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

[vado]

Absolutely hilarious

[Quattro]

This is cute. This board has such a chip... As if having POC team president, they get to enjoy a share of his 15 million check as well (I'm a minority too you sheeple, before you get on your high horse).

Says the guy who is more concerned with his cable company’s financial statements than the guy running his city’s basketball team.

[Dalek]

[edited to add] Seems to me you just don't like Masai. I always get triggered when people say Masai "bungled" something. It suggests to me that you have non-basketball reasons for not liking Masai. Because the basketball has been great, and it looks like he's only cemented his legacy by picking Barnes over Suggs.

Far from disliking Masai. He has done a lot of admirable things as a leader, I just don't agree with his basketball decision-making.

To me, even with good regular season success Toronto was always a playoff afterthought and never considered title contenders until Kawhi.

The Kawhi gambit was brilliant, but a huge risk that at first alienated his core leader in Lowry and traded a franchise player for a one year rental. Even Marc Gasol looked lost at first when he came mid-season to Toronto. We are lucky things worked out as they did.

To me, Masai was the guy who was supposed to bring in Giannis, but didn't and gave up all his space for Goran Dragic.

He has signed zero free agents of note (sorry Demarre Carroll) that were outside of Toronto's own free agents so how much has he raised Toronto's place in the NBA.

Which brings us to the current core. I know many are not thinking Dinwiddie or Holmes would make a difference, but even on three year deals, these guys would have given this current core a chance to compete.

Instead, we are unfairly relying on Scottie Barnes to carry Toronto as we are talent depleted and relying on playing perfect switch/trapping defense to stay in games. I mean, maybe it gets better with Siakam, but this team is one of the ugliest teams to watch currently.

The hope is they get a franchise guy next draft which is less certain in 2022.

[lobosloboslobos]

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/10/25/raptors-fans-fuming-after-sources-reveal-edward-rogers-wanted-to-dump-masai-ujiri.html

anyone care to share highlights from behind the paywall? did we make the news?

[phillipmike]

Hit piece or not, its factual. The guy is trying to take over Rogers by force after being booted.

The guy is a racist MAGA POS trying to dump a top level executive that happens to be black.

You do the math.

Should be an interesting chant at the game tonight.

I’m not defending Edward Rogers here. And he probably is a racist. But when he essentially forced Beeston and AA out with the Jays, according to an article posted in this thread, he tried to hire Kenny Williams from the White Sox to take over. Kenny Williams is Black. I’m not trying to defend the guy, I just wanted to mention that anecdote.

Was just about to say this. There is no strong evidence this has to with race. Many jumped on the "bodyguard" comment and they were the ones that went straight to race.

Ed Rogers wanted to boot 2 white guys out the door in 2014 in AA and Beeston to name Kenny Williams the Jays President of baseball operations. At the time, Kenny Williams wanted to come work for Rogers (which is telling) and Williams would have been the first African American in MLB to hold the president position.

Also make reference to this form the article;

He told his partners he felt the compensation was too high. Rogers was also convinced the Raptors could be managed without Ujiri’s help and by general manager Bobby Webster.

It doesnt make sense to say that race has anything to do with it when he wanted Bobby Webster, a Japanese-American run the organization.

I disagree with ED Rogers' evaluation if true, as Masai is the best person for the job. But when you are about to give someone possibly 3X times more than what they are being paid, while making Masai possibly the highest paid executive in North America, any owner has the right balk at the price especially when it comes to losing ownership. If the 3% return wasnt part of the conversation, Rogers probably wouldnt have been part of the negotiations. He is what almost every owner is, cheap or prudent with their money, put it anyway you like.

And if the other part of the report is true, where Masai didnt want to give his vision for the team, when the team was about to pay you a total of $75-$100M for an executive role, i would call you arrogant too.

This had everything to do about money and it appears ego. Neither is a good look, but welcome to sports owners, none of this is new.

[tdot_steel]

Hit piece or not, its factual. The guy is trying to take over Rogers by force after being booted.

The guy is a racist MAGA POS trying to dump a top level executive that happens to be black.

You do the math.

Should be an interesting chant at the game tonight.

I’m not defending Edward Rogers here. And he probably is a racist. But when he essentially forced Beeston and AA out with the Jays, according to an article posted in this thread, he tried to hire Kenny Williams from the White Sox to take over. Kenny Williams is Black. I’m not trying to defend the guy, I just wanted to mention that anecdote.

Call it the Jerry Krause/Jerry Reinsdorf syndrome with the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. I want to install my own people to discredit the achievements of the predecessor. Ed Rogers has a history of ousting people he perceives a threat. That is classic insecure egocentric behavior.

[MavCarter]

This is cute. This board has such a chip... As if having POC team president, they get to enjoy a share of his 15 million check as well (I'm a minority too you sheeple, before you get on your high horse).

This the type of dude who uses the word "sheeple" regularly while he tunes into ben shapiro and tucker carlson daily to be told what to think

[vaff87]

And while the jays continue to specialize in finishing in 4th place, the Braves are playing in the World Series. I stopped caring about the jays when this pissant pushed AA out the door. They’re a lost cause as long as they’re owned by these idiots. Watch how great their off-season will go.

The Jays are actually better than the Braves. They won more games and had a run differential nearly 50 runs better. And did that while playing the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays a combined 57 times. They have a much, much more difficult path than the Braves. The Braves wouldn’t sniff the playoffs, let alone World Series if they were in the AL East.

The great thing about owning the jays is that their fan base is so conditioned to losing that you can crap the bed every year and they’ll just line up to defend the team with excuse after excuse.

How come the Rays who also play in the AL east consistently contend for the playoffs or win the division with the minuscule resources they have?

They had a great year this year. I’ll give them that. Let’s see what happens to Ray and Siemian this winter. Want to place any bets that neither will be wearing blue next season because, of course, it wouldn’t be fiscally prudent to keep them.

The Rays are arguably the best run franchise in sports. Give them credit.

After Shapiro and Atkins took over, they had to rebuild the team, because AA left them with a baron farm system and an old, expensive roster. You might want to look at where the other teams the Jays were competing with in 2015-16 are in their rebuilding process. The Orioles, the Royals, the Rangers, the Indians. Take a look at where those teams are right now, and where the Jays are.

Shatkins rebuilt the Jays very quickly from an unenviable position. They were in a position where they had an old team, but were expected to do well, because so many casual fans like you saw that AA made the playoffs in 2015, and didn’t see the poor position he left the franchise in. But even after David Price left, they got another playoff season out of that aging core. Until it all fell apart. They were forced by ownership to continue to try to compete in 2017 and 2018, even though hardcore fans of the team knew the window had closed. But they were still able to rebuild the farm system, rid the team of poor contracts, and had the Jays back in the post-season in the weird format last year, and had them miss by one game this year. When they won over 90 games, and had one of the best run differentials for a non-playoff team in history.

[SharoneWright]

This is cute. This board has such a chip... As if having POC team president, they get to enjoy a share of his 15 million check as well (I'm a minority too you sheeple, before you get on your high horse).

This the type of dude who uses the word "sheeple" regularly while he tunes into ben shapiro and tucker carlson daily to be told what to think

I have a soft spot for any contrarian.
Takes far more courage to point out the holes in the groupthink/Masaimania/Trudeaumania/spendthriftiness than it does to just go with the majority flow. The easy way/path of least resistance should be viewed with skepticism. A few checks and balances in the debate just to keep things sharp should be welcome.
And to just casually say someone is "probably racist" without knowing any of the details is atrocious. Takes a lot of chutzpah to be so vindictive, but these loose ad hominems are typical for their laziness now.

[guvernator]

Only reason Masai was brought back was because MLSE and Bell feared the blowback (once they got wind of what Rogers said to Masai) in the current socio-political climate knowing that Masai is 100 percent likely to sing to the media. Otherwise, every party (on the ownership side) had reservations about acceding to Masai's demands.
Considering how long it took to come to an agreement... I mean Rogers was still not up for it clearly. But he got overruled. If rest of the parties were so eager to sign him, they could have overruled Rogers right at the beginning. BUT they didnt.

[MavCarter]

This is cute. This board has such a chip... As if having POC team president, they get to enjoy a share of his 15 million check as well (I'm a minority too you sheeple, before you get on your high horse).

This the type of dude who uses the word "sheeple" regularly while he tunes into ben shapiro and tucker carlson daily to be told what to think

I have a soft spot for any contrarian.
Takes far more courage to point out the holes in the groupthink/Masaimania/Trudeaumania/spendthriftiness than it does to just go with the majority flow. The easy way/path of least resistance should be viewed with skepticism. A few checks and balances in the debate just to keep things sharp should be welcome.
And to just casually say someone is "probably racist" without knowing any of the details is atrocious. Takes a lot of chutzpah to be so vindictive, but these loose ad hominems are typical for their laziness now.

Are you talking about my post? Because the only person hinting at any type of racism was the "contrarian" himself

[grimlock]

Only reason Masai was brought back was because MLSE and Bell feared the blowback (once they got wind of what Rogers said to Masai) in the current socio-political climate knowing that Masai is 100 percent likely to sing to the media. Otherwise, every party (on the ownership side) had reservations about acceding to Masai's demands.
Considering how long it took to come to an agreement... I mean Rogers was still not up for it clearly. But he got overruled. If rest of the parties were so eager to sign him, they could have overruled Rogers right at the beginning. BUT they didnt.

Nah.. Edward was holding up the process, others went ahead and did it anyways without his approval, because Eds a chump.

[tdot_steel]

Hit piece or not, its factual. The guy is trying to take over Rogers by force after being booted.

The guy is a racist MAGA POS trying to dump a top level executive that happens to be black.

You do the math.

Should be an interesting chant at the game tonight.

I’m not defending Edward Rogers here. And he probably is a racist. But when he essentially forced Beeston and AA out with the Jays, according to an article posted in this thread, he tried to hire Kenny Williams from the White Sox to take over. Kenny Williams is Black. I’m not trying to defend the guy, I just wanted to mention that anecdote.

Was just about to say this. There is no strong evidence this has to with race. Many jumped on the "bodyguard" comment and they were the ones that went straight to race.

Ed Rogers wanted to boot 2 white guys out the door in 2014 in AA and Beeston to name Kenny Williams the Jays President of baseball operations. At the time, Kenny Williams wanted to come work for Rogers (which is telling) and Williams would have been the first African American in MLB to hold the president position.

Also make reference to this form the article;

He told his partners he felt the compensation was too high. Rogers was also convinced the Raptors could be managed without Ujiri’s help and by general manager Bobby Webster.

It doesnt make sense to say that race has anything to do with it when he wanted Bobby Wester, a Japanese-American run the organization.

I disagree with ED Rogers' evaluation if true, as Masai is the best person for the job. But when you are about to give someone possibly 3X times more than what they are being paid, while making Masai possibly the highest paid executive in North America, any owner has the right balk at the price especially when it comes to losing ownership. If the 3% return wasnt part of the conversation, Rogers probably wouldnt have been part of the negotiations. He is what almost every owner is, cheap or prudent with their money, put it anyway you like.

And if the other part of the report is true, where Masai didnt want to give his vision for the team when the team was about to pay you a total of $75-$100M for an executive, i would call you arrogant too.

The code words indicate textbook racist overtones. Arrogant - know your place. Bodyguard - classic projection, feel threatened. Why would Masai need a bodyguard? To tell someone to their face they aren't worth their salary is akin to telling someone you ain't ish. As fine an example of white privilege on display one could hope to see.

But if you want to proceed with the line of thought there isn't a level of racism/classism in those comments you are not just clueless but willfully ignorant. It is 2021 get a clue.

[GordanFreeman]

This is cute. This board has such a chip... As if having POC team president, they get to enjoy a share of his 15 million check as well (I'm a minority too you sheeple, before you get on your high horse).

Hmm, I haven't seen you around there parts before. What brings you here bruh?

[SharoneWright]

This the type of dude who uses the word "sheeple" regularly while he tunes into ben shapiro and tucker carlson daily to be told what to think

I have a soft spot for any contrarian.
Takes far more courage to point out the holes in the groupthink/Masaimania/Trudeaumania/spendthriftiness than it does to just go with the majority flow. The easy way/path of least resistance should be viewed with skepticism. A few checks and balances in the debate just to keep things sharp should be welcome.
And to just casually say someone is "probably racist" without knowing any of the details is atrocious. Takes a lot of chutzpah to be so vindictive, but these loose ad hominems are typical for their laziness now.

Are you talking about my post? Because the only person hinting at any type of racism was the "contrarian" himself

Yes your post, in terms of you trying to classify the poster as a "sheeple". His opinion is clearly not mainstream on this board. (Neither, technically would be the views of the 2 media-types you referenced,,, at least not "majority")

Not your post, in terms of you calling anyone racist. But plenty of posters have made that serious but totally unverifiable charge.

[Bankai]

The Jays literally have to play Moneyball trying to compete with the high rolling, toughest Division in Baseball. Itll be tough for any GM to make lightning strike like that. Rogers, with that huge NHL TV Deal is pinching money elsewhere (Customers, Jays, Raps).

[tosi]

The Rogers Way... Trying to Punish their customers lol

[ThatClockWork]

Read on Twitter

Somebody leaked the Masai ordeal to help with their fight for control of the board imho.

[phillipmike]

The code words indicate textbook racist overtones. Arrogant - know your place. Bodyguard - classic projection, feel threatened. Why would Masai need a bodyguard? To tell someone to their face they aren't worth their salary is akin to telling someone you ain't ish. As fine an example of white privilege on display one could hope to see.

But if you want to proceed with the line of thought there isn't a level of racism/classism in those comments you are not just clueless but willfully ignorant. It is 2021 get a clue.

Or you are just overly sensitive and want to make nothing into something.

[Quattro]

The Jays are actually better than the Braves. They won more games and had a run differential nearly 50 runs better. And did that while playing the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays a combined 57 times. They have a much, much more difficult path than the Braves. The Braves wouldn’t sniff the playoffs, let alone World Series if they were in the AL East.

The great thing about owning the jays is that their fan base is so conditioned to losing that you can crap the bed every year and they’ll just line up to defend the team with excuse after excuse.

How come the Rays who also play in the AL east consistently contend for the playoffs or win the division with the minuscule resources they have?

They had a great year this year. I’ll give them that. Let’s see what happens to Ray and Siemian this winter. Want to place any bets that neither will be wearing blue next season because, of course, it wouldn’t be fiscally prudent to keep them.

The Rays are arguably the best run franchise in sports. Give them credit.

After Shapiro and Atkins took over, they had to rebuild the team, because AA left them with a baron farm system and an old, expensive roster. You might want to look at where the other teams the Jays were competing with in 2015-16 are in their rebuilding process. The Orioles, the Royals, the Rangers, the Indians. Take a look at where those teams are right now, and where the Jays are.

Shatkins rebuilt the Jays very quickly from an unenviable position. They were in a position where they had an old team, but were expected to do well, because so many casual fans like you saw that AA made the playoffs in 2015, and didn’t see the poor position he left the franchise in. But even after David Price left, they got another playoff season out of that aging core. Until it all fell apart. They were forced by ownership to continue to try to compete in 2017 and 2018, even though hardcore fans of the team knew the window had closed. But they were still able to rebuild the farm system, rid the team of poor contracts, and had the Jays back in the post-season in the weird format last year, and had them miss by one game this year. When they won over 90 games, and had one of the best run differentials for a non-playoff team in history.

I guess you forgot about how bare the cupboard was when AA took over from that jackass Ricciardi. We had one of the worst farm systems in baseball at the end of that idiots tenure. Not only that he was saddled with having to trade Halladay as his first major move.

The farm system was depleted when he left because he was smart enough to deal a bunch of prospects for the players he thought the team needed to get over the hump… which is exactly what I expect a good Gm to do. I’m the end they fell short but at least the guy had the smarts to build that team and the balls to go for it when he did.


Also love the way jays fans can complain in one breath about playing with the Yankees and Red Sox and dismiss the Rays as one of the best run teams in baseball so we shouldn’t be compared to them in the next.

Call me casual all you want. I lived and breathed baseball and was the biggest jays fan you would ever meet growing up. At some point in my adult life however, I decided I had better things to do with my time than support a team that was owned by a company that didn’t care whether it won or lost.