Masai Press Conference - Playoff results will dictate off-season

[JYD]

This could be interpreted many ways. It could mean DC is gone if we lose first round. It could also mean major changes are coming unless we make it to ECF and can compete there. I think MU is deliberately obtuse here.

No one in their right mind would expect us to make it to the ECF. I'm pretty sure everyone wants to win the first round. Anything extra is a bonus.

What I'm saying is, MU could easily have evaluated what he wants to do with this group already, and anything short of ECF may not change his mind.

And I would argue that would be a sane way of thinking. WAS isn't great, we should beat them. ATL obviously is good, but we also went 3-1 against them this year. So the matchups we're lucky enough to have don't pit us as huge dogs or anything.

If we can't beat, or at least some very close to beating ATL if we do make the 2nd round, I would conclude there's no real reason to stick with this core.

[GP2]

This could be interpreted many ways. It could mean DC is gone if we lose first round. It could also mean major changes are coming unless we make it to ECF and can compete there. I think MU is deliberately obtuse here.

No one in their right mind would expect us to make it to the ECF. I'm pretty sure everyone wants to win the first round. Anything extra is a bonus.

What I'm saying is, MU could easily have evaluated what he wants to do with this group already, and anything short of ECF may not change his mind.

And I would argue that would be a sane way of thinking. WAS isn't great, we should beat them. ATL obviously is good, but we also went 3-1 against them this year. So the matchups we're lucky enough to have don't pit us as huge dogs or anything.

If we can't beat, or at least some very close to beating ATL if we do make the 2nd round, I would conclude there's no real reason to stick with this core.

I'm pretty sure we beat Atlanta twice BEFORE they went into their frenzy. We had a great game on their court after the break, but in a playoff series, I can't see a team led by Budenholzer falling to us.

[Boogie!]

Mike Ganter‏@Mike_Ganter·39 mins39 minutes ago
Masai on Pierce: "I honestly don't have enough money to respond (to Pierce). But everyone knows exactly how I would respond to it."

Great answer

**** BROOKLYN!!!!!

[kayliecee]

wow at some posters wanting them to actually lose. You guys are f'd.

It's a weird mentality. I can't recall a single year when fans unanimously wanted the team to win. There's always an excuse like the lottery or not trusting Masai or wanting the coach fired, but the one consistent factor is a cross section of the fan base hopes we lose.

[navyblue]

win or lose i am expecting changes. the mass amount of expirings will dictate that. his lack of action at the deadline could be read as an indictment of the roster and he wasnt going to give up assets/or cap flexibility for this collection of talent.

[Pooh_Jeter]

:wink:

I don't understand why so many people are fearful that Masai is blind and will do something awful in the off-season.

Certainly if this team is swept by the Wizards, more sweeping changes will be made compared to a team that lost in the 7th game of the Finals. That being said I think its safe to say he realizes the faults of this team. He is giving this incarnation a chance to prove him wrong

I don't disagree with your perception of MU, but still there's a little part of me that's always afraid, I think by now we are conditioned either for the worse, or mediocrity.

To me this offseason is a big litmus test for him. Hopefully what he's saying is essentially "miracles can happen", not "winning a round against the Wizards will soften my evaluation".

"He is giving this incarnation a chance to prove him wrong"...

I don't know how you can jump with both feet into that conclusion. Prove him wrong? What if his evaulation is similar to what he says with a straight face and that he actually thinks this group is fearless. If nothing else that is an endorsement of character. If nothing else I would take him at face value that he thinks Lou is a helluva player despite the chucking critics, or the guufs that think Demar is non-championship pedigree. I think this team is being given the chance to gain important experience for key players they really believe in. If MU didn't believe in this group it would already be torched. Masai should come and say f..........k fool's gold and the kneejerk crowd who spew their we're not worthy self loathing.

First off, in regards to JYD's post I think that is a completely fair POV. I trust Masai, but you can't have blind faith in him. There is always a chance he has a different feeling about this team than the general consensus.

Regarding your post Oakley, you're reading too much into that specific quote. Clearly this team has some faults (which I noted in the sentence before), no team is perfect. Not even the Warriors. That being said if this team wins the championship there isn't going to be a lot of urgency to make any significant moves.

You should never read too much into what a GM says about a player publicly. You would be a pretty awful GM if you publicly bashed your own players.

Lastly, given the run they went on last season, Masai rightly gave this core a chance to grow and prove they were capable of growing into contenders. He added a couple of useful pieces in Lou and JJ as well. Masai could believe in this group, still be evaluating or already think he needs to make major changes. Obviously no one knows what he is truly thinking, but that being said it never made sense to pull the plug on this core in the middle of their first full season together even if he wasn't fully behind this core. Considering he didn't make any moves at the deadline all signs point to him still evaluating what needs to be done with this team going forward.

[Rapsalot]

Very interesting off season:

Either way F Washington & F Paul P

[OAKLEY_2]

win or lose i am expecting changes. the mass amount of expirings will dictate that. his lack of action at the deadline could be read as an indictment of the roster and he wasnt going to give up assets/or cap flexibility for this collection of talent

Nobody would argue with this. But it would be folly to conclude he thinks the core is "flawed". He may just think it is work in progress and he needs more serious young talent. If he goes for Tristan Thompson, and I'm not saying he will, it likely shows conclusively he has a much younger vision for the team and players that support that plan will arrive or stay and players that don't won't be signed or traded for. The playoffs are important but it seems more like school and taking steps than going all in for the ECF. If he wants to be serious about competing, especially for local talent, there has to be a lot of upside. To date he has been all about signing off the radar bargain pieces. That is what is most likely to change starting this offseason and yes because they have a little more wiggle room.

[cammac]

I want the team to succeed beat Washington soundly if we fail we are abysmal and we need a transformation.
We have the capabilities to beat Atlanta we are their nemesis this year and their depth is hurt if we don't go 7 games even in a losing cause still a failure.

Nothing I want more than seeing the Raptors succeed.

[Indeed]

Wiz in 4, trade for DMC.

Raps to the ECF...

STILL TRADE FOR DMC!

I think this DMC nonsense has to stop, he's not going to be traded, or demand a trade, for at least a year. He's giving George Karl a lot of latitude to improve things.

And I don't understand the hype for DMC. He has yet to prove he can lead a team into the playoffs.
I don't think the issue is the player surrounding him. Patterson and Vasquez are a big part of us, but never do good there. And Gay is a good SF, which they should be a playoffs team already, but instead, they only have 29 wins.

I just don't see how DMC impacts that much of the game.

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

This could be interpreted many ways. It could mean DC is gone if we lose first round. It could also mean major changes are coming unless we make it to ECF and can compete there. I think MU is deliberately obtuse here.

No one in their right mind would expect us to make it to the ECF. I'm pretty sure everyone wants to win the first round. Anything extra is a bonus.

What I'm saying is, MU could easily have evaluated what he wants to do with this group already, and anything short of ECF may not change his mind.

And I would argue that would be a sane way of thinking. WAS isn't great, we should beat them. ATL obviously is good, but we also went 3-1 against them this year. So the matchups we're lucky enough to have don't pit us as huge dogs or anything.

If we can't beat, or at least some very close to beating ATL if we do make the 2nd round, I would conclude there's no real reason to stick with this core.

Could mean that when he adjusts the roster, he'll be doing so with the post season, and not the regular season in mind. Meaning it's all about building on where we are and going deeper each year. When you look at what Masai did last offseason, it was all about addressing the things that were exposed in the post season.

[kidr1211]

Just listened to PTS and ujiri is really getting annoying with all this growth and trending in the right direction talk. We're ONE game better than last year where tf do you see growth? That team last year wasn't even together for a full season too. If we come back with this same core next season i'll have to jump on the gtfo ujiri bandwagon. To make it worse if we win a round that'll be all they need to justify not making any major changes, they'll come back next season preaching that same growth bs

Last year we have 48 wins it because no one think we are good team and never really really for us. So we won many games and surprise many team. But this year many team was ready for us have better scouting on us. To make 49 wins this years is much harder tan last year.

That sounds like an excuse to me.

[IMAN5]

if masai steals DMC god damn god damn god damn

[ishoy123]

This is why i'm happy we got the Wiz matchup, I won't be mad if it's Wiz in 4.

yea you will

[Young_Buc]

Just listened to PTS and ujiri is really getting annoying with all this growth and trending in the right direction talk. We're ONE game better than last year where tf do you see growth? That team last year wasn't even together for a full season too. If we come back with this same core next season i'll have to jump on the gtfo ujiri bandwagon. To make it worse if we win a round that'll be all they need to justify not making any major changes, they'll come back next season preaching that same growth bs

Last year we have 48 wins it because no one think we are good team and never really really for us. So we won many games and surprise many team. But this year many team was ready for us have better scouting on us. To make 49 wins this years is much harder tan last year.

That sounds like an excuse to me.

This year we lost to way more lotto teams than last year. WAY more. The excuse was that we only beat up on bad teams but this year, off the top of my head we've lost to:

Knicks (yuck)
Lakers
Pelicans without davis x2
Boston x2
Heat
Detroit x2
Charlotte x2?
Phoenix
Bucks
BrooklynX2

Those are FIFTEEN loses vs sub 500 teams. FIFTEEN!!!!!

Raptors remotely take care of business and they win 60 games.

[Michael Bradley]

What Masai does with DeRozan, regardless of what happens in the playoffs, will be the real test.

[Tacoma]

No one in their right mind would expect us to make it to the ECF. I'm pretty sure everyone wants to win the first round. Anything extra is a bonus.

What I'm saying is, MU could easily have evaluated what he wants to do with this group already, and anything short of ECF may not change his mind.

And I would argue that would be a sane way of thinking. WAS isn't great, we should beat them. ATL obviously is good, but we also went 3-1 against them this year. So the matchups we're lucky enough to have don't pit us as huge dogs or anything.

If we can't beat, or at least some very close to beating ATL if we do make the 2nd round, I would conclude there's no real reason to stick with this core.

Could mean that when he adjusts the roster, he'll be doing so with the post season, and not the regular season in mind. Meaning it's all about building on where we are and going deeper each year. When you look at what Masai did last offseason, it was all about addressing the things that were exposed in the post season.

I think it was only about a couple of months ago when Masai said that how far we go in the playoffs will not dictate offseason changes, but now it appears he's flip flopped where everything hinges on the playoffs. This lack of overall direction shows me that maybe he still doesn't really have a true plan and still reacting on what happens in the present.

Nothing about this past season has been much of a surprise. Back last Sep, we expected to make the playoffs with around 50 wins. We expected Lowry and DD to be the core of this team with JV lurking to take over as the next leader. But by the time JV peaks, Lowry will be a shadow of his today self. So this core is flawed because our best player and our best hope are peaking at different times and with the pluses and minuses, this core isn't peaking beyond 2nd round playoffs.

This is where our team stands and I don't think what happens in the coming weeks is going to change our situation. If we get to the 2nd round because Ross, Lou and PP go on a hot streak consistently hitting 3's, then that's excellent. I am hopeful that our guards are past their shooting slump but one would be foolish to expect us going on a hot shooting streak as being the new norm.

This season has been a ebb and flow and a hot shooting streak in the playoffs should not dictate off-season plans. Masai was right the first time and playoffs should not matter. If he had a plan a few months ago, he should stick to it.

[polo007]

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri joins Mike and Dave to discuss how last season's playoff experience will be a help to the team this year, and weighs in on Paul Pierce's comments, saying "our guys are mature, they understand the nature of the playoffs & know that there will be plenty antics/mind games throughout the course of the series."

http://iphone.tsn.ca/tsnpodcasts/mr_ujiri_april17.mp3

[polo007]

Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri joins The Jeff Blair Show to preview his side’s first round NBA playoff series against the Washington Wizards, how he measures success when it comes to the 2014-15 season, the talents of Paul Pierce, and why this team is different from the squad that lost to the Brooklyn Nets in the opening round of last year’s post-season.

http://pmd.fan590.com/audio_on_demand-3 ... erview.mp3

[Los Manos]

Great tone from Masai. No fanfare this time round. It's time to batten down the hatches, lock in and perform.