Masai Presser @ 11am

[TheFutureMM]

Truly feel like Masai was hinting at retiring Vince's jersey.

My guess is they want to retire Lowry's first - then they will do Vince. Not a fan of the idea but I understand it.

[Basketball_Jones]

Seems to emphasize patience being what is right. Just hope he doesn’t throw that out the window if a nice vet player becomes available lol

[Mikistan]

Truly feel like Masai was hinting at retiring Vince's jersey.

My guess is they want to retire Lowry's first - then they will do Vince. Not a fan of the idea but I understand it.

Makes sense for a business and brand reason, oh well

[TheFutureMM]

Truly feel like Masai was hinting at retiring Vince's jersey.

My guess is they want to retire Lowry's first - then they will do Vince. Not a fan of the idea but I understand it.

Makes sense for a business and brand reason, oh well

Especially with the way he painted next season, as an almost guaranteed rebuild year, they will probably retire it as a morale boost to the fans.

[Chandler55]

Truly feel like Masai was hinting at retiring Vince's jersey.

My guess is they want to retire Lowry's first - then they will do Vince. Not a fan of the idea but I understand it.

Makes sense for a business and brand reason, oh well

i dunno if id be in attendence but it feels like something people would pay money to see. lot of boomers remember and love that era

[Vampirate]

Yeah that's a fair assessment, I would be shocked if that wasn't a team flirting with the 7th spot on the regular. My hope is that we can snag a great 3+D wing and eventually move RJ to the 6th man role, and run Dick in the starting lineup. RJ can eat up second units, but his game is way too one dimensional right now to be a starter on a team with high aspirations.

If RJ can replicate close to what he did for us in half a season for a full season and improve his defence, I think his ceiling is higher than a 6th man role, I see him as a 3rd-4th option if he does that.

No idea if he will though.

The likelihood of him turning into a 61.5% TS% player, when his previous peak was 53.5% TS% is pretty damn low. And quite frankly, even then, his game is still too stunted. He needs either a mid range shot or a solid 37% 3pt, otherwise he'll just be a guy who bullies his way to the basket, shoots a bad FT%, and gets shut down in the playoffs when they don't call things so much.

I suspect and hope he will be better than he was in NYC, but the level at which he does is unlikely to be to that degree. For context, that level of efficiency is prime Lebron.

You are talking in extremes though. You are either saying he's going to be Lebron efficient or a bench player, i'm saying his ceiling is (good starter).

Let's dissect some numbers.

His overall efficiency with us this season was off the charts, I also don't expect 50/39 season from him, however at the same time he should easily be better than that laughable 62.9% FT he shot for us, he was around 70%-75% is the last few years.

I think he can maintain a 55-58% TS

As for his PS numbers, he's not a star there or anything, and was legit horrible the first year.

His 2nd year though he got to the line much better and scored 19.3 points on 14.9 shots, an almost 5 point gap. He's at least not Juius Randle bad lol.

Finally the last thing is he wasn't self creating the majority of his shots. Really the difference aside from the 3 point shooting is RJ was finishing at the basket much better than he ever had with the Knicks.

Also finally, i'm still as skeptical as you are, but at least with the half season he had, maybe we found a way to go more to his strengths, and RJ actually upping his value to the point where we might keep him long term makes the OG trade a huge win as we are not tied strictly down to either RJ or IQ working out for us.


Fwiw I think he could put up a season of something like 45/35/75 a good middle ground i'd say.

[Dalek]

This felt like a business as usual conference. I was hoping that there would be some indication of him or Bobby stepping down, but sadly nothing of that nature came out.

You figure a 57 loss season, a coaching lawsuit, a few bungled trades, and a betting scandal involving a player would be enough to warrant a conversation about whether we need some new direction. Masai acting like he is bulletproof.

It is sad to see the state of this organization, raising ticket prices again for a bad product with Masai practically signing off on it. There really is no plan/timeline to become a winner. The locker room must have truly toxic last year if Masai and Darko's proudest moment involved how we stayed together as team through the adversity they both created.

[The Duke]

- semi committed to rebuild
- Gary and Bruce very easily can be gone
- our FA hit rate is bad, hopes to improve
- ticket prices increases is part of his role, it’s business
- says it must have been painful to watch some games this season
- wanted fans to embrace VC

[ArthurVandelay]

We understand what picking early is.

I interpreted this as understanding the probabilities favor finding elite talent at the top of draft.

We are going to try to do what is best for the team.

Up yours Toronto media.

Hardest part done with a guy to build around. Rebuilds last 3-6 years. We’ll see how it goes and use our instincts.

Been saying this for a while that the time to tank is when you already have a cornerstone which Raptors have with Scottie.

Patience.  We have to grind through this.

No quick fix to do this right…it’s the anti-Colangelo approach.

We’ll see how we use that cap space.

assets and picks!!! assets and picks!!!

Looked at what other teams have done and talking to Jeff Weltman every other day.

I’m guessing he read a lot of RealGM. What other teams have done has been discussed here once or twice lol

Feel for the fans. But this is how business works and we have to keep plying away.

gonna be more losses than wins in near future

Scottie doesn’t need passion or work ethic instilled.  Makes reference he didn’t want to work out with his teammates in the past.

awesome to hear and I wonder why he didn’t want to work out with the bet on themselves, get paid crowd before????

Keeping tabs on Koloko.

Such a sad situation

Kelly plays the right way

I don’t think defense is going to be much of a priority for the team as a whole next year. All about implementing a European, free flowing, sharing style of play.

Doesn't want to go 6 years for a rebuild.  Patient but not that patient.  They have the hardest part done with Scottie.  Talks about getting one more from what they have.  Mentions IQ, RJ, Dick.  Agbaji can be one of the top defensive players in the league, you might not see it.

Going to be a fair bit of roster turnover this summer. Wouldn’t be surprised if only KO, OA, RJ, IQ, Scottie, Poeltl, Dick (7) are back next year.

[MiamiSPX]

Too much worrying about whether certain players can ever be a #1, or #2 or #3, etc. We are not there yet. We just need to keep adding talent, and legitimate rotation players, to the team. it's really that simple. The rest will sort itself out.

[mtcan]

I see RJ as a valuable piece, but not a true contender #2 option, sorry.

His offensive game is too limited.

he is doing 20+ with "limited offensive game" like you said then imagine him taking the aforementioned "another step"...or you think it can't happen with him

I see him as a 3rd option.

He basically lacks fluidity in his game, lacks the handle for his other hand so he's limited going from east to west and lacks creativity offensively.

His offensive role on the Raptors is much different than on the Knicks where in NY he was asked to self create much more.

We need a 3rd option...and if our 3rd option can get his 20+ ppg along 4-5 assists and about 6 rebounds...that's a great place to be.

I just hope our 1st and 2nd options are much better than that.

[tecumseh18]

You figure a 57 loss season, a coaching lawsuit, a few bungled trades, and a betting scandal involving a player would be enough to warrant a conversation about whether we need some new direction. Masai acting like he is bulletproof.

Nope. Only you and a few other trolls would figure that. This is the normal transitioning of a mature organization over the long term.

[tecumseh18]

Truly feel like Masai was hinting at retiring Vince's jersey.

My guess is they want to retire Lowry's first - then they will do Vince. Not a fan of the idea but I understand it.

Makes sense for a business and brand reason, oh well

i dunno if id be in attendence but it feels like something people would pay money to see. lot of boomers remember and love that era

Ah no, we don't. But this would bring closure to the whole situation, and acknowledge that Vince put the Raptors on the map. Certainly in the minds of many players still playing today. It just appears to be the classy thing to do, from a league-wide optics perspective.

But I agree that #7 is going up first. Has to, has to, has to.

[WhatsaTDot]

Impossible to get a top 5 pick next year with our current healthy roster. Just wont happen. So tWo needs to hope for assets (starters) to get traded and for Scottie to get injured. Yuck scenario.

[Scase]

If RJ can replicate close to what he did for us in half a season for a full season and improve his defence, I think his ceiling is higher than a 6th man role, I see him as a 3rd-4th option if he does that.

No idea if he will though.

The likelihood of him turning into a 61.5% TS% player, when his previous peak was 53.5% TS% is pretty damn low. And quite frankly, even then, his game is still too stunted. He needs either a mid range shot or a solid 37% 3pt, otherwise he'll just be a guy who bullies his way to the basket, shoots a bad FT%, and gets shut down in the playoffs when they don't call things so much.

I suspect and hope he will be better than he was in NYC, but the level at which he does is unlikely to be to that degree. For context, that level of efficiency is prime Lebron.

You are talking in extremes though. You are either saying he's going to be Lebron efficient or a bench player, i'm saying his ceiling is (good starter).

Let's dissect some numbers.

His overall efficiency with us this season was off the charts, I also don't expect 50/39 season from him, however at the same time he should easily be better than that laughable 62.9% FT he shot for us, he was around 70%-75% is the last few years.

I think he can maintain a 55-58% TS

As for his PS numbers, he's not a star there or anything, and was legit horrible the first year.

His 2nd year though he got to the line much better and scored 19.3 points on 14.9 shots, an almost 5 point gap. He's at least not Juius Randle bad lol.

Finally the last thing is he wasn't self creating the majority of his shots. Really the difference aside from the 3 point shooting is RJ was finishing at the basket much better than he ever had with the Knicks.

Also finally, i'm still as skeptical as you are, but at least with the half season he had, maybe we found a way to go more to his strengths, and RJ actually upping his value to the point where we might keep him long term makes the OG trade a huge win as we are not tied strictly down to either RJ or IQ working out for us.


Fwiw I think he could put up a season of something like 45/35/75 a good middle ground i'd say.

For sure, I'm not expecting him to be terrible, but I also think there is nothing wrong with being the 6th man. Ginobili is a HoF player but it was best for the team for him to come off the bench. From a balance perspective, I'd much rather have Gradey/IQ in the SL for some spacing, than Scottie/RJ/Jak. Scottie has taken a huge step with his 3, but without someone spreading out the floor from him, it fell quite a bit.

Those splits you mentioned would definitely be solid, but I would rather have someone shooting 40% from 3. Having him be the first man off the bench also means he can bully second units even easier. For me, it's what's best for the team, and I think unless he takes some pretty noticeable steps, from the bench is what would do best.

Unless we plan on burning it down another year, then hell, we can run him and gradey and watch how bad the defence is.

[Badonkadonk]

If RJ can replicate close to what he did for us in half a season for a full season and improve his defence, I think his ceiling is higher than a 6th man role, I see him as a 3rd-4th option if he does that.

No idea if he will though.

The likelihood of him turning into a 61.5% TS% player, when his previous peak was 53.5% TS% is pretty damn low. And quite frankly, even then, his game is still too stunted. He needs either a mid range shot or a solid 37% 3pt, otherwise he'll just be a guy who bullies his way to the basket, shoots a bad FT%, and gets shut down in the playoffs when they don't call things so much.

I suspect and hope he will be better than he was in NYC, but the level at which he does is unlikely to be to that degree. For context, that level of efficiency is prime Lebron.

You are talking in extremes though. You are either saying he's going to be Lebron efficient or a bench player, i'm saying his ceiling is (good starter).

Let's dissect some numbers.

His overall efficiency with us this season was off the charts, I also don't expect 50/39 season from him, however at the same time he should easily be better than that laughable 62.9% FT he shot for us, he was around 70%-75% is the last few years.

I think he can maintain a 55-58% TS

As for his PS numbers, he's not a star there or anything, and was legit horrible the first year.

His 2nd year though he got to the line much better and scored 19.3 points on 14.9 shots, an almost 5 point gap. He's at least not Juius Randle bad lol.

Finally the last thing is he wasn't self creating the majority of his shots. Really the difference aside from the 3 point shooting is RJ was finishing at the basket much better than he ever had with the Knicks.

Also finally, i'm still as skeptical as you are, but at least with the half season he had, maybe we found a way to go more to his strengths, and RJ actually upping his value to the point where we might keep him long term makes the OG trade a huge win as we are not tied strictly down to either RJ or IQ working out for us.


Fwiw I think he could put up a season of something like 45/35/75 a good middle ground i'd say.

I also think he can hit this middle ground, but I've been watching the national team for years (junior and mens) and have always thought this about him.

His usage in the Knicks system was weird. Randle wasn't good enough to justify putting RJ in such suboptimal spots.

[TheRaptor!]

In terms of our direction Masai made it clear today that we're rebuilding around Scottie and that it's going to take time. He said that teams have rebuilt in 3 to 6 years, but he doubts this will take 6. Pretty much aligns to my thinking that 2026 is the year they want to be moving in an upward direction. At this phase it's asset accumulation and getting another high lottery pick in 2025.

I've said this, but if it takes 6 years, Barnes isn't the player Masai thinks he is.

I'm high on Barnes potential as pretty much most fans are with their top 5 prospects, but there's no guarantees.

He isnt

[Vampirate]

In terms of our direction Masai made it clear today that we're rebuilding around Scottie and that it's going to take time. He said that teams have rebuilt in 3 to 6 years, but he doubts this will take 6. Pretty much aligns to my thinking that 2026 is the year they want to be moving in an upward direction. At this phase it's asset accumulation and getting another high lottery pick in 2025.

I've said this, but if it takes 6 years, Barnes isn't the player Masai thinks he is.

I'm high on Barnes potential as pretty much most fans are with their top 5 prospects, but there's no guarantees.

He isnt

Where do you see his ceiling as?

(and let's be honest, none of us know what his actual ceiling is)

[Pointgod]

In terms of our direction Masai made it clear today that we're rebuilding around Scottie and that it's going to take time. He said that teams have rebuilt in 3 to 6 years, but he doubts this will take 6. Pretty much aligns to my thinking that 2026 is the year they want to be moving in an upward direction. At this phase it's asset accumulation and getting another high lottery pick in 2025.

A certain Canadian superstar could become a UFA in the summer of '27. One that lives in the GTA in the offseason.

lol still chasing that dream huh

[VanWest82]

Masai sounded exhausted. It's easy to forget the personal side and how much that can affect things.

Comments about being unlucky (Porter and Koloko).
Admission that they've screwed up around the margins the last couple years.
Admission that they screwed up the messaging at the end of last year.
He has no money (divorce).
First time going through something like this (guess he doesn't count Tampa).
Just a guess but I don't think the exit interview with Scottie went smoothly. Lots of emphasis on "passion." Kyle was also "passionate" at times.

Masai has taken some punches and has battle scars to show for them. That said, I still think he and Bobby have done enough things right to warrent some grace. Being patient is still the right move as a team building philosophy and with this FO. I do wonder how patient MLSE will be if we endure another losing season like this one.