Toronto Star: Edward Rogers fought plans to keep Raptors’ Masai Ujiri

[carlosey]

Remember how Silver for some super awkward reason didnt give Masai too much of the benefit of the doubt in regards to the incident with the guard? Wonder if the calls from Ed Rogers had something to do with that perspective.

[ItsDanger]

I stated both sides didn't make sense. Again. You've obviously never driven up to Muskoka before. No way somebody is going to tag along and then go back to the airport. Sounds unusual. Would you do that? Thats 6-8 hrs just driving for what? If it is a PR salvo as you admit, then 100% you have to question the storyline therein.

Maybe he was working with Masai in the car? One simple answer is right in the text. You are taking a beating out here and it is hilarious to see you try and spin a reading mistake into a conspiracy.

Was it conspired to release the article days after the CEO battle? And I read it just fine. I just wasn't born yesterday.

[carlosey]

Read on Twitter

SO he visits trump and then has a weird problem with a top level executive who happens to be black. Right.

gtfo.

[djsunyc]

Masai is just incredible at PR and embodying Canadian values as a leader. People love him for that, but I do think he has not really positioned Toronto for the future. He says we are rebuilding, but when will Toronto be relevant again. I think Rogers was asking for a plan and that is fair because how bad will this team be?

Here is my take on Masai's tenure:

Prior to the 2019 championship Toronto was a bit of laughingstock being bullied by LBJ every playoff series. They did win a lot in the regular season though, but the East was historically bad during that time.

Toronto had one championship run based on a lucky trade for Kawhi Leonard and LBJ moving to another conference. Also, Golden State losing their most important player to injury also helped immensely.

After the Championship, he bungled all the free agencies there after losing Ibaka, Gasol and Lowry for little to no compensation.

Masai has always valued Toronto players so high with without testing the market. The Khem Birch signing makes no sense and I doubt he was valued in the market the way Toronto signed him on. Siakam was signed before being on the open market - same as OG, and FVV got a pretty big contract as a 6 foot PG who only averaged 17.6 points, 6.6 assists at the time of his deal.

Trent Jr. was RFA and yet they signed him right away when they could have went after other players with their capspace and signed him with Bird rights. Or, they could have done their own sign and trade if another team wanted him. He isn't a bad player, but the contract value at his age is tough to accept.

Lowry's sign and trade really only helped Miami and only brought a mediocre prospect in Achuiwa and a paperweight in Dragic and killed all the capspace that had been planned for the past summer. It wasn't a great free agency, but we missed out on Richaun Holmes and Spencer Dinwiddie which would have made this team much better and supported the core team if that was direction we were going in.

Instead we have an awkward group of vets in their primes who have to play with a bunch on underexperienced players that may make the playin game. I only say this because other front offices with cheaper and shrewd GMs have made huge strides like Chicago, NY, Atl, Phoenix and maybe even Charlotte will take step this year.

you're overthinking this.

[ATLTimekeeper]

As McCown used to say , mark of a **** franchise is that non-player personnel become its face(s). Now that Lowry is gone, Raptors back to their natural state.

Ujiri has been the face of this franchise since he took over, though.

[JB7]

The Blue Jays roster is in great shape and people are complaining? That team had terrible bad luck this season or else they might be the one in the WS.

You’re once again missing the point. The same guy involved here pushed out a GM who took this team from a 2 decade embarrassment to a double playoff run. And the team hasn’t made the playoffs since while the team our former GM has taken over is playing in the World Series.

And spare me the “luck”, “injuries” or whatever other BS jays fans love to trot out every year to explain another failure. Nobody cares

Was it Ed or Mark? Alex left on his own probably because he wanted more autonomy. Some of you should learn from him how to handle these matters. Fans shouldn't complain given the current status of the team, its in great shape.

The writing was on the wall for AA when Beston was not extended. When Rogers decided to end Beston's run as President, AA knew it was only a matter of time before he would be replaced. That's what triggered all of the deals in Beston and AA's last run. AA decided to just go for it, because he knew it would be Beston and AA's last kick at the can in Toronto. Shapiro was pissed because he came in mid-year (transition for Beston) and couldn't stop the deals. He thought he was losing great young assets (turned out to not be much), plus Blue Jays were peaking, which meant he was starting from a point which would look like a drop off, rather than building on success - so he was set-up to deal with the failure in the aftermath.

[Ramako]

So you think this isn't about RCI power struggle? Public opinion is often utilized, that's a common go to move. Just coincidence this Masai story came out days afterwards? Why didn't it come out weeks ago? Nothing that I'm saying is unusual in the business world. This crap is routine.

So what part of...

Obviously there's way more at play here than whether Ed's buffoonery, including the mechanism within the family trust that empowers him to turnover the board, and whether he observed the proper practices in wielding that power. That doesn't detract from the fact that he is, indeed, a buffoon.

And obviously this news was leaked as a PR salvo within the context of this power struggle. Do you think that's like a profound revelation to literally anybody anywhere?

...makes you think that I don't believe that this is part of a larger power struggle?

In fact, where did I ever claim that this wasn't part of a larger power struggle?

That's a strawman that you injected into the argument, apropos of nothing, for some bizarre reason.

For someone with such a deep and savvy perspective on these issues that are far too complex for my little sheep brain, you sure how some problems with reading comprehension. Must be why you completely misread the article as stating that Masai was filming the meeting.

I stated both sides didn't make sense. Again. You've obviously never driven up to Muskoka before. No way somebody is going to tag along and then go back to the airport. Sounds unusual. Would you do that? Thats 6-8 hrs just driving for what? If it is a PR salvo as you admit, then 100% you have to question the storyline therein.

What part of the source's side of the articles doesn't make sense? According to you, it's the claim that Masai brought along a videographer.

There could be any number of reasons that the videographer tagged along. Perhaps they took it as an opportunity to film an interview in the car. Perhaps they were filming the trip or filming Masai taking calls in the car. Perhaps the videographer didn't want to spend money on taking an Uber to the airport. Who knows?

The only thing that wouldn't make sense is if the videographer actually filmed the meeting, and guess what? There is no such claim anywhere in the article. That's all complete speculation on your part.

So, sure, this article is obviously a well-timed hit piece, but it doesn't mean it's not true.

Either you trust the Star's reporting based on multiple sources, or you don't. If you don't, that's not really something I'm going to bother debating.

[LLJ]

Masai’s done more good for this country than the Rogers “empire” has in 40 years

The sheer ego of this family.

And take that awful statue outside sky dome down already

[guvernator]

As McCown used to say , mark of a **** franchise is that non-player personnel become its face(s). Now that Lowry is gone, Raptors back to their natural state.

Ujiri has been the face of this franchise since he took over, though.

No he hasn't. First it was demar , then lowry.
Although Ujiri probably thought he was.

[MavCarter]

Masai is just incredible at PR and embodying Canadian values as a leader. People love him for that, but I do think he has not really positioned Toronto for the future. He says we are rebuilding, but when will Toronto be relevant again. I think Rogers was asking for a plan and that is fair because how bad will this team be?

Here is my take on Masai's tenure:

Prior to the 2019 championship Toronto was a bit of laughingstock being bullied by LBJ every playoff series. They did win a lot in the regular season though, but the East was historically bad during that time.

Toronto had one championship run based on a lucky trade for Kawhi Leonard and LBJ moving to another conference. Also, Golden State losing their most important player to injury also helped immensely.

After the Championship, he bungled all the free agencies there after losing Ibaka, Gasol and Lowry for little to no compensation.

Masai has always valued Toronto players so high with without testing the market. The Khem Birch signing makes no sense and I doubt he was valued in the market the way Toronto signed him on. Siakam was signed before being on the open market - same as OG, and FVV got a pretty big contract as a 6 foot PG who only averaged 17.6 points, 6.6 assists at the time of his deal.

Trent Jr. was RFA and yet they signed him right away when they could have went after other players with their capspace and signed him with Bird rights. Or, they could have done their own sign and trade if another team wanted him. He isn't a bad player, but the contract value at his age is tough to accept.

Lowry's sign and trade really only helped Miami and only brought a mediocre prospect in Achuiwa and a paperweight in Dragic and killed all the capspace that had been planned for the past summer. It wasn't a great free agency, but we missed out on Richaun Holmes and Spencer Dinwiddie which would have made this team much better and supported the core team if that was direction we were going in.

Instead we have an awkward group of vets in their primes who have to play with a bunch on underexperienced players that may make the playin game. I only say this because other front offices with cheaper and shrewd GMs have made huge strides like Chicago, NY, Atl, Phoenix and maybe even Charlotte will take step this year.

We are literally in year 2 of a rebuild. How long did it take those other organizations with their “cheaper shrewd GMs” to rebuild?

[Reeko]

An interesting but largely irrelevant aspect of this is William Lou. I wonder if he'll speak on the situation given that he works for Rogers.

[ItsDanger]

So what part of...



...makes you think that I don't believe that this is part of a larger power struggle?

In fact, where did I ever claim that this wasn't part of a larger power struggle?

That's a strawman that you injected into the argument, apropos of nothing, for some bizarre reason.

For someone with such a deep and savvy perspective on these issues that are far too complex for my little sheep brain, you sure how some problems with reading comprehension. Must be why you completely misread the article as stating that Masai was filming the meeting.

I stated both sides didn't make sense. Again. You've obviously never driven up to Muskoka before. No way somebody is going to tag along and then go back to the airport. Sounds unusual. Would you do that? Thats 6-8 hrs just driving for what? If it is a PR salvo as you admit, then 100% you have to question the storyline therein.

What part of the source's side of the articles doesn't make sense? According to you, it's the claim that Masai brought along a videographer.

There could be any number of reasons that the videographer tagged along. Perhaps they took it as an opportunity to film an interview in the car. Perhaps they were filming the trip or filming Masai taking calls in the car. Perhaps the videographer didn't want to spend money on taking an Uber to the airport. Who knows?

The only thing that wouldn't make sense is if the videographer actually filmed the meeting, and guess what? There is no such claim anywhere in the article. That's all complete speculation on your part.

So, sure, this article is obviously a well-timed hit piece, but it doesn't mean it's not true.

Either you trust the Star's reporting based on multiple sources, or you don't. If you don't, that's not really something I'm going to bother debating.

I stated it as a question not a statement. Do you comprehend the difference? Obviously not. I also questioned the other side, but you do not. All I stated was that the depiction appeared unusual and I'm personally attacked. Just pathetic.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I stated both sides didn't make sense. Again. You've obviously never driven up to Muskoka before. No way somebody is going to tag along and then go back to the airport. Sounds unusual. Would you do that? Thats 6-8 hrs just driving for what? If it is a PR salvo as you admit, then 100% you have to question the storyline therein.

Maybe he was working with Masai in the car? One simple answer is right in the text. You are taking a beating out here and it is hilarious to see you try and spin a reading mistake into a conspiracy.

Was it conspired to release the article days after the CEO battle? And I read it just fine. I just wasn't born yesterday.

Was the bodyguard/videographer mix-up critical in this CEO battle? Please explain what you think happened on that day when Masai decided to bring cameras to Muskoka?

[ItsDanger]

Maybe he was working with Masai in the car? One simple answer is right in the text. You are taking a beating out here and it is hilarious to see you try and spin a reading mistake into a conspiracy.

Was it conspired to release the article days after the CEO battle? And I read it just fine. I just wasn't born yesterday.

Was the bodyguard/videographer mix-up critical in this CEO battle? Please explain what you think happened on that day when Masai decided to bring cameras to Muskoka?

Probably not. Not sure, no facts.

[guvernator]

No GM is worth 15 million dollars (nothing wrong in Rogers' thoughts). You know how much Billy Beane makes - 4 million - in a sport where being a GM is most impactful.
This team is headed towards a decade of mediocrity or worse and here we have a bunch of lemmings cheering a suit. Gl.

[WaltFrazier]

You’re once again missing the point. The same guy involved here pushed out a GM who took this team from a 2 decade embarrassment to a double playoff run. And the team hasn’t made the playoffs since while the team our former GM has taken over is playing in the World Series.

And spare me the “luck”, “injuries” or whatever other BS jays fans love to trot out every year to explain another failure. Nobody cares

Was it Ed or Mark? Alex left on his own probably because he wanted more autonomy. Some of you should learn from him how to handle these matters. Fans shouldn't complain given the current status of the team, its in great shape.

The writing was on the wall for AA when Beston was not extended. When Rogers decided to end Beston's run as President, AA knew it was only a matter of time before he would be replaced. That's what triggered all of the deals in Beston and AA's last run. AA decided to just go for it, because he knew it would be Beston and AA's last kick at the can in Toronto. Shapiro was pissed because he came in mid-year (transition for Beston) and couldn't stop the deals. He thought he was losing great young assets (turned out to not be much), plus Blue Jays were peaking, which meant he was starting from a point which would look like a drop off, rather than building on success - so he was set-up to deal with the failure in the aftermath.

Well I side with AA over Shapiro. The excitement of that 2015 run and even 2016 was worth all the moves AA made, and as you say the young assets he traded away turned out to be not much. I'll never forget the excitement of David Price's first start as a Jay, the electricity in the Dome, it was like nothing else till the 2019 Raps playoffs.

[ATLTimekeeper]

As McCown used to say , mark of a **** franchise is that non-player personnel become its face(s). Now that Lowry is gone, Raptors back to their natural state.

Ujiri has been the face of this franchise since he took over, though.

No he hasn't. First it was demar , then lowry.
Although Ujiri probably thought he was.

Sure man, the team was terrible with both DeMar and Lowry as "faces." Then Masai came and the team was good again.

[Ramako]

I stated both sides didn't make sense. Again. You've obviously never driven up to Muskoka before. No way somebody is going to tag along and then go back to the airport. Sounds unusual. Would you do that? Thats 6-8 hrs just driving for what? If it is a PR salvo as you admit, then 100% you have to question the storyline therein.

What part of the source's side of the articles doesn't make sense? According to you, it's the claim that Masai brought along a videographer.

There could be any number of reasons that the videographer tagged along. Perhaps they took it as an opportunity to film an interview in the car. Perhaps they were filming the trip or filming Masai taking calls in the car. Perhaps the videographer didn't want to spend money on taking an Uber to the airport. Who knows?

The only thing that wouldn't make sense is if the videographer actually filmed the meeting, and guess what? There is no such claim anywhere in the article. That's all complete speculation on your part.

So, sure, this article is obviously a well-timed hit piece, but it doesn't mean it's not true.

Either you trust the Star's reporting based on multiple sources, or you don't. If you don't, that's not really something I'm going to bother debating.

I stated it as a question not a statement. Do you comprehend the difference? Obviously not. I also questioned the other side, but you do not. All I stated was that the depiction appeared unusual and I'm personally attacked. Just pathetic.

Sorry... you didn't merely ask a question. You asked a question that was premised on baseless speculation, which is a classic method of spreading misinformation. Do you comprehend the difference? Obviously not.

Oh did I hurt your widdle feelings? Cry me a **** river.

[ItsDanger]

What part of the source's side of the articles doesn't make sense? According to you, it's the claim that Masai brought along a videographer.

There could be any number of reasons that the videographer tagged along. Perhaps they took it as an opportunity to film an interview in the car. Perhaps they were filming the trip or filming Masai taking calls in the car. Perhaps the videographer didn't want to spend money on taking an Uber to the airport. Who knows?

The only thing that wouldn't make sense is if the videographer actually filmed the meeting, and guess what? There is no such claim anywhere in the article. That's all complete speculation on your part.

So, sure, this article is obviously a well-timed hit piece, but it doesn't mean it's not true.

Either you trust the Star's reporting based on multiple sources, or you don't. If you don't, that's not really something I'm going to bother debating.

I stated it as a question not a statement. Do you comprehend the difference? Obviously not. I also questioned the other side, but you do not. All I stated was that the depiction appeared unusual and I'm personally attacked. Just pathetic.

Sorry... you didn't merely ask a question. You asked a question that was premised on baseless speculation, which is a classic method of spreading misinformation. Do you comprehend the difference? Obviously not.

Oh did I hurt your widdle feelings? Cry me a **** river.

I asked it as a question. Not possible for you to hurt my feelings. But so many of you take it from your own biases. I'm not the one being used here.

[GordanFreeman]

This m***er f***er binge watched succession recently and got inspired.