Masai Year End Presser @ 10am

[alienchild]

Masai is usually very guarded in his answers, but I felt like this was one of his most insightful interviews he's given where he was very open with his answers. Definitely did not think he would be that candid about the thought process at the end of the season leaning towards the draft and giving our young players an increased role vs. trying to make the play-in. He wants ownership to deliver on some things (not related to willingness to go into the luxury tax) to raise our profile and realizing his vision for the team longterm.

That's what makes me a bit nervous. Growing a ManU type brand implies significant investment. MLSE would be crazy not to invest in Masai's vision, but Cope left Bell and Ed Rogers is a colossal moron. Larry T. is still in his corner, but he has the smallest stake.

I hope and think he'll stay, but it's not a given these guys give him everything he asks for.

Frankly, I've thought for a while that Masai is calling out the Rogers/Sportsnet side of ownership for blatant bias towards hockey because they spent billions on the TV rights, and supporting the Blue Jays because they own them outright, and shortshrifting the Raptors by putting too many on air hockey people for any Raptors media they they do. Basketball isn't getting the support it should get from that side of ownership.

[bboyskinnylegs]

Sounds like Kyle is gone though. Masai said age isn't a factor but at some point, you have to allow your young guys to elevate.

We always overanalyze these things, but I get the feeling the part where he broke down crying was tied to hearing Kyle's comments about him. Either because he knows Kyle isn't coming back, or perhaps because he's leaving himself. Or maybe both.

[WuTang_CMB]

It really depends. I think the Leafs are still king, and that plays into the politics of things.

Masai always said Raptors and basketball will take over and hes right

yet we dont get the credit we deserve. Just look at TSN and Sportsnet , its all hockey and that hurts us

Hes 100% right. We are owned by two major media comglemerates yet we hardly talk about the Raps.

Our brand needs to get bigger !!!!

I hate hockey with a passion but the Leafs are still ahead of the Raptors. The reason TSN and Sportsnet promote hockey is because a) much higher tv ratings and b) the game is weeded deep into Canadian culture. It's possible for Raptors to overtake them but it won't be anytime soon.

The clock is ticking. We will pass them. Just look at Canada and the immigrants and the amoubnt of kids playing basketball.

Yet our media coverage doesnt align? Doesnt make sense. It should be growing at the same rate.

Does it make sense that TSN shows curling non stop? And NBA / Raptors takes a back seat to that at times? Doesnt make sense.

Masai wants Leafs to be 1A and Raptors to be 1B not 1 and ..... 4th for raptors if that makes any sense.

coverage should be 50 50 ... thats what fans want to see

[mintsa]

When he started to cry.......sounds to me like he’s gone.

That’s my feelings toward it.

[douggood]

When he started to cry.......sounds to me like he’s gone.

That’s my feelings toward it.

that moment i had the same feeling of him leaving with that response, but his answers to the other questions didnt give me the same feeling.

[Danny1616]

Masai always said Raptors and basketball will take over and hes right

yet we dont get the credit we deserve. Just look at TSN and Sportsnet , its all hockey and that hurts us

Hes 100% right. We are owned by two major media comglemerates yet we hardly talk about the Raps.

Our brand needs to get bigger !!!!

I hate hockey with a passion but the Leafs are still ahead of the Raptors. The reason TSN and Sportsnet promote hockey is because a) much higher tv ratings and b) the game is weeded deep into Canadian culture. It's possible for Raptors to overtake them but it won't be anytime soon.

The clock is ticking. We will pass them. Just look at Canada and the immigrants and the amoubnt of kids playing basketball.

Yet our media coverage doesnt align? Doesnt make sense. It should be growing at the same rate.

Does it make sense that TSN shows curling non stop? And NBA / Raptors takes a back seat to that at times? Doesnt make sense.

Masai wants Leafs to be 1A and Raptors to be 1B not 1 and ..... 4th for raptors if that makes any sense.

coverage should be 50 50 ... thats what fans want to see

You look at online presence and social media...the Raptors far outpace the Leafs.

Leafs have 1.1 million followers on Instagram. Raptors have 3.3 million followers.

Media is moving away from traditional cable. Online presence, streams, clicks etc. are the way of the future.
Every Raptor post online generates significantly more clicks, exposure, presence compared to the Leafs. Ad revenue is now moving online. You look at even a lot of the celebrities now, they are YouTube celebrities. That's where it's at.

In the GTA, the Raptors are pretty much just as popular as the Leafs and growing much faster.

Outside of the GTA of course the Leafs reign supreme.

[alienchild]

I really hope this is what he means. Not enough basketball coverage in this country. We have segments here and there but no shows dedicated to basketball. It's kind of sad. I turn on the TV after work and every show is talking hockey mostly, sprinkled in with basketball talk.

Then you get to the actual Raptors games where the games especially for Sportsnet are mostly always played on Sportsnet One. TSN does a better job of putting the game on the primary channel but it's still annoying as a whole.

MLSE needs to think bigger with basketball in general.

Yep.

And this is good news for everyone. MLSE should be happy with this for their leader to want to grow this organization even more.

LEt MAsai do his thing !!!! this is a no brainer.

The raptors deserve to be considered one of the top brands in the world with the likes oif Manchester United. Thats what Masai's vision is.

But did it really have to come down to contract renewal time to achieve those things? Like, couldn't Masai have done those things while earning his salary.

Read on Twitter

[Yeezus_]

I really hope this is what he means. Not enough basketball coverage in this country. We have segments here and there but no shows dedicated to basketball. It's kind of sad. I turn on the TV after work and every show is talking hockey mostly, sprinkled in with basketball talk.

Then you get to the actual Raptors games where the games especially for Sportsnet are mostly always played on Sportsnet One. TSN does a better job of putting the game on the primary channel but it's still annoying as a whole.

MLSE needs to think bigger with basketball in general.

Yep.

And this is good news for everyone. MLSE should be happy with this for their leader to want to grow this organization even more.

LEt MAsai do his thing !!!! this is a no brainer.

The raptors deserve to be considered one of the top brands in the world with the likes oif Manchester United. Thats what Masai's vision is.

But did it really have to come down to contract renewal time to achieve those things? Like, couldn't Masai have done those things while earning his salary.

You can get more out of the organization when it comes time to re-sign though. A lot of it is probably also growing basketball infrastructure through Canadian grassroots programs and his GOA initiative.

[Yeezus_]

This might be one of my favourite Masai quotes because of how he said it live

Read on Twitter

[WuTang_CMB]

I really hope this is what he means. Not enough basketball coverage in this country. We have segments here and there but no shows dedicated to basketball. It's kind of sad. I turn on the TV after work and every show is talking hockey mostly, sprinkled in with basketball talk.

Then you get to the actual Raptors games where the games especially for Sportsnet are mostly always played on Sportsnet One. TSN does a better job of putting the game on the primary channel but it's still annoying as a whole.

MLSE needs to think bigger with basketball in general.

Yep.

And this is good news for everyone. MLSE should be happy with this for their leader to want to grow this organization even more.

LEt MAsai do his thing !!!! this is a no brainer.

The raptors deserve to be considered one of the top brands in the world with the likes oif Manchester United. Thats what Masai's vision is.

But did it really have to come down to contract renewal time to achieve those things? Like, couldn't Masai have done those things while earning his salary.

Yes. Leverage.

Masai likely to stay but if he continues to build winners, he expects ownership to back it up and grow the brand to something bigger than ever.

Whatever we think the Raptors can be ... remember Masai probably thinks 100x bigger. That's just how these guys are programmed mentally.

[OakleyDokely]

Masai is 100% right about ownership.

MLSE is completely shortsighted which isnt exactly surprising considering the two biggest shareholders Bell and Rogers basically operate within an oligarchy.

They're so concerned about Canadian TV ratings they lose sight of the big picture, that the NBA is a global game (unlike hockey) and that the Raptors are their most valuable property according to Forbes. As gap between the NBA and NHL continues to grow, MLSE's #1 priority is still about getting old white males to watch hockey in Canada.

I'm not saying MLSE are bad owners. They've been hands off and they've provided the cash when needed, which is what you want but they still think small and they're very conservative.

[PhilBlackson]

My overall take...

He's offered a dead serious ultimatum and they're on the clock before he leaves for Africa but he's clear on his choices.

MLSE will meet his demands and he has an entire vision for it or he moves on to whatever option B is and that makes him emotional to consider but the ball is in their court...on his terms or else.

[Badonkadonk]

Masai is usually very guarded in his answers, but I felt like this was one of his most insightful interviews he's given where he was very open with his answers. Definitely did not think he would be that candid about the thought process at the end of the season leaning towards the draft and giving our young players an increased role vs. trying to make the play-in. He wants ownership to deliver on some things (not related to willingness to go into the luxury tax) to raise our profile and realizing his vision for the team longterm.

That's what makes me a bit nervous. Growing a ManU type brand implies significant investment. MLSE would be crazy not to invest in Masai's vision, but Cope left Bell and Ed Rogers is a colossal moron. Larry T. is still in his corner, but he has the smallest stake.

I hope and think he'll stay, but it's not a given these guys give him everything he asks for.

Frankly, I've thought for a while that Masai is calling out the Rogers/Sportsnet side of ownership for blatant bias towards hockey because they spent billions on the TV rights, and supporting the Blue Jays because they own them outright, and shortshrifting the Raptors by putting too many on air hockey people for any Raptors media they they do. Basketball isn't getting the support it should get from that side of ownership.

I completely agree, and it pisses me off that I'm stuck with hockey games between two random American cities I couldn't care less about on a nightly basis.

This is where I'm concerned. Masai is a visionary and can see a future where Hoops is on equal footing. I think the long-term demographics support this, but good luck bringing Bell/Rogers guys on board.

[PhilBlackson]

This might be one of my favourite Masai quotes because of how he said it live

Read on Twitter

TM was punching air after that one lol

[WuTang_CMB]

Masai is 100% right about ownership.

MLSE is completely shortsighted sighted which isnt exactly surprising considering the two biggest shareholders Bell and Rogers basically operate within an oligarchy.

They're so concerned about Canadian TV ratings they lose sight of the big picture, that the NBA is a global game (unlike hockey) and that the Raptors are their most valuable property according to Forbes. As gap between the NBA and NHL continues to grow, MLSE's #1 priority is still about getting old white males to watch hockey.

I'm not saying MLSE are bad owners. They've been hands off and they've provided the cash when needed, but they still think small and conservative.

That's where a guy like Leiweke would have helped here. He probably would have gotten this from them 4 years ago.

But here we are. Ownership has done well since Leiweke came on board but now its not time to stay stagnent and Masai wants major improvements - just by thinking bigger too.

Lets see what happens.

[Shaazzam]

Is the presser video posted yet? Missed it and want to watch

[Anticon]

Masai is 100% right about ownership...

I'm not saying MLSE are bad owners. They've been hands off and they've provided the cash when needed, which is what you want but they still think small and they're very conservative.

Masai just has a vision that is unlike many sports owners, who want something comfortable and lower risk.

Hes entering the stage of his career where he has the profile and energy to do great things. He wants to make sure ownership had the same point of view.

If they don't, then I think he likely leaves. But he doesn't seem to want to unless he has to.

[ItsDanger]

How come Masai doesn't have to quarantine? Wasn't he in Tampa 3 days ago?

[Scott Hall]

Since I became a full time Streamer at the start of 2020 Bell and Rogers and what they promote or don't
promote is irrelevant to me. I'm not sure if Cable is "dying" but more and more people seem to be ditching it
and realizing it's a giant waste of money.

It's definitely not the 90's or early 2000's anymore where we were reliant on Canadian media and cable to get our fix.
One of the main reasons Raptors nation has always had a big online presence is because we needed the internet to
get our proper Raptors/NBA fix.

Stuff like streaming, Twitter, Youtube, Apps is the future if it isn't already. I can't remember the last time I watched
Canadian Cable channels, read the Toronto Star or Toronto Sun or listened to the Fan 590 to get any coverage
or bothered with them in general.

I watch what I want to watch when I want to watch it and not have to rely on any of those outdated models
for "coverage".

I could careless about the opinions of guys like Grange, or Doug Smith or Bruce Arthur etc their opinions are no
different then the average Real GMer what I want from them is news about the team and that's it.

If you want to be a powerful sports brand you need to win a lot and have superstar players want to play for your team
and also have cool jerseys and a logo that people will want to wear. Anyone in the 90's remember how powerful the
Charlotte Hornets brand was? so many kids had Hornets jerseys and hats.

Ever since I became a streamer and watch You Tube on my TV way more often I barely ever hear about the NHL
anymore since I don't have TSN or Sportsnet shoving it down my throat. I also don't hate Hockey but I've lost a lot
on interest over the years/decades mainly because the Leafs killed a lot of the love/interest and plus I miss the
violence and great plays there used to be.

As much as I love the 80's and 90's I don't miss being a caveman having the CRTC and Canadian media companies
dictate what I watch or listen to anymore.

[metafisical]

I'm not saying MLSE are bad owners. They've been hands off and they've provided the cash when needed, which is what you want but they still think small and they're very conservative.

That's more of a general Canadian mentality -- business-wise and as a population -- especially our media companies. We are generally very small-minded and risk-averse, valuing stability and predictability over risk-tolerance and innovation. This won't change anytime soon.