Josh Lewenberg: Masai on Kawhi: “He’s happy, and from what everybody has told me he’s healthy… He’s determined. He seems in the right frame of mind… I think there’s a fire inside him and we’re all excited about that.”
Masai Ujiri Rumors
Along with the high risk, however, comes a high reward, which is why the Raptors were willing to make the deal. Should Leonard prove to be healthy, they’ll be one of the main contenders to win the Eastern Conference this season. Plus, they’ll have the next nine months to convince Leonard to stay in Toronto and re-sign for the long term. So how does Raptors president Masai Ujiri plan on going about that? Well, he explained as much on a recent appearance on Adrian Wojnarowski’s podcast, The Woj Pod. “We are who we are. We are going to be prepared, we are going to make things as smooth… I think you want to be genuine, you want to be real. You know, this is who we are. We might not be the best ones in weather, but we might be the best ones in many other places: the diversity, the city, the uniqueness of a place like [Toronto], fans, the atmosphere. I think those things are so unique, it’s beginning to show everywhere.”
“And then you have to put the basketball together. Maybe before the basketball wasn’t a part of it, but I know there’s a part of him that I’m sure thinks this team has a chance. With his teammates and seeing how hard these guys are working. We have to show who we are. There is no fake sales job here — this is what it is.”
Working in media has helped Carter become more candid over the years, and the former Raptor didn’t mince words when asked about Masai Ujiri’s decision to trade longtime franchise pillar DeMar DeRozan to San Antonio for disgruntled Spurs star Kawhi Leonard. “We all look at it like DeMar has done so many great things there, which he has,” Carter said. “He deserves to finish his career there, especially if he wanted to, like we all know he did. It’s just one of those things where the organization, I guess they saw it different. They wanted to take advantage of an opportunity and who knows if it works or not? If it works, everybody forgets about it. If it doesn’t, it blows up in their face. I think that’s how these things work, and it’s an unfortunate situation.”
But the way the Toronto Raptors and general manager Masai Ujiri operated in trading DeMar DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs along with other assets for Kawhi Leonard didn’t sit well with the Wizards point guard. Wall is friends with DeRozan and can’t help but feel for the guy after how everything went down. “It was interesting. In my opinion, I don’t think there was loyalty shown on DeRozan’s part,” Wall said. “This is a business and you understand that. [But], if you talk to me man-to-man, then just be honest with me. We’re all grown men.”
Also participating in the game will be NBA assistant coaches Bill Bayno (Indiana Pacers), Harold Ellis (New York Knicks), Adrian Griffin (Raptors), Mark Hughes (Clippers), B.J. Johnson (Houston Rockets), Patrick Mutombo (Raptors; Democratic Republic of the Congo) and David Vanterpool (Trail Blazers), Raptors President Masai Ujiri (Nigeria), Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka, Magic Director of Player Development and Quality Control Becky Bonner, Magic scout Prosper Karangwa (Rwanda), athletic trainers Will Sevening (Spurs) and Stanford Williams (Phoenix Suns), as well as NBA referees Tony Brothers and Derrick Stafford.
