Raptors Realtor wrote:Scase wrote:Raptors Realtor wrote:
Whenever I hear someone who's indifferent or think we should fire/let Masai walk, I always ask, who would you replace him with? And so far, everytime, it's crickets... So who would you replace him with that isn't currently employed by another team, or at least realistically obtainable, that you are confident would do a better job?
Well yeah, it's not my job to find that person. Just because I think someone is doing a poor job, it doesn't mean I'm the one who needs to have the answer. I trust the people who actually hire and know the industry to do it. If they think Masai is the best bet, then so be it.
What I think is worse is the constant arguments of "Well there is no one better". Yeah, we heard that with BC as well, until we found someone better. No one wanted Nurse gone, until they did. I'm not saying fire Masai for the sake of firing him, I'm saying he's been doing a poor job for years now, and it's not unreasonable to think that someone else might do a better job. Sometimes you just need a change.
We aren't the spurs with Pop, we don't have decades of excellence to point to as a reason to have faith, we had 5 years of a climb resulting in an awesome chip, and we've had 5 years of a decline, resulting in some of the worst records in our franchises history and without much to show for it. I think it's pretty reasonable.
Would you keep an employee on board who has been bad for half a decade? I don't think I would. You also have to take into account that this employee in question is the highest paid employee in the company, and you're getting bad or mediocre results. That's flat out not worth it, what we've seen the last 5 or so years does not match the price tag, and if I'm running a business and can find someone to do the same job at a fraction of the price, why do I pay more than I need to?
Masai hasn't done anything to justify his cost in the last 5 years, he's no different than a player at this point, he had a banger few years, signed a big contract, and then declined massively. Should that necessitate another big contract? It wouldn't with a player, and it shouldn't with an exec.
Well it may not be your job to find the replacement, but if you're able to conclude that he should be replaced, it's because you believe there's someone who can do a better job. You don't replace someone without knowing there's a better person for the job, in any line of work or capacity... The grass isn't always greener, and forums/social media is filled with pessimism and the expectation of instant gratification.
Saying he's been bad for 5 years is disengenuine or just an exaggeration. He was "bad" for about half that amount of time. There's no arguing he became complacent and had a hard time letting go of the players from the championship team, but in the last 18 months or so we've seen a rejuvenated and involved Masai completely reconstructing this team with a lot of solid trades and picks.
If Masai wasn't here, we'd have an even more difficult time attracting 'any' free agents, re-signing players, and we wouldn't even be mentioned as a possible destination to sign or trade for the likes of Giannis... Don't forget the most successful run in this team's history has happened under the fingerprints of Masai... Change for the sake of change isn't a justifiable reason when we're talking about a GM of Masai's calibre and track record, unless there's a clearcut upgrade available, the problem is nobody can name that upgrade.
If a bus driver crashes his bus, am I not allowed to say that he shouldn't continue being a bus driver just because I can't name a replacement? Should I not be able to tell a fireman to not try and put out a fire with gasoline just because I'm not a fireman?
This is such a nonsensical argument. You also completely ignored the cost aspect of his replacement, if you think what we've had produced the last 5 years justifies him being the highest paid exec in the league, and that we couldn't produce this level of mediocrity for cheaper, then I don't know what to say. It's a business, and if you think Rogers is going to pay Masai the current contract, or an increase, for what has happened the last 5 years, over hiring someone for a fraction of that amount, I've got a bridge to sell you.
You can call him rejuvinated or whatever you want, but this team has produced nothing viable since the chip. Scottie is the crown jewel of the last 5 years, and as much as I like the kid, he's not taking the team to the promise land. The team has been on a large decline the last 5 years, if you think he's the only exec in the world who could've gotten us where we are now....there's not really any point to this discussion. Hell, even if you take the argument of his last 18mo being better, I still wouldn't re-sign someone who **** the bed the 3-4 years prior just because
now he's rejuvinated. I wouldn't extend someone who can just decide to not give a **** when they want to.
The free agent angle is lowkey hilarious though, Masai has had zero impact on anyone notable coming here, and I don't put that blame on him, that's the nature of the Raps, but lets not act like he's had some major shift or anything.
We heard the "Well there's nobody better" with BC, and magically we found someone, it happened to be Masai. That doesn't mean he's the answer until the heat death of the universe, sometimes you need a change of scenery, new blood, different ideas and so on.
