Lowry says Kawhi’s actions on the court didn’t endear him to teammates

[Kurtz]

A misconception. Masai was no better at attracting external free agents here as Colangelo or anyone before him. What African FA did he attract here as a result of his connection with Giants of Africa? None. If you want to stretch it, maybe Bismack Biyombo for 1-year, $3M. Hardly notable.

Neither Kawhi nor Giannis are signing here with or without Masai.

It will interesting to see what people latch onto as a “free agent” hope now that Masai is gone. For 5+ years it was “Giannis might come here because of Masai”. Now Masai is gone.

We never had a chance at any star free agent anyway. It will be interesting to see what the new hope will be around here. My guess is the narrative will shift to “SGA homecoming”

The political climate is changing, drastically. Point of fact, more World Cup games are coming to Toronto because teams don’t feel safe entering the USA.

Is that official or just speculation at this point?

[Merit]

It will interesting to see what people latch onto as a “free agent” hope now that Masai is gone. For 5+ years it was “Giannis might come here because of Masai”. Now Masai is gone.

We never had a chance at any star free agent anyway. It will be interesting to see what the new hope will be around here. My guess is the narrative will shift to “SGA homecoming”

The political climate is changing, drastically. Point of fact, more World Cup games are coming to Toronto because teams don’t feel safe entering the USA.

Is that official or just speculation at this point?

I can’t remember where I saw it, but I’m pretty sure it applies at least to team Iran. Speculation is that they will play their games in Mexico, but I’ve also heard Canada though I haven’t seen it anywhere yet.

Here’s what I found:

Even if Iran do play next summer, their supporters will probably not be there. The country is on Trump's banned travel list, barring citizens from travelling into the United States.
"The Islamic Republic was included in the most severe travel restrictions alongside Afghanistan, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen," reports Planet Football.
"[Their] citizens of the nations are completely barred from entering the U.S. under any visa category, either as an immigrant or non-immigrant."
It remains to be seen whether arrangements are made for supporters at the World Cup, given Infantino's adherence to the message of the universality of the World Cup, but exemptions are expected for teams and associated staff.

https://www.sportbible.com/football/football-news/fifa-world-cup/fifa-set-precedent-iran-banned-2026-world-cup-808460-20250622

[ForeverTFC]

Masai's gone, and he took any possibility of us reuniting with Kawhi or getting it on with Giannis with him.

A misconception. Masai was no better at attracting external free agents here as Colangelo or anyone before him. What African FA did he attract here as a result of his connection with Giants of Africa? None. If you want to stretch it, maybe Bismack Biyombo for 1-year, $3M. Hardly notable.

Neither Kawhi nor Giannis are signing here with or without Masai.

1) Did we lose anyone in FA outside Kawhi? Because that was the norm pre-Masai
2) Did anyone fail to report and hold out on the Raptors when we traded for them? Because that happened pre-Masai.
3) Did good FAs take meetings with us during free agency? Because they weren't even considering us prior to Masai
4) Were we listed as a preferred trade destination by players that wanted out? We didn't make a single list pre-Masai

You can keep your revisionist history to yourself. We became a respected franchise under Masai. The team being in Canada provided real constraints, but Masai worked around those better than any exec in our history.

[Mr Funk]

Now that obviously doesn’t apply to the same extent in the case of NBA players, but when people like Jamal Shead say they’re looking to be Canadian Citizens - unprompted, might I add - I would like to think that the tide is turning.

We already signed BI, and we already re-signed Scottie and Jak and IQ - all our key free agents. That also gives me hope. I understand your perspective and I don’t quite agree. As for a SGA homecoming - or heck, any Canadian player - why not?

Those who remain negative on this, despite pragmatic reasoning and clear examples of change, are just flat out stubborn. They're paranoid about appearing like a "homer", so therefore they're all negative and sh*t on their team, players and city, so they'll appear much more "realistic" and "knowledgable" etc. A few members of Team Negative got snarky and rude with me for suggesting that Shai, prior to signing his super max, could come home (considering he lives in Ontario in the off season, married his high school sweetheart, is completely committed to Team Canada, proud Canadian etc).

Despite Shai signing the max, a lot of people don't take into consideration that despite just how brilliantly OKC is managed and just how bright their future will be, it's a super small ass market deep in the heart of super racist Maga country, complete with cheap ass ownership. Considering those key variables, I would never completely shut the door on the possibility of Shai being a Raptor one day.

[AkelaLoneWolf]

I mean the guy was brought here to be a mercenary and that’s exactly what he was. In the playoffs besides Lowry who else would you have trusted at the 3 point line anyway

Fred? Danny Green? Maybe serge or the occasional Marc Gasol hit?

I wouldn’t count serge or gasol as reliable from the 3 point line. Green all but disappeared. Fred did well I agree

[Bankai]

Real Talk. One was Fred Van Vleet. Considering his comments after Kawhi left. And how he didnt acknowledge Kawhi at his ring ceremony.

I didn’t pick up on this! Tell me more.

Simply put, while the other Raptors were talking about Kawhi glowingly, saying he should be respected and it was his choice. Fred had a different tone and just said they will have to kick his ass (in basketball). If you look at Kawhi's Ring Ceremony, the other Raptors hugged and shook hands with Kawhi... except Fred who didnt and hid.

[Merit]

I mean the guy was brought here to be a mercenary and that’s exactly what he was. In the playoffs besides Lowry who else would you have trusted at the 3 point line anyway

Fred? Danny Green? Maybe serge or the occasional Marc Gasol hit?

I wouldn’t count serge or gasol as reliable from the 3 point line. Green all but disappeared. Fred did well I agree

Trust is a strong word, but enough to impact spacing was how I took it.

[TheAlchemist23]

The guy clearly has some form of ASD, maybe Asperger's

[MoneyBall]

Best moment was when Kawhi shunned Norm's fist bump.

[Mark_83]

Kawhi Leonard, the new franchise savior and former disgruntled San Antonio Spur, wasn't a vocal leader. He wasn't the guy cracking jokes on the plane or lifting up teammates with long-winded speeches.

He was the guy who asked for the ball and let the scoreboard do the talking. And according to Kyle Lowry, not everybody loved it.

"Kawhi rubbed people the wrong way because of how he operates," Lowry said. "He's like, 'Yo, give me the ball. I'm a get it done.' You might be like, 'Kawhi, I'm open.' But he's like, 'I'm gonna get this bucket.'"

https://www.basketballnetwork.net/off-the-court/kyle-lowry-says-some-raptors-players-despised-kawhi-leonard-during-their-championship-run

Masai is with Kawhi at Giants of Africa this year, and Kawhi’s contract expires in 2027. Would you bring him back?

Masai's gone, and he took any possibility of us reuniting with Kawhi or getting it on with Giannis with him.

[adubmac]

Kawhi's actions endeared him to the fans more than Kyle's yearly disappearing acts in the playoffs.

[Raps Next GM]

Masai's gone, and he took any possibility of us reuniting with Kawhi or getting it on with Giannis with him.

A misconception. Masai was no better at attracting external free agents here as Colangelo or anyone before him. What African FA did he attract here as a result of his connection with Giants of Africa? None. If you want to stretch it, maybe Bismack Biyombo for 1-year, $3M. Hardly notable.

Neither Kawhi nor Giannis are signing here with or without Masai.

1) Did we lose anyone in FA outside Kawhi? Because that was the norm pre-Masai
2) Did anyone fail to report and hold out on the Raptors when we traded for them? Because that happened pre-Masai.
3) Did good FAs take meetings with us during free agency? Because they weren't even considering us prior to Masai
4) Were we listed as a preferred trade destination by players that wanted out? We didn't make a single list pre-Masai

You can keep your revisionist history to yourself. We became a respected franchise under Masai. The team being in Canada provided real constraints, but Masai worked around those better than any exec in our history.

You can be both right, what Tacoma says isn’t revisionist, it’s 100% correct. Masai didn’t get any free agents of note, and as you say, we didn’t lose any aside from Kawhi (can’t blame Ujiri) and FVV (better than overpaying him, but we never should have lost him for nothing).
But you’re right that Masai got us more consideration than others before, he definitely had a credibility that will be missed… but ultimately it still didn’t land us anyone, which means ‘so what?’
Saying we got free agents/stars to consider us (but not choose or demand to come here) is basically the equivalent of a participation trophy.

[gp2015]

I mean the guy was brought here to be a mercenary and that’s exactly what he was. In the playoffs besides Lowry who else would you have trusted at the 3 point line anyway

Fred? Danny Green? Maybe serge or the occasional Marc Gasol hit?

Fred was horrible in the first half of the playoffs and then great in the second half. Green was just pretty bad all around in the entire playoffs. Serge - no.

i wouldn't consider Gasol's 3 pointer reliable either but he shot it pretty well in the playoffs that year.

[Kingsway_fan]

A misconception. Masai was no better at attracting external free agents here as Colangelo or anyone before him. What African FA did he attract here as a result of his connection with Giants of Africa? None. If you want to stretch it, maybe Bismack Biyombo for 1-year, $3M. Hardly notable.

Neither Kawhi nor Giannis are signing here with or without Masai.

It will interesting to see what people latch onto as a “free agent” hope now that Masai is gone. For 5+ years it was “Giannis might come here because of Masai”. Now Masai is gone.

We never had a chance at any star free agent anyway. It will be interesting to see what the new hope will be around here. My guess is the narrative will shift to “SGA homecoming”

I don’t really duck with absolutes. I feel that history hasn’t been kind to the raptors, but history doesn’t mean anything with regards to the future.

The political climate is changing, drastically. Point of fact, more World Cup games are coming to Toronto because teams don’t feel safe entering the USA.

Now that obviously doesn’t apply to the same extent in the case of NBA players, but when people like Jamal Shead say they’re looking to be Canadian Citizens - unprompted, might I add - I would like to think that the tide is turning.

We already signed BI, and we already re-signed Scottie and Jak and IQ - all our key free agents. That also gives me hope. I understand your perspective and I don’t quite agree. As for a SGA homecoming - or heck, any Canadian player - why not?

"The political climate is changing, drastically. Point of fact, more World Cup games are coming to Toronto because teams don’t feel safe entering the USA." Source?

[YogurtProducer]

I mean the guy was brought here to be a mercenary and that’s exactly what he was. In the playoffs besides Lowry who else would you have trusted at the 3 point line anyway

Fred, Norm, or Marc who all had higher 3pt%'s than lowry? not to mention Green who shot 45% from 3 that RS

What made that team so lethal was the fact everyone was a shooting threat from the 1-5; starters or bench.

[Merit]

It will interesting to see what people latch onto as a “free agent” hope now that Masai is gone. For 5+ years it was “Giannis might come here because of Masai”. Now Masai is gone.

We never had a chance at any star free agent anyway. It will be interesting to see what the new hope will be around here. My guess is the narrative will shift to “SGA homecoming”

I don’t really duck with absolutes. I feel that history hasn’t been kind to the raptors, but history doesn’t mean anything with regards to the future.

The political climate is changing, drastically. Point of fact, more World Cup games are coming to Toronto because teams don’t feel safe entering the USA.

Now that obviously doesn’t apply to the same extent in the case of NBA players, but when people like Jamal Shead say they’re looking to be Canadian Citizens - unprompted, might I add - I would like to think that the tide is turning.

We already signed BI, and we already re-signed Scottie and Jak and IQ - all our key free agents. That also gives me hope. I understand your perspective and I don’t quite agree. As for a SGA homecoming - or heck, any Canadian player - why not?

"The political climate is changing, drastically. Point of fact, more World Cup games are coming to Toronto because teams don’t feel safe entering the USA." Source?

No source. Just speculation. That said, maybe I spoke out of turn.

Also, if you’re checking sources make sure that the same rigour you’re advocating I espouse is something you do as well.

[Merit]

Real Talk. One was Fred Van Vleet. Considering his comments after Kawhi left. And how he didnt acknowledge Kawhi at his ring ceremony.

I didn’t pick up on this! Tell me more.

Simply put, while the other Raptors were talking about Kawhi glowingly, saying he should be respected and it was his choice. Fred had a different tone and just said they will have to kick his ass (in basketball). If you look at Kawhi's Ring Ceremony, the other Raptors hugged and shook hands with Kawhi... except Fred who didnt and hid.

I find this so interesting since Fred and Nick literally ruined our next season, and Fred leaving literally set us back a whole season at the minimum. I recall “golden boy” comments from Fred re: Scottie as well. The math is mathing.

I respect Fred the player and Fred’s hustle, but I dislike that he put himself before the franchise when it could’ve been awesome had we run it back. I recognize that it’s entirely his prerogative and I may have left for a tax free state and the bag as well, but it does feel pretty yucky in hindsight. Emotionally, not in terms of business.

[Hero]

Who cares. Look how long ago the title run was. Are people really wasting their time on how Kawhi was on or off the court?

[beanbag]

Scoreboard man gets paid.

[AkelaLoneWolf]

I mean the guy was brought here to be a mercenary and that’s exactly what he was. In the playoffs besides Lowry who else would you have trusted at the 3 point line anyway

Fred, Norm, or Marc who all had higher 3pt%'s than lowry? not to mention Green who shot 45% from 3 that RS

What made that team so lethal was the fact everyone was a shooting threat from the 1-5; starters or bench.

I get that but ultimately no championship without Kawhi. So he gets the privileges. Being a ball hog. Load management days. All of it.