Larry T. says contract talks with Masai will begin next week

[Kingsway_fan]

If Trudeau could be prime Minister of Canada, why can't Masai be the mayor or Toronto?

Masai would whoop Doug Ford's ass running for the Green Party.

We already have enough nuts in the Liberal and NDP party at all levels... Ford is a liberal...

[mtcan]

If Trudeau could be prime Minister of Canada, why can't Masai be the mayor or Toronto?

Masai would whoop Doug Ford's ass running for the Green Party.

We already have enough nuts in the Liberal and NDP party at all levels... Ford is a liberal...

Ford isn't anything else but an idiot.

[carlosey]

The fact MLSE re-upped his team shows that things are very solid between them (not to mention MLSE sticking up for him when Silver was talking trash regarding the incident must count for something).

Give him a long term deal and pay him well.

[WuTang_OG]

Larry T better not just bring the monetary goods but also the Giants of Africa angle and how to absolutely expand it using MLSE's resources. That as we know from Leiweke, was Masai's big thing to come over

[ItsDanger]

Its the reps from BCE & Rogers that really matter. They call the shots. Not Larry. Raps had great support from BCE previously but that guy is retired so we may get a glimpse into future direction with this move.

[Parataxis]

Over/Under on an ownership stake?

90% for SOME ownership stake (mostly in the form of stock options, etc...)

0% chance of a meaningful ownership stake. With the value of MLSE, even a 5% ownership stake is worth the better part of a hundred million dollars; he's not just getting that as a signing bonus.

[tecumseh18]

Over/Under on an ownership stake?

90% for SOME ownership stake (mostly in the form of stock options, etc...)

0% chance of a meaningful ownership stake. With the value of MLSE, even a 5% ownership stake is worth the better part of a hundred million dollars; he's not just getting that as a signing bonus.

Hah, if he really thinks of Masai as a son, then Larry T. should just will him his share of MLSE. What's his stake - 10%?

[dTox]

This is giving me the same knot in my stomach feeling I used to get when my dad was scheduled to go in for a parent teacher meeting.

[ciueli]

Controversial opinion incoming.

I don't know who really deserves the blame for this season, but ultimately the buck has to stop with Masai because he his the guy in charge. And this season was an unmitigated failure. Baynes was paid almost $7M, for the same money we could have signed Dwight Howard and Bobby Portis, both have been solid options at C for their respective teams.

The team got upended in a big way by COVID. Yeah, it happened to other teams, but the President and GM of the team should have done everything possible to ensure it didn't happen to us. The assistant coaches let us down. Management should have done more on this front, in my opinion. It's even arguable playing somewhere other than Tampa would have been a good idea because Florida's attitude towards COVID has been far to lax.

Going a bit deeper, the groundwork was laid for the team falling off when management gave Stanley Johnson and Patrick McCaw player options on the contracts they signed after the title season. They had done nothing to show they deserved these options and the extra money meant letting Serge Ibaka leave given the desire to avoid the luxury tax and the strange reluctance to offer more than a 1 year contract... due to management thinking they had a chance at landing Giannis in the offseason (they didn't and they should have known they didn't, that's why they get paid the big bucks).

Looking forward, it's questionable how bright the future of the team is. Lowry is quite possibly gone leaving a team chained to an overpaid Siakam as the best player. Fred will have to be the lead guard, but it's unclear how capable he is of taking on that role given how poorly he finishes around the rim. The only recent good decision seems to be the OG contract, and these days it's hard to overpay young 3+D Forwards who can shoot the 3, no credit there.

To be blunt, Masai has not done an perfect job since the title, and I'm not sure I like the direction the team seems to be heading. Trent is a good 3 point shooter, but I'm not sure he does anything else really well and we seem to be poised to commit $15M/year or more to him while making him a key starter. There's no obvious way to solve the massive gaping hole at center. I still think Masai is a better front office executive than most of the league, but he's no longer a guy I see as completely irreplaceable.

[2019nbachamps]

Controversial opinion incoming.

I don't know who really deserves the blame for this season, but ultimately the buck has to stop with Masai because he his the guy in charge. And this season was an unmitigated failure. Baynes was paid almost $7M, for the same money we could have signed Dwight Howard and Bobby Portis, both have been solid options at C for their respective teams.

The team got upended in a big way by COVID. Yeah, it happened to other teams, but the President and GM of the team should have done everything possible to ensure it didn't happen to us. The assistant coaches let us down. Management should have done more on this front, in my opinion. It's even arguable playing somewhere other than Tampa would have been a good idea because Florida's attitude towards COVID has been far to lax.

Going a bit deeper, the groundwork was laid for the team falling off when management gave Stanley Johnson and Patrick McCaw player options on the contracts they signed after the title season. They had done nothing to show they deserved these options and the extra money meant letting Serge Ibaka leave given the desire to avoid the luxury tax and the strange reluctance to offer more than a 1 year contract... due to management thinking they had a chance at landing Giannis in the offseason (they didn't and they should have known they didn't, that's why they get paid the big bucks).

Looking forward, it's questionable how bright the future of the team is. Lowry is quite possibly gone leaving a team chained to an overpaid Siakam as the best player. Fred will have to be the lead guard, but it's unclear how capable he is of taking on that role given how poorly he finishes around the rim. The only recent good decision seems to be the OG contract, and these days it's hard to overpay young 3+D Forwards who can shoot the 3, no credit there.

To be blunt, Masai has not done an perfect job since the title, and I'm not sure I like the direction the team seems to be heading. Trent is a good 3 point shooter, but I'm not sure he does anything else really well and we seem to be poised to commit $15M/year or more to him while making him a key starter. There's no obvious way to solve the massive gaping hole at center. I still think Masai is a better front office executive than most of the league, but he's no longer a guy I see as completely irreplaceable.

I agree Masai has made a bunch of personnel mistakes since our title. Nonetheless, he got us a title and is an elite exec. It would be a disservice if we let him walk.

I'm also not confident we have a bright future but we do have flexibility to get us back on track. Trent Jr + Siakam + FVV + OG + lotto pick + some of our young guys like Flynn + Lowry or his cap hold is not a terrible position to be in. Assuming we bring Lowry back, sign a decent C, and get a lotto pick that can be the 7th-9th man off the bench then we're a playoff team at the very least (not bad for a team that is retooling). If Siakam and FVV make significant improvements to their games this summer then we're looking at a team that can compete for the 4th-6th spots in the East.

I've been unhappy with Masai since the title but it's clear to me our best option is to bring him back. He's earned the right to screw up a few times.

[HangTime]

Maybe he spends time with the Africa basketball league, promotes the Raptors.

Then he returns to the Raptors, players would want to follow him here. Especially some one older, guys that can bypass the draft.

[alienchild]

This has very little to do about the money. That will be easy to come to agreement about. Masai has other areas of concern that will needed to be agreed upon to reach a deal. Money isn't a problem, whether he stays or goes. He'll get well paid whichever path he chooses.

[Badonkadonk]

I don't know who really deserves the blame for this season, but ultimately the buck has to stop with Masai because he his the guy in charge. And this season was an unmitigated failure. Baynes was paid almost $7M, for the same money we could have signed Dwight Howard and Bobby Portis, both have been solid options at C for their respective teams.

If you would have told me before the season started, with the cloud of Covid hanging over it, the condensed schedule, all road games etc, that the Raps were just going to chill and see if the could settle into a lottery pick with more-or-less the same core that won 74% of its games in 2020... then I'd have been completely on board.

I think we're going to look back at what ultimately was a throwaway season as nothing but fruitful and opportunistic.

As for the impact of a Dwight Howard (absolute trash) or Bobby Portis (he has a 2nd year player option; Raps were swinging for the fences with Giannis), please... they are not remotely close to the kind of players that would have transformed the team into one that makes a deep playoff run.

We'll see how it plays out. I don't think there's going to be much "blame" thrown around after the Raps make their draft selection on July 29th.

[OakleyDokely]

Controversial opinion incoming.

I don't know who really deserves the blame for this season, but ultimately the buck has to stop with Masai because he his the guy in charge. And this season was an unmitigated failure. Baynes was paid almost $7M, for the same money we could have signed Dwight Howard and Bobby Portis, both have been solid options at C for their respective teams.

The team got upended in a big way by COVID. Yeah, it happened to other teams, but the President and GM of the team should have done everything possible to ensure it didn't happen to us. The assistant coaches let us down. Management should have done more on this front, in my opinion. It's even arguable playing somewhere other than Tampa would have been a good idea because Florida's attitude towards COVID has been far to lax.

Going a bit deeper, the groundwork was laid for the team falling off when management gave Stanley Johnson and Patrick McCaw player options on the contracts they signed after the title season. They had done nothing to show they deserved these options and the extra money meant letting Serge Ibaka leave given the desire to avoid the luxury tax and the strange reluctance to offer more than a 1 year contract... due to management thinking they had a chance at landing Giannis in the offseason (they didn't and they should have known they didn't, that's why they get paid the big bucks).

Looking forward, it's questionable how bright the future of the team is. Lowry is quite possibly gone leaving a team chained to an overpaid Siakam as the best player. Fred will have to be the lead guard, but it's unclear how capable he is of taking on that role given how poorly he finishes around the rim. The only recent good decision seems to be the OG contract, and these days it's hard to overpay young 3+D Forwards who can shoot the 3, no credit there.

To be blunt, Masai has not done an perfect job since the title, and I'm not sure I like the direction the team seems to be heading. Trent is a good 3 point shooter, but I'm not sure he does anything else really well and we seem to be poised to commit $15M/year or more to him while making him a key starter. There's no obvious way to solve the massive gaping hole at center. I still think Masai is a better front office executive than most of the league, but he's no longer a guy I see as completely irreplaceable.

is there one established exec in the league who hasn't had a mediocre season or two during their tenure? Riley, Buford, Ainge, Myers etc all have a mediocre season or a bad stretch on their resume and they are considered the best.

That's why you judge a President/GM on their entire body of work. Masai's body of work puts him among the best of the best in the league.

If you can find better than Masai, I'm all for it. But I don't see that person available.

[Jerry Lucas]

Masai: "Give me literal diamond hands"

I'll respond to you here since I haven't been registered for enough days to send PMs yet. I'm not an old poster with a new account, I was just a lurker on the board before I signed up.

Although since you've already accused me, you've probably made up your mind already.

[Raptorfan2012]

Controversial opinion incoming.

I don't know who really deserves the blame for this season, but ultimately the buck has to stop with Masai because he his the guy in charge. And this season was an unmitigated failure. Baynes was paid almost $7M, for the same money we could have signed Dwight Howard and Bobby Portis, both have been solid options at C for their respective teams.

The team got upended in a big way by COVID. Yeah, it happened to other teams, but the President and GM of the team should have done everything possible to ensure it didn't happen to us. The assistant coaches let us down. Management should have done more on this front, in my opinion. It's even arguable playing somewhere other than Tampa would have been a good idea because Florida's attitude towards COVID has been far to lax.

Going a bit deeper, the groundwork was laid for the team falling off when management gave Stanley Johnson and Patrick McCaw player options on the contracts they signed after the title season. They had done nothing to show they deserved these options and the extra money meant letting Serge Ibaka leave given the desire to avoid the luxury tax and the strange reluctance to offer more than a 1 year contract... due to management thinking they had a chance at landing Giannis in the offseason (they didn't and they should have known they didn't, that's why they get paid the big bucks).

Looking forward, it's questionable how bright the future of the team is. Lowry is quite possibly gone leaving a team chained to an overpaid Siakam as the best player. Fred will have to be the lead guard, but it's unclear how capable he is of taking on that role given how poorly he finishes around the rim. The only recent good decision seems to be the OG contract, and these days it's hard to overpay young 3+D Forwards who can shoot the 3, no credit there.

To be blunt, Masai has not done an perfect job since the title, and I'm not sure I like the direction the team seems to be heading. Trent is a good 3 point shooter, but I'm not sure he does anything else really well and we seem to be poised to commit $15M/year or more to him while making him a key starter. There's no obvious way to solve the massive gaping hole at center. I still think Masai is a better front office executive than most of the league, but he's no longer a guy I see as completely irreplaceable.

If you are looking for an exec who has done a perfect job, you’re going to have a bad time. Of course Masai hasnt batted a 100 percent, but all teams have to go down a bit in order to go back up, and this was the perfect season to do it. We missed out on Giannis but we still have over $25M potential cap space this offseason plus a top draft pick. I would say the future is very exciting.

[WuTang_OG]

Over/Under on an ownership stake?

90% for SOME ownership stake (mostly in the form of stock options, etc...)

0% chance of a meaningful ownership stake. With the value of MLSE, even a 5% ownership stake is worth the better part of a hundred million dollars; he's not just getting that as a signing bonus.

Hah, if he really thinks of Masai as a son, then Larry T. should just will him his share of MLSE. What's his stake - 10%?

25 lol

[Metallikid]

Masai: "Give me literal diamond hands"

I'll respond to you here since I haven't been registered for enough days to send PMs yet. I'm not an old poster with a new account, I was just a lurker on the board before I signed up.

Although since you've already accused me, you've probably made up your mind already.

Was just wondering with all the new accounts around lately.

[MavCarter]

Over/under on how many hours after the season ends the first woj/wizards tweet comes?

[2019nbachamps]

I don't know who really deserves the blame for this season, but ultimately the buck has to stop with Masai because he his the guy in charge. And this season was an unmitigated failure. Baynes was paid almost $7M, for the same money we could have signed Dwight Howard and Bobby Portis, both have been solid options at C for their respective teams.

If you would have told me before the season started, with the cloud of Covid hanging over it, the condensed schedule, all road games etc, that the Raps were just going to chill and see if the could settle into a lottery pick with more-or-less the same core that won 74% of its games in 2020... then I'd have been completely on board.

I think we're going to look back at what ultimately was a throwaway season as nothing but fruitful and opportunistic.

As for the impact of a Dwight Howard (absolute trash) or Bobby Portis (he has a 2nd year player option; Raps were swinging for the fences with Giannis), please... they are not remotely close to the kind of players that would have transformed the team into one that makes a deep playoff run.

We'll see how it plays out. I don't think there's going to be much "blame" thrown around after the Raps make their draft selection on July 29th.

This is revisionist history peddled by various members of this board.

You hit the nail on the head: the goal at the start of the season was to be in position to sign Giannis or another major free agent in the summer.

We went into this season looking to be competitive in order to achieve this goal. We let Ibaka walk and brought in two replacements (Baynes and Len) that we thought could help us comfortably make the playoffs.

There would’ve been little or no reason for a star to join us in the summer after the season we just had.

Early in the season it became apparent we we weren’t good enough. A 500 record was enough for 4th at the ASG break but would’ve had us in the play in if we maintained that clip until the end of this season.

The awful season we had is in large part to Masai putting a mediocre team together. Yes, Tampa and our COVID outbreak sucked the wind out of our sails but at the end of the day the personnel decisions Masai made resulted in a mediocre product on the court.

Anyways, Masai has earned the right to make mistakes and have mediocre seasons. I’m excited about him hopefully coming back and fixing the team.