TORONTO — On Monday morning, Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri uttered a word rarely heard in professional sports: shame.
Hearing Ujiri not only take some responsibility for a disastrous 2023-24 season but also express some embarrassment about it was refreshing. A lot was out of his control: the injuries, the Jontay Porter controversy, the deaths of players’ families. Life is a rollercoaster ride.
Failing to see the train coming that threatened to terminate the contracts of the team’s most important players, players who were producing .500 seasons while their minutes were being pushed to the limit, their production being squeezed dry? That’s Ujiri’s responsibility. The team’s five-year player development fiasco is ultimately his fault, too. Over the past two years, Ujiri’s characteristic patience has turned into stubbornness. The Raptors will pay the price for a while.
The idea that this was the same organization that won a title in 2019 had been gone for some time, and Ujiri had been slow to admit it publicly — at least until Monday.
“Day two of the draft was the first time I felt really good (in) a year and a half, to be honest,” Ujiri said after a news conference reintroducing re-signed Immanuel Quickley and extended Scottie Barnes. “It’s been a tough year and a half, and maybe some of it was me and some of it was (circumstances) hitting us in different ways. But it just wasn’t us. It’s not who we are. It’s not who I want to be.”
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— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) July 8, 2024
The second day of the draft was nothing special, except that luck seemed to smile on the Raptors — partly on merit, partly on luck. For the first time in a long time, they were the center of attention, with the first pick of the second round in the first year of the two-day draft. It brought a welcome stepdaughter vibe. There was also a trade that gave them a potential backup point guard (Davion Mitchell), two second-round picks and Sasha Vezenkov, all for little-used winger Jalen McDaniels. Even Ujiri would probably admit that the deal had less to do with a brilliant move and more to do with the financial dance the Sacramento Kings had to perform to open the door to bigger ambitions. Still, the Raptors were in a position to take a positive step forward, however small.
But what they really need is big steps forward, not a minor shakeup. That’s where Barnes and Quickley come in. For better or worse, the future of Ujiri and his management depends on these two players, who are paid $400 million between them, a price based more on future projections than past production.
That’s fine. Those are the kinds of bets teams have to make at this stage of development. Without actively trying to pull off another 25-win season (or worse!), playing in a conference where five teams appear to be doing just that, Ujiri is betting on either a) Barnes and Quickley outperforming those contracts or b) a little lottery luck. Both would be preferable.
“It’s going to take time,” Ujiri said. “But we think that commitment is the foundation for these guys to really start setting the tone and feeling that accountability. There’s a sense of responsibility here. They need to feel it. I think both of these guys have good heads on their shoulders and they’re going to get there.”
For their part, Barnes and Quickley both said they want the Raptors to return to winning ways next year, which fits with Monday’s motto: The future starts now.
It’s hard to predict a huge leap from last year, given that the Raptors could be counting on three or four first- or second-year players to provide rotation minutes, no lottery picks coming in and a former All-Star in Barnes on the roster. This type of team doesn’t scream immediate improvement, hence Ujiri’s resilience in providing a competitive schedule. However, you want your foundational players to want to start winning as soon as possible, while also having obvious room for improvement: Barnes as a shooter and Quickley as a playmaker.
“They say we’re rebuilding, but I just want to win right now,” Barnes said. “I feel like that’s my mindset every day. I want to win basketball games and rebuild this team to where it was, try to get back to the top of the East.”
“When I’m done with my career, I want to say I’ve tried to take on every challenge,” Quickley added. “I’ve never backed down from anything. You only get to play in the NBA once in your career, so pressure is an opportunity to elevate yourself, and I’m looking forward to that opportunity.”
Both Raptors will do a lot to build their NBA legacies over the course of these deals, with Quickley signing for five years and Barnes now on a six-year deal, with his rookie deal expiring after this year. As for Ujiri, his legacy is set: He’s the guy who brought a title to Toronto.
There’s more to it, though. He can go down in history as a leader who won a title but failed to keep it, or he can rebuild the franchise, virtually from scratch this time. The Raptors’ ownership structure will likely change over the next two years, with Bell and Rogers having the option to buy out Larry Tanenbaum’s remaining stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, according to Sportsnet. Ujiri and Tanenbaum are very close; that’s possible These two contracts are the last big things Ujiri does in the position.
He didn’t say any of that. Instead, he did what he always does: promise the Raptors they’ll win again. He later noted that it’s become a refrain of his, a bit of self-awareness. There’s a reason for all this bluster: He’s trying to convey the energy he wants his team to reflect to the world. The last few years have eroded the luster of management and, with it, the weight of Ujiri’s words.
“This is not what this team, these fans, this city deserves,” Ujiri said of the team’s play last year. “We have to put out a better product than that, and I think we did that the last 10 years before this. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose in this league, you have to show passion. You have to show energy.”
It’s up to Barnes and Quickley to provide that – and more.
(Photo: John E. Sokolowski/USA Today)