Masai Ujiri is Overrated

[Capn'O]

I don't care what anyone says about him as long as my Knicks don't do any more major trades with him.

Also, the fate of a draft pick does not determine his body of work. Every executive has hits/misses in the draft.

idk about that, Masai tried to give you guys Kyle Lowry iirc.
But honestly i think the Bargnani trade was the best move Masai has made with the raptors, even better than Kawhi. Just insane to get get a FRP for Bargnani at that point in his career.

He was also head of bball ops with Denver for the Carmelo trade.

In retrospect, if the Lowry trade was as advertised we probably should have done that.

[ForeverTFC]

It's funny that you seem to think misspelling words helps your argument.

Anyway, I guess we never will know if Kawhi would've stayed in Milwaukee. What we always will know is that he didn't stay in Toronto.

so maybe its a stupid way of comparing GMs?

Maybe it is, but I see a lot of people praising Masai for trading for Kawhi (truthfully, as well they should, it was a great move) and pointing to that as proof he's a great GM. If people can make that argument, I think it's only fair to criticize him for not being able to resign him as well.

if Masai traded Greivis Vasquez to my team for 2 picks that turned out to be Norm Powell and OG Anunoby, I'd think twice about participating in this thread in the manner that you are...

[tamaraw08]

Masai made the Raptors win a ring.

Who would’ve ever thought Toronto would have a championship?

Best GM in the NBA.

With or without winning a ring, I think Masai is a very good GM but imagine this.

1. Kawhi didn't get injured in San Antonio?
2. Leonard did get injured but was ok with how MGT handled it.
3. Kawhi was upset with MGT but Pops stepped in and they reconciled and he didn't demand a trade.
4. They never reconciled but Spurs trades him to the Lakers or other teams other than Toronto.
5. They did trade him to Toronto but they asked for FVV and Siakam instead of Poeltl.
6. Spurs agrees to whatever, Kawhi missed that shot vs Sixers but Butler hits a late game shot in game 7.
7. KD, Klay NEVER GOT INJURED.
Now, what are the chances of them winning if one of these things happened?

Masai put his team in a position to capitalize on these hypothetical what ifs.

We can play this game for the Lakers though:

What if Charlotte drafted Kobe?
What if Fisher got his shot off .4 seconds later?
What if that rebound didn't bounce out to Horry?

The list can go on here. See how silly this argument is?

Lakers make things happen. Lakers didn't draft Jabbar, Shaq, AD, Lebron etc.
BTW, Lakers lost the Finals even after Fisher hit that .4 second shot. If only 1 of those 6 (not counting Kawhi's lucky shot) scenarios didn't happened then Toronto would have zero championships. It's not an accident that T-Mac, Bosh, Vince left this team.
and Let me say again Masai is a very good GM, it's not there was a stroke of luck that all these 6 situations happened resulting to a ring.

[Childs]

I don't care what anyone says about him as long as my Knicks don't do any more major trades with him.

Also, the fate of a draft pick does not determine his body of work. Every executive has hits/misses in the draft.

Wasn’t Lowry offered to you guys in the 2013-2014 season, but you guys turned it down?

[durka]

With or without winning a ring, I think Masai is a very good GM but imagine this.

1. Kawhi didn't get injured in San Antonio?
2. Leonard did get injured but was ok with how MGT handled it.
3. Kawhi was upset with MGT but Pops stepped in and they reconciled and he didn't demand a trade.
4. They never reconciled but Spurs trades him to the Lakers or other teams other than Toronto.
5. They did trade him to Toronto but they asked for FVV and Siakam instead of Poeltl.
6. Spurs agrees to whatever, Kawhi missed that shot vs Sixers but Butler hits a late game shot in game 7.
7. KD, Klay NEVER GOT INJURED.
Now, what are the chances of them winning if one of these things happened?

Masai put his team in a position to capitalize on these hypothetical what ifs.

We can play this game for the Lakers though:

What if Charlotte drafted Kobe?
What if Fisher got his shot off .4 seconds later?
What if that rebound didn't bounce out to Horry?

The list can go on here. See how silly this argument is?

Lakers make things happen. Lakers didn't draft Jabbar, Shaq, AD, Lebron etc.
BTW, Lakers lost the Finals even after Fisher hit that .4 second shot. If only 1 of those 6 (not counting Kawhi's lucky shot) scenarios didn't happened then Toronto would have zero championships. It's not an accident that T-Mac, Bosh, Vince left this team.
and Let me say again Masai is a very good GM, it's not there was a stroke of luck that all these 6 situations happened resulting to a ring.

That's a pretty dumb double standard you've got there champ. The Lakers don't "make things happen", they just happen to be in a desirable location. It takes a lot more talent for a front office to build a sustainable winning team with an organizational culture even though they're picking at the end of the draft every year than it does to have star players demanding trades and signing as freeagents, especially when you're the only team located outside the US. Between the time Kobe blew his Achilles and LBJ decided to grace you with his presence, the Lakers were nothing but a poorly run franchise with a bunch of failed draft picks that didn't contribute anything until they were in other organizations that actually knew how to develop players.

[Yuri Vaultin]

I'm a little confused here. What's the argument against Masai? The dude only knows how to win and develop players.

[KrazyP]

The Raptors have been rebuilding for a total of ONE year and the team already looks stacked with a bunch of promising young talent.

This is going to be one of those threads that doesnt age well.

[Reeko]

so maybe its a stupid way of comparing GMs?

Maybe it is, but I see a lot of people praising Masai for trading for Kawhi (truthfully, as well they should, it was a great move) and pointing to that as proof he's a great GM. If people can make that argument, I think it's only fair to criticize him for not being able to resign him as well.

if Masai traded Greivis Vasquez to my team for 2 picks that turned out to be Norm Powell and OG Anunoby, I'd think twice about participating in this thread in the manner that you are...

[Parataxis]

Masai made the Raptors win a ring.

Who would’ve ever thought Toronto would have a championship?

Best GM in the NBA.

With or without winning a ring, I think Masai is a very good GM but imagine this.

1. Kawhi didn't get injured in San Antonio?
2. Leonard did get injured but was ok with how MGT handled it.
3. Kawhi was upset with MGT but Pops stepped in and they reconciled and he didn't demand a trade.
4. They never reconciled but Spurs trades him to the Lakers or other teams other than Toronto.
5. They did trade him to Toronto but they asked for FVV and Siakam instead of Poeltl.
6. Spurs agrees to whatever, Kawhi missed that shot vs Sixers but Butler hits a late game shot in game 7.
7. KD, Klay NEVER GOT INJURED.
Now, what are the chances of them winning if one of these things happened?

Yes, if things were different, they wouldn't be the same.

Very insightful.

[KrazyP]

Masai made the Raptors win a ring.

Who would’ve ever thought Toronto would have a championship?

Best GM in the NBA.

With or without winning a ring, I think Masai is a very good GM but imagine this.

1. Kawhi didn't get injured in San Antonio?
2. Leonard did get injured but was ok with how MGT handled it.
3. Kawhi was upset with MGT but Pops stepped in and they reconciled and he didn't demand a trade.
4. They never reconciled but Spurs trades him to the Lakers or other teams other than Toronto.
5. They did trade him to Toronto but they asked for FVV and Siakam instead of Poeltl.
6. Spurs agrees to whatever, Kawhi missed that shot vs Sixers but Butler hits a late game shot in game 7.
7. KD, Klay NEVER GOT INJURED.
Now, what are the chances of them winning if one of these things happened?

What kind of argument is this? You could make a list of 7 variables for any championship team and ask the same question.

I dont think people realize how stacked that 2019 Raptor team was. They had Norm Powell, Serge Ibaka, OG Anunoby and Fred VanVleet playing off the BENCH that season. These guys had all developed into starting caliber players by that point.

The Raps lost Kawhi for the nothing and still went on to have the 2nd best record in the NBA the following year and if Siakam didnt struggle with COVID bubble life so much, they could have even made the NBA finals that year. Could any team in the NBA currently lose their best player for nothing and still be that good?

This a testament to how good Ujiri and his management team actually are. Anybody who thinks Ujiri is overrated, simply doesnt know what they are talking about.

In a hypothetical world where the Raps didnt ever trade for Kawhi, they would have continued to be a 55-60 win team stacked with assets and ready to trade for the next star available.

[SaveTheHens]

It's funny that you seem to think misspelling words helps your argument.

Anyway, I guess we never will know if Kawhi would've stayed in Milwaukee. What we always will know is that he didn't stay in Toronto.

so maybe its a stupid way of comparing GMs?

Maybe it is, but I see a lot of people praising Masai for trading for Kawhi (truthfully, as well they should, it was a great move) and pointing to that as proof he's a great GM. If people can make that argument, I think it's only fair to criticize him for not being able to resign him as well.

Thats pretty ridiculous, what would you do to get Kawhi to resign? Think you could go bigger than a championship roster, one of the biggest fanbases, friggen Drake built into your brand and hanging out with dudes. Nothing outside of hypnosis or climate change being sped up n eliminating canadian winters couldve kept Kawhi there. The fact that Masai still took his shot, GOT A CHAMPIONSHIP out of it, is extremely epic and no GM can match that level of calculated risk to bring a team its first ring

[5paceman]

I lost respect for him in the incident with stadium security, that he couldn't admit his fault in the situation. In his job you have to know that showing credentials is how you get on court and it's for all players' benefit. If you don't have time to go through that quick process, sit with the team you diva socialite.

I think most people that read your post just lost respect for you. Just surpassed the OP for worst take in this thread. Congrats.

Yall lost respect for me because I lost respect for him? darn

[Sandman88]

I lost respect for him in the incident with stadium security, that he couldn't admit his fault in the situation. In his job you have to know that showing credentials is how you get on court and it's for all players' benefit. If you don't have time to go through that quick process, sit with the team you diva socialite.

I think most people that read your post just lost respect for you. Just surpassed the OP for worst take in this thread. Congrats.

Yall lost respect for me because I lost respect for him? darn

Learn the game. Casuals

[_qubik]

Dont know what is the most boring thing, Raptor fans or the guys trying to argue that Masai is a bad GM ...

[NoDopeOnSundays]

He's not overrated in the least bit, and I'd trust the Raptors scouting and development of players more than just about any other team in the league. I wouldn't bet against Barnes developing into a great player just looking at what the Raptors have been able to do with with FVV, Powell, OG and Siakam. If Barnes can shoot the sky is the limit, and the Raptors / Masai and his coaches/scouts have earned the benefit of doubt as far as that goes IMO.

[Reeko]

He's not overrated in the least bit, and I'd trust the Raptors scouting and development of players more than just about any other team in the league. I wouldn't bet against Barnes developing into a great player just looking at what the Raptors have been able to do with with FVV, Powell, OG and Siakam. If Barnes can shoot the sky is the limit, and the Raptors / Masai and his coaches/scouts have earned the benefit of doubt as far as that goes IMO.

Didn't you used to have a coked out tiger as an avi? Please put it back up.

[Quattro]

I lost respect for him in the incident with stadium security, that he couldn't admit his fault in the situation. In his job you have to know that showing credentials is how you get on court and it's for all players' benefit. If you don't have time to go through that quick process, sit with the team you diva socialite.

Are you being serious or just trolling?

Did you even see the video? It shows the deputy shoving Masai violently, Masai showing his credentials and the deputy shoving him again a second time for no reason, before Masai pushes him back once. You do know that once the videos were shown, even the prosecutor refused to push forward with charges. The deputy who tried to sue Masai was previously convicted of of fraud. He ended up having to drop his lawsuit with no money changing hands most likely because the judge basically told him he would lose and potentially have to pay costs and/or further damages in Masai’s counter suit.

Yes I watched the video.

What it shows is Masai half trying to pull his ID out and flash it while walking through security. Security who's only job it is to hold a line and take ID to verify whether someone is allowed on court. You have to let them actually read it and verify. half assed flashing it while you walk through the guy is not near good enough. I've commented before, try that at a bar or airport or somewhere else with security.

The first "violent push" occurs when Masai tries to walk through the guy who's doing his job. But the guy is likely supposed to physically stop people from passing him. Masai proceeds forward again, another push. Then yes, the NBA executive who should know better pushes the security back. It's literally his job to know how security at these events work and the securities job to perform that.

But you misunderstand completely, I'm not defending the asinine lawsuit, what I'm saying is that Masai is not without fault. The security guy is an idiot and maybe worse, but this guy is the head of a franchise.

Masai probably expected the security guard to, you know, ASK to see his credentials before getting physical with him…twice. Just curious whether he should have admitted his “fault” before or after the white cop “who has lots of black friends and family” accused him of choking and punching him, filed a criminal complaint that resulted in an assault charge and then sued him.

[MGB8]

Masai has adjusted to the new nba, loading up with a number of long, high reach, fast footspeed super switchable bigs who can defend possibly 5 positions. OG, Siakam, Precious, Boucher, Birch, now Barnes…

My guess, though, is that the loading up on switchable bigs is a prelude to moving Siakam (and other assets) for a bigger fish …. maybe Lillard, maybe Paul George wants out after a bit, maybe Beal (though not that big a fish), etc.

[rapz101]

Saw this graphic on twitter and had to post. Outlines every trade Masai has ever made, some serious highway robbery right here.

RIP Knicks and Bucks.

Read on Twitter

[Ong_dynasty]

All I have to say is... if he was ever a free agent.. i assume 31 other nba teams would be either making an offer or atleast consider if he is worth hiring and let us not even consider his offers outside of the NBA