Pulse Check: Deeply conflicted about the Toronto Raptors moving forward

[ForeverTFC]

I'm confused by this, they came out and said they are happy with the direction of the team and the roster, all of which Masai apparently built and put into place. So how can they be in direct conflict with the same stuff Masai was doing, while also supporting it?

I'm apathetic at the whole situation, but we've really gotta stop acting like MLSE is responsible for all the bad things in the universe and Masai was the only thing protecting us from the big baddies.

Like all they did was move on from Masai (so far), everyone else is all in the exact same positions. And if Masai is 100% responsible for where we are at now, then wtf has everyone else been doing? Direction is important, leadership is important, but largely nothing has changed. IMO this is a discussion down the line when we see the ramifications of this.

Because you’re missing the point.

It’s precisely that it was only Masai while everyone got extended that makes this so heartbreaking. Our owner made this move not to benefit the Raptors, but to heal his wounded ego. That’s who calls the shots now, and it didn’t take long for him to show us who he is and what type of people he will surround himself and this franchise with.

The guy steering the ship got released, that's not really unheard of. TBH they should've fired everyone, but I understand the optics of that as well as the work involved in having to backfill all those roles.

Why overhaul the entire roster of an underwhelming team, when you can just fire the coach. This is no different.

You can bury your head in the sand on this if you want Scase. I have no personal beef with you and I’m tired of arguing.

[Clutch0z24]

We will see how long Bobby and the rest of this staff lasts.

[Scase]

Because you’re missing the point.

It’s precisely that it was only Masai while everyone got extended that makes this so heartbreaking. Our owner made this move not to benefit the Raptors, but to heal his wounded ego. That’s who calls the shots now, and it didn’t take long for him to show us who he is and what type of people he will surround himself and this franchise with.

The guy steering the ship got released, that's not really unheard of. TBH they should've fired everyone, but I understand the optics of that as well as the work involved in having to backfill all those roles.

Why overhaul the entire roster of an underwhelming team, when you can just fire the coach. This is no different.

You can bury your head in the sand on this if you want Scase. I have no personal beef with you and I’m tired of arguing.

I just don't see how it can't be both a personal thing, and a business thing. Yes ed is a child and probably harbours ill will towards Masai, and yes Masai has done a poor job the last 5 years while being paid top dollar.

Both can be true, the world is not black and white. I'm not arguing that what you are saying holds some validity, I just don't think it was the only thing that made the decision.

[Raptors Realtor]

I'm not confident at all that they will hire someone as good or better than Masai. It's going to be a downgrade in terms of charisma and record.

If Ed/Pelley are more involved, we are truly screwed. You'd have to think they have enough self awareness to know they aren't qualified but self awareness likely isn't a strength for those guys.

As long as Bobby is in charge, you probably won't see much change to how they operate on and off the court, but I think some people underestimate just how much pull and respect from around the league that Masai brought to the Raptors. Bobby ain't that guy.

Yep you nailed it, my thoughts exactly!

[Veepy]

Pessimistic. We are likely headed back to the dark days.

We already are in the dark days and it's because of Masai. Over the past 6 years we have been a poorly run team and a bottom feeder. We can't even tank proper. You need to open your eyes.

Last few years were bad not arguing that. They've renewed Bobby and co. but eventually those guys will be replaced. I just don't have confidence this ownership group will hire well or have the kind of success we did in the Masai era. They wanted to fire him a few years after the championship, that doesn't inspire confidence. Darker days are ahead

[Thaddy]

Bobby has been set up to be successful. Ingram, Barnes, RJ, IQ, and several good depth picks to add to that group. Walter, Dick, Shead, and CMB have a chance at making a leap and being in the top 5. I'd also throw Agbaji and Mogbo in that group. It all depends on who's willing to develop and work harder.

[WuTang_CMB]

Been sick and grumpy today. Ngl

[metafisical]

I'm so tempted to resurrect the tWo thread this early in the off season.

[WiggOuts]

You can't win in this league without a superstar, you need a top 10 talent to be taken seriously. We may not have had one on the court but we definitely had one off of it. Masai was the Raptors security blanket, to a lot of the long time fans that suffered the past, he was what gave you comfort in knowing those days were behind us. I can't speak for everyone else, but it feels like that security is gone, it feels like it's very likely that this team will go back down that path again.

If there was someone they had lined up it might offer some solace but they don't even have that. They just ousted one of the best executives In the league with no back up plan and they're now telling us it'll be fine.

During that interview today this Keith Pelley guy wouldn't even answer the question of why they fired him

[WiggOuts]

This may sound crazy but I know how dallas fans feel about Luka...except there's no Cooper Flagg for us

[Kingsway_fan]

Negative due to ownership.

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

I’m more concerned with the roster. When you consider the contract he was on, this seemed inevitable.

That said Masai deserved more respect and appreciation on the exit, Pelley seems like an empty shirt, and I don’t like Ed Rogers.

Overall i think Masai did great, obviously a champion, but I’ve questioned a lot of his moves, and I do not think for the last 5 years he’s been among the top performers - so I’m not surprised. His last success got him to a level he couldn’t sustain here.

To me, when you start competing with narratives rather than just following your committed vision - you lost it. It seems to me the urge to get shine of the promise of the unknown of Scottie made Masai not appreciate the actual producers who were sustaining our run. Now they’ve all been passively alienated to the point where we got little no or diminished returns. And to make it worse, Scottie is looking to perhaps not actually be a face of the league and future all nba player. We may burn through the post championship roster and the rebuild finding out we tried to build a team around the glue guy. It’s hard to do when you have salary restrictions and have to tend to overpay to get other talent in to put those other pieces with more commonly expensive talents around him. Not to mention immaturity, not too mention doing other things like letting him put his own 65 game interest ahead of team direction or waste valuable picks on security blankets just to keep him happy.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I also think it’s the racist billionaire part that is sickening about all of this.

I think this is more a feature and not a bug of pro sports ownership. I've come to terms with it a long time ago. Masai gladly took his money over the years. The guy who replaced Leweike made his bank off apartheid in SA. Masai didn't have an ethical conflict working under him. Masai has a sweet side hustle in Rwanda by warming up to a dictator that has had people murdered. I've made peace with all this stuff because it's out of my control and I just cheer for the jerseys.

If things truly go poorly, the brand will suffer and we'll be back to the norm for being a Raptor fan. I was extremely passionate about the Raptors back then, too. At least Masai gave us a title, which expanded our scale of what could be possible in this league. I'm optimistic that we can do it again without him. It doesn't mean I'm not nervous that Ed will screw it up, but I think he's incentivized to put out a good product because it's a part of his media empire and it appears as though he knows he doesn't know much about basketball to be hands-on.

[deeps6x]

The one, ONE, good thing about this is that someone new coming in will be looking at the team with fresh eyes, and will be willing to trade anyone, if they think that is the right call to make, and not feel they need to keep anyone because signing them was part of their legacy.

Scotty, IQ, Poeltl, BI, anyone could now be dealt at any time, without the emotional attachment, legacy crap, that we might have been stuck with since Masai drafted, paid, or traded for them.

[deeps6x]

This may sound crazy but I know how dallas fans feel about Luka...except there's no Cooper Flagg for us

Trade Scotty to the Lakers for a bag of pucks and a pick, and maybe Silver will gift us AJ next June.

Oops, I mean 'lottery ball luck' AJ to us next June.

[bluerap23]

I'm very optimistic about the on court product but unfortunately I had to go pessimistic because Ed Rogers is absolutely going to ruin everything.

Honestly, I was excited about this upcoming season, and now I have just completely lost interest.

I can't imagine the players will be happy about this, and as such, I would not be surprised to see it have a ripple effect on the season.

Fack, this sucks so much. I want so badly to be excited, but I an extremely worried that Ed and Pelley are going to completely ruin a successful franchise. Reports about wanting to save on money are crazy. Saving 15 million to degrade your brand is such an unbelievably poor business decision.

[DG88]

I'm at a wait an see position right now. Losing Masai hurts but his time would eventually come to an end. It depends who the new President and their vision for the team. My hope is that they promote Bobby to President and Tolzman to GM.

[Appostis]

Went from optimistic to borderline pessimistic.

Team wise, I could see this team as a top 6 in the east if health goes out way(and one or two players take the next step)..but Ed Rogers impact on the team just terrifies me.

If they bring in outside yes man for Ed..going to be a dark few years. Although Rogers has demonstrated some good for the Jays, I don't think the Raptors are seen anywhere close as a priority for him.

[Appostis]

The one, ONE, good thing about this is that someone new coming in will be looking at the team with fresh eyes, and will be willing to trade anyone, if they think that is the right call to make, and not feel they need to keep anyone because signing them was part of their legacy.

Scotty, IQ, Poeltl, BI, anyone could now be dealt at any time, without the emotional attachment, legacy crap, that we might have been stuck with since Masai drafted, paid, or traded for them.

That's great..if it's the right move to do that. It's pretty questionable if it is.

[TimeForChange]

We will see how long Bobby and the rest of this staff lasts.

Per Grange, they were all extended through the 26-27 season