Celtics. The Poeltl move, and the subsequent trading of a first-round pick, was a win-now decision, but can’t be the only addition to a roster that very clearly had some egregious flaws.

The bench? Better, but still nothing amazing. The stars? Still unextended and stuck in the NBA version of limbo. The overall vibes around the team? Still very much a work in progress.

The Raptors have good players on the roster, and they might make the playoffs this year. Far be it from me to begrudge a team for trying to win no matter what, but the fact this team is still sputtering out of control has to set off alarms.

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