Masai Presser @ 11am

[Scase]

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

[tecumseh18]

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

People on this board don't "chase dreams". We observe, and surmise.

We know that Raps were only offering Pascal a three year deal, ending in 2027. The same year RJ's deal expires. And if he picks up his fourth year option, the same year Poeltl's deal expires.

Prediction: if Gary actually comes back (on a non-taxpayer MLE+ deal befitting the bench player he is), his deal will not extend past summer 2027. I'm not sure what they'll do with IQ. I assume they would re-sign him for four years.

[2019nbachamps]

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.

He's also conceded mistakes in his last 2 major press conferences (pre-season and end of 2023 season pressers). However him and Bobby continue to make personnel and judgment mistakes that leaves us in this predicament. I think if we're still a 30ish win next season at least one head will roll, maybe Bobby's.

The saving grace of this season is we can convince ourselves the roster turnover hurt our win total. But what happens if we're still a bottom barrel team next year? Will we truly remain committed to rebuilding?

I thought Masai did a pretty good job today. My one objection was him preaching patience when he was clearly impatient last season: overpaying in the Poeltl trade, firing Nurse, then looking to salvage the flawed roster yet again by signing Schroeder to replace FVV. He fortunately got an excellent return for OG, but it hurt our Siakam return and our overall season. We'd have expedited the rebuild had we just read the writing on the wall before the 2023 deadline. I think a lot of the frustration from the fanbase is us being bad right now is partly due to a genuine rebuild but also partly due to poor decisions and impatience by our FO.

[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.

He's also conceded mistakes in his last 2 major press conferences (pre-season and end of 2023 season pressers). However him and Bobby continue to make personnel and judgment mistakes that leaves us in this predicament. I think if we're still a 30ish win next season at least one head will roll, maybe Bobby's.

The saving grace of this season is we can convince ourselves the roster turnover hurt our win total. But what happens if we're still a bottom barrel team next year? Will we truly remain committed to rebuilding?

I thought Masai did a pretty good job today. My one objection was him preaching patience when he was clearly impatient last season: overpaying in the Poeltl trade, firing Nurse, then looking to salvage the flawed roster yet again by signing Schroeder to replace FVV. He fortunately got an excellent return for OG, but it hurt our Siakam return and our overall season. We'd have expedited the rebuild had we just read the writing on the wall before the 2023 deadline. I think a lot of the frustration from the fanbase is us being bad right now is partly due to a genuine rebuild but also partly due to poor decisions and impatience by our FO.

Agreed on the underlined. He knows it was a mistake too even if he won't totally admit it (because Jak is still on the team). Masai has always said he lets the players decide direction based on their play. 2023 trade deadline was the one time when he blatantly ignored what the players were telling him on the court, and that decision has caused so much fallout. Edit: I will add as someone who was advocating for trading Pascal in Jan 2023 that it was a very unpopular opinion at the time. Everyone wanted Fred gone but not Pascal or OG.

I actually do think the Schroder signing was defensible even though it didn't work out. You have to maintain some semblence of credibility in your bargaining position. Hard to do that when everyone knows you have exactly zero ball handlers on the roster. By all accounts, we did try to move Siakam last off season and he blew up all the trade discussions. As soon as we lost Fred, trading Siakam was always going to be difficult, so again it goes back to the deadline. Everything bad about our situation now goes back to that deadline.

[DelAbbot]

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.

Masai went through a divorce? I thought that was a hoax

[Reeko]

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.

Masai went through a divorce? I thought that was a hoax

It was. Also why the hell would he be talking about his personal financial woes at a press conference about the team? Lol.

[Basketball_Jones]

Masai and Bobby are liking the idea of a Nic Batum trade I think

[Fairview4Life]

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.

Masai went through a divorce? I thought that was a hoax

It was. Also why the hell would he be talking about his personal financial woes at a press conference about the team? Lol.

He said **** and then joked that Adam shouldn’t fine him because he has no money.

[goinrogue]

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.

Masai went through a divorce? I thought that was a hoax

He was wearing a wedding ring in the presser.

[DelAbbot]

Interesting... so it's not just tWo members making up stuff about Masai to be mad at

[VanWest82]

Interesting... so it's not just tWo members making up stuff about Masai to be mad at

Pfft. I didn't make anything up. There was a thread about it and everyone knows realgm threads are like gospel music and stolen catholic church gold. You take that **** to the bank along with the tea leaves on end of season presser day.

[VanWest82]

I stand by my general point that Masai seemed subdued and even somewhat wounded by the battle scars from this season and the last few.

[ForeverTFC]

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.

He sounded tired and had aged a bit. But it sounded like he was sick. Pretty sure the divorce stuff was fake news.

[Tor_Raps]

I stand by my general point that Masai seemed subdued and even somewhat wounded by the battle scars from this season and the last few.

Seems normal no? Like who the hell would be pumped up after the disaster of a season we just had. It would just make him look fake if he was lol

[VanWest82]

I stand by my general point that Masai seemed subdued and even somewhat wounded by the battle scars from this season and the last few.

Seems normal no? Like who the hell would be pumped up after the disaster of a season we just had. It would just make him look fake if he was lol

Sure, but it's still a little jarring. Masai normally oozes confidence. He didn't sound like this after Tampa, or even after that disaster Bulls play-in game where he was more mad/defiant. This was the first time in a long time where he lacked confidence.

[Yeezus_]

I stand by my general point that Masai seemed subdued and even somewhat wounded by the battle scars from this season and the last few.

Seems normal no? Like who the hell would be pumped up after the disaster of a season we just had. It would just make him look fake if he was lol

Sure, but it's still a little jarring. Masai normally oozes confidence. He didn't sound like this after Tampa, or even after that disaster Bulls play-in game where he was more mad/defiant. This was the first time in a long time where he lacked confidence.

Someone makes this comment after every press conference he does lol

[Merit]

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.

I don’t think that Kyle will be retired. Vince is in the hall wearing a raps jersey. It’s Vince before Kyle.

[Merit]

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.

If we don’t get a backup big/pg in the draft (and even if we do) we are one starting pg or starting c injury away from a forced tank.

[Tor_Raps]

I stand by my general point that Masai seemed subdued and even somewhat wounded by the battle scars from this season and the last few.

Seems normal no? Like who the hell would be pumped up after the disaster of a season we just had. It would just make him look fake if he was lol

Sure, but it's still a little jarring. Masai normally oozes confidence. He didn't sound like this after Tampa, or even after that disaster Bulls play-in game where he was more mad/defiant. This was the first time in a long time where he lacked confidence.

Because he was confident with the players still on the team for the Tampa tank and felt covid restrictions ruined the season. There was no excuse for this past season other than we just truly suck, which would be the first time in his Raptora existence.

If he tried to sell the fanbase on being good next year, it would just be a fake. Once he can for sure see a path back to success, his mojo will be back but he won't know that until the roster looks much better lol.

[Merit]

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

Justifiably.