Raptors news: Masai Ujiri speaks on team, contender eyeing Raps fire sale

The Toronto Raptors' inability to decide between going for it all and rebuilding has left many fans and outside observers quite irritated with Masai Ujiri. He seems unwilling to get this team out of the middle, which has fans pining for some sort of clarity.

As a result of their unwillingness to make a big move, Toronto finds themselves sporting a mediocre 9-11 record with no plans for a huge trade bubbling to the surface, and that is only going to get a very vocal (and growing) segment of this fanbase even more ticked off.

Ujiri has preached patience with this group, and his latest interview on the telecast during Toronto's loss against the New York Knicks only strengthened that idea. Despite his stars struggling and some questionable results from Darko Rajakovic, Ujiri is committed to winning with Scottie Barnes.

“This is the team we have," Ujiri said on the telecast. "I think building around Scottie Barnes. We have Pascal [Siakam], we have OG [Anunoby], we have young players, Gradey [Dick], these guys coming up and I feel we let it sit and see how these guys progress in the new system and then we go from there.”

More Raptors news

• The Los Angeles Lakers, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic, are watching the Raptors with great interest as they try to see if Ujiri will commit to a fire sale. The Wizards, Nets, Jazz, and Hornets are also being eyed as potential avenues for trades, though Toronto has some proven desirable assets for LA to acquire.
• After sporting Canadian soccer royalty Christine Sinclair's jersey, Scottie Barnes said that he admired how dedicated she was to her craft. "She puts it all out there," Barnes said. "She does what she does very well, one of the best to do it." Barnes knows full well how to be a Canadian sports superstar, just like Sinclair was in her prime and remains to this day.

NBA news

• The NBA granted the Portland Trail Blazers a $5.8 million Disabled Player Exemption for center Robert Williams. Acquired from the Boston Celtics in the Jrue Holiday trade, Williams was supposed to be a ferocious rebounder who paired well with Deandre Ayton. Instead, he has been sidelined.
• Kevin Durant recently made NBA history by moving into the Top 10 All Time in points scored, passing the great Moses Malone. Durant should be able to move up a few more places before he wraps it up, but LeBron James' record at the top might be very tough to top due to how old KD is right now.