Pelley new MLSE boss, could be good for teams

[TheGeneral99]

I was referring to Bobby, not Masai. If Masai is running the team, why is he president, and why do we need a GM?

I always saw Bobby as the co-General Manager with Masai.

It seems that since the beginning Bobby has been Masai's right hand guy since Masai came on board in 2013. He's a supposed genius on the salary cap, payrolls, taxes etc. which is why Masai hired him.

I think Masai makes the final decision, but obviously values Bobby's insight, recommendations, analysis etc.

The GM is just a title to give Bobby more prestige, recognition and higher salary, but they clearly work together and always have.

Well then the excuse of "Masai stepped back" no longer holds any water then. And quite frankly, if Bobby is the cap genius he is always lauded being, why do we keep handing out more expensive contracts than need be, and trading down picks to avoid the tax.

These are things we should have the advantage on.

All that being said, the last 5ish years have been underwhelming to put it nicely, and I don't think it's unreasonable to look for a change when things are going in the wrong direction.

This is simply not true.

Masai and Bobby have been excellent comparatively at not giving away over-expensive contracts. They also have made sure to sign guys on short-term deals so they could easily pivot if it doesn't work out. They always have flexibility.

Fred was signed to a 3 year deal, OG to a 4 year deal, Siakam was given the max at the time after he made all-NBA 2nd team, Poeltl is on a good deal that can be easily traded.

They literally traded Norm for Fred so they wouldn't pay Norm a huge deal and they would get a young Gary Trent Jr. on a cheaper deal...which didn't work but fiscally speaking it made sense given where we were.

We trade down to avoid the tax because most organizations like ourselves do not want to go into the luxury tax, lol.

[ATLTimekeeper]

People don't realize the bad moves match the timeline when Bobby was in charge more and Masai was focused on other things like African basketball.

The contract offer will be a downgrade and he will leave for a position with the nba head office or to play minor league baseball. Hope he can hit a curve. Bobby will remain as GM and we will make little moves around the edges and we'll be a playin team for the next decade.

I don't understand why everyone is rushing Masai out the door. Whoever comes in will do a worse job. There are plenty of average or below average GMs/Presidents but there only a handful of elite talent who all have positions in more high profile situations. The odds of finding someone better is worse than finding a number one option. We've had plenty of average/below average GMs. From the Isiah to Babcock to BC to Glen with a failed Butch Carter power play for ownership/gm role. Everyone of those GMs would have taken Suggs over Barnes. So would anyone on the market now and most GMs. We had a GM/president who has enough clout to select Barnes and is smart enough to do so. Are we getting that guy as a replacement?

This isn't the first time I've heard the bolded, but you have to realize that even if this is true, it's still Masai's fault as Bobby's boss for allowing him to be in charge as much as he was, to make said bad moves.

This just confirms that Masai isn't a good president and should take a demotion back to being GM. Or it's just nonsense. They work together. Masai approves of everything Bobby does.

[Scase]

I always saw Bobby as the co-General Manager with Masai.

It seems that since the beginning Bobby has been Masai's right hand guy since Masai came on board in 2013. He's a supposed genius on the salary cap, payrolls, taxes etc. which is why Masai hired him.

I think Masai makes the final decision, but obviously values Bobby's insight, recommendations, analysis etc.

The GM is just a title to give Bobby more prestige, recognition and higher salary, but they clearly work together and always have.

Well then the excuse of "Masai stepped back" no longer holds any water then. And quite frankly, if Bobby is the cap genius he is always lauded being, why do we keep handing out more expensive contracts than need be, and trading down picks to avoid the tax.

These are things we should have the advantage on.

All that being said, the last 5ish years have been underwhelming to put it nicely, and I don't think it's unreasonable to look for a change when things are going in the wrong direction.

This is simply not true.

Masai and Bobby have been excellent comparatively at not giving away over-expensive contracts. They also have made sure to sign guys on short-term deals so they could easily pivot if it doesn't work out. They always have flexibility.

Fred was signed to a 3 year deal, OG to a 4 year deal, Siakam was given the max at the time after he made all-NBA 2nd team, Poeltl is on a good deal that can be easily traded.

They literally traded Norm for Fred so they wouldn't pay Norm a huge deal and they would get a young Gary Trent Jr. on a cheaper deal...which didn't work but fiscally speaking it made sense given where we were.

We trade down to avoid the tax because most organizations like ourselves do not want to go into the luxury tax, lol.

Demarre, Birch, IQ, BI, just to name a few. And yeah most teams dont want to go into the tax, the issue wasn't making the trade, it was that they HAD to make the trade to avoid it.

I don't understand how you can look at the last 5 years and think they are doing a good job.

[PushDaRock]

Well then the excuse of "Masai stepped back" no longer holds any water then. And quite frankly, if Bobby is the cap genius he is always lauded being, why do we keep handing out more expensive contracts than need be, and trading down picks to avoid the tax.

These are things we should have the advantage on.

All that being said, the last 5ish years have been underwhelming to put it nicely, and I don't think it's unreasonable to look for a change when things are going in the wrong direction.

This is simply not true.

Masai and Bobby have been excellent comparatively at not giving away over-expensive contracts. They also have made sure to sign guys on short-term deals so they could easily pivot if it doesn't work out. They always have flexibility.

Fred was signed to a 3 year deal, OG to a 4 year deal, Siakam was given the max at the time after he made all-NBA 2nd team, Poeltl is on a good deal that can be easily traded.

They literally traded Norm for Fred so they wouldn't pay Norm a huge deal and they would get a young Gary Trent Jr. on a cheaper deal...which didn't work but fiscally speaking it made sense given where we were.

We trade down to avoid the tax because most organizations like ourselves do not want to go into the luxury tax, lol.

Demarre, Birch, IQ, BI, just to name a few. And yeah most teams dont want to go into the tax, the issue wasn't making the trade, it was that they HAD to make the trade to avoid it.

I don't understand how you can look at the last 5 years and think they are doing a good job.

I don't know why you would say we overpaid BI when he had a 4 years 160m extension he turned down from the Pelicans. He literally took less guaranteed money to play for us which is very significant with his injury history.

[TheGeneral99]

Well then the excuse of "Masai stepped back" no longer holds any water then. And quite frankly, if Bobby is the cap genius he is always lauded being, why do we keep handing out more expensive contracts than need be, and trading down picks to avoid the tax.

These are things we should have the advantage on.

All that being said, the last 5ish years have been underwhelming to put it nicely, and I don't think it's unreasonable to look for a change when things are going in the wrong direction.

This is simply not true.

Masai and Bobby have been excellent comparatively at not giving away over-expensive contracts. They also have made sure to sign guys on short-term deals so they could easily pivot if it doesn't work out. They always have flexibility.

Fred was signed to a 3 year deal, OG to a 4 year deal, Siakam was given the max at the time after he made all-NBA 2nd team, Poeltl is on a good deal that can be easily traded.

They literally traded Norm for Fred so they wouldn't pay Norm a huge deal and they would get a young Gary Trent Jr. on a cheaper deal...which didn't work but fiscally speaking it made sense given where we were.

We trade down to avoid the tax because most organizations like ourselves do not want to go into the luxury tax, lol.

Demarre, Birch, IQ, BI, just to name a few. And yeah most teams dont want to go into the tax, the issue wasn't making the trade, it was that they HAD to make the trade to avoid it.

I don't understand how you can look at the last 5 years and think they are doing a good job.

Again, compare Masai to every GM in the league and you will see he's one of the most conservative GM's when it comes to contracts.

Carroll was a disappointment, but Masai made up for it drafting Powell, Siakam, Delon and OG and trading Ross for Ibaka. It's not like Carroll had the most crazy contract either, he was paid 4 years, 64m for a 3+D player which was standard at the time. The issue was he couldn't stay healthy.

Birch signed a 3 year 21m contract...not sure how crazy this is...? He didn't produce but 7m is literally what a decent bench player is paid.

IQ is literally in the 2nd year of a long contract so whether he is worth that contract remains to be seen. Year 1 was a disappointment because he was hurt.

Ingram - took less money and years to be here and hasn't played a game yet so how can you say it's a bad contract. Also given the short-term deal of 3 years, Ingram can be traded in his contract year if we have to.

If this is the worst Masai has done he has been pretty damn good at managing contracts.

[Scase]

This is simply not true.

Masai and Bobby have been excellent comparatively at not giving away over-expensive contracts. They also have made sure to sign guys on short-term deals so they could easily pivot if it doesn't work out. They always have flexibility.

Fred was signed to a 3 year deal, OG to a 4 year deal, Siakam was given the max at the time after he made all-NBA 2nd team, Poeltl is on a good deal that can be easily traded.

They literally traded Norm for Fred so they wouldn't pay Norm a huge deal and they would get a young Gary Trent Jr. on a cheaper deal...which didn't work but fiscally speaking it made sense given where we were.

We trade down to avoid the tax because most organizations like ourselves do not want to go into the luxury tax, lol.

Demarre, Birch, IQ, BI, just to name a few. And yeah most teams dont want to go into the tax, the issue wasn't making the trade, it was that they HAD to make the trade to avoid it.

I don't understand how you can look at the last 5 years and think they are doing a good job.

Again, compare Masai to every GM in the league and you will see he's one of the most conservative GM's when it comes to contracts.

Carroll was a disappointment, but Masai made up for it drafting Powell, Siakam, Delon and OG and trading Ross for Ibaka. It's not like Carroll had the most crazy contract either, he was paid 4 years, 64m for a 3+D player which was standard at the time. The issue was he couldn't stay healthy.

Birch signed a 3 year 21m contract...not sure how crazy this is...? He didn't produce but 7m is literally what a decent bench player is paid.

IQ is literally in the 2nd year of a long contract so whether he is worth that contract remains to be seen. Year 1 was a disappointment because he was hurt.

Ingram - took less money and years to be here and hasn't played a game yet so how can you say it's a bad contract. Also given the short-term deal of 3 years, Ingram can be traded in his contract year if we have to.

If this is the worst Masai has done he has been pretty damn good at managing contracts.

Birch was overpaid and produced nothing, IQ was gifted a large contract based off hopes and dreams, and BI is the same. He didn't take less money, no one in the league had any interest in trading for him, and then we came along, picked him up, and then bid against ourselves as usual.

We didn't give up much to get him, so what makes you think teams in the league who wouldn't even give up what little we did, would be comfortable just shelling out 40mil/yr on a guy who can barely play 60 games a season. Or is everyone in the NBA stupid but Masai?


Carrolls issue was that he couldn't stay healthy? Sure seems like a pattern, Birch's contract was bad due to injuries, IQ's so far has been bad due to injuries, BI's entire career aside from year 1 has been riddled with injuries. Sure nothing seems bad when you have an excuse for every example.

[VanWest82]

Do OPer and others still feel the same way? Granted, this was a tough grenade for Pelley to fall on, but I didn't come away from that press conference feeling super great about the future of any MLSE team. Time will tell, I guess.

[Mr.Raptorsingh]

This aged well...

[Yallbecrazy]

Do OPer and others still feel the same way?

Don't think Pelley had any say in this personally. This is Ed Rogers 100%

[PushDaRock]

Do OPer and others still feel the same way?

Don't think Pelley had any say in this personally. This is Ed Rogers 100%

Well, unless he's blatant lying he said he made the decision himself.

[VanWest82]

Do OPer and others still feel the same way?

Don't think Pelley had any say in this personally. This is Ed Rogers 100%

Well, unless he's blatant lying he said he made the decision himself.

My guess would be he's at least somewhat blatantly lying given the history.

[Yallbecrazy]

Don't think Pelley had any say in this personally. This is Ed Rogers 100%

Well, unless he's blatant lying he said he made the decision himself.

My guess would be he's at least somewhat blatantly lying given the history.

Ed Rogers appealed to Silver and even threatened to sue to tear up Masai’s last contract. We all kind of knew when Rogers became majority owner the writing was on the wall, but our minds didn't want to think about it.

[dTox]

This guy has made a very bad first impression on me, I'm not confident about where this team and org is headed.

[Tor_Raps]

This guy is a complete clown who has 0 knowledge on what hes actually managing, the the press conference was a joke.

You talk about stability but then fire the President and keep repeating the words "business man" like thats what the fans want to hear. He's literally a clone of Peddie who got a job for being well connected rather than actually good at his job.

[Son Goku 25]

"Strong business man" lol usually you get a good feeling when it's all done but this time no one has come out and said anything to relieve the crowd. Tbh it was Masai who would, the thing is that if he was doing a **** job then I'd understand but I'm having a hard time seeing his replacement be better esp the way this Pelley guy is, he doesn't really care for the Raptors. Wish we fired him instead.

[NoBias]

Well, unless he's blatant lying he said he made the decision himself.

My guess would be he's at least somewhat blatantly lying given the history.

Ed Rogers appealed to Silver and even threatened to sue to tear up Masai’s last contract. We all kind of knew when Rogers became majority owner the writing was on the wall, but our minds didn't want to think about it.

Can you cite a source to this? This is news to me

[StopitLeo]

"Strong business man" lol usually you get a good feeling when it's all done but this time no one has come out and said anything to relieve the crowd. Tbh it was Masai who would, the thing is that if he was doing a **** job then I'd understand but I'm having a hard time seeing his replacement be better esp the way this Pelley guy is, he doesn't really care for the Raptors. Wish we fired him instead.

Strong businessman in this context = penny pinching executive who won't spend Ed Rogers' money

[S.W.A.N]

Do OPer and others still feel the same way?

Don't think Pelley had any say in this personally. This is Ed Rogers 100%

Well, unless he's blatant lying he said he made the decision himself.

Thats his job. Take the hits.

Its like saying Nico chose to trade Luka...

That **** happens at ownership level and then someone jumps on the grenade for them

[Yallbecrazy]

My guess would be he's at least somewhat blatantly lying given the history.

Ed Rogers appealed to Silver and even threatened to sue to tear up Masai’s last contract. We all kind of knew when Rogers became majority owner the writing was on the wall, but our minds didn't want to think about it.

Can you cite a source to this? This is news to me

https://www.thestar.com/business/edward-rogers-fought-plans-to-keep-raptors-masai-ujiri-but-was-thwarted-by-mlse-head/article_2abb5319-c18e-583b-9924-7da418c9680a.html

[Westside Gunn]

Not exactly an informed decision on firing Masai

Pelley is those out of touch executives at your typical company who made it up there because of his buddies.