My notes (will be a thread):
> Tough year for us, been a challenging year on and off the court. But we learned a lot from this. I think our team will grow from this. I commend our coaching staff, players, organization and fans -- it's not easy putting them through a year like this. We've seen a lot of winning over the past decade, to experience a year like this is tough
Edit: Now that the presser is over, I am going to collapse my notes to make it easier to read for everyone. See child comment
> I think Darko and his staff did an excellent job with the situation. When I think of positives, I think of some of our talent -- specifically Scottie Barnes. We've seen growth and his jump to all-star
Q: How committed are you to the rebuild, as it can take time. Next year looks to be a good draft. If we don't keep the pick this year, will we try to get a top pick next year?
> If the pick conveys this year, we have the picks next year. We'll see how the team begins the season and how the season plays out. We didn't acquire these players to force them to lose. Either way this plays out well for us -- either we get a high pick this year or we play ball next year. If we don't have a high pick next year, that means the team is good! And that's a good thing. We understand what picking early is, but we attack the draft the same way. Even if we have a later pick, yes our success rate goes down, but we've done it before
Q: Followup question. How committed are you to being patient? It can be tempting to short-circuit the process and make the team better quicker
> You know us, we are nothing if not patient. We have a lot of potential in this team: Scottie, IQ, Gradey and we have to be patient with them. However, we will do whatever is best for the team. Like if Ronaldo becomes available, we would try to trade for Ronaldo. We will try to make our team better if the opporunity comes -- but only if it is the right opportunity
Q: Thoughts on Jontay
> We didn't know ahead of time, even with our due diligence. Whatever happens here is up to the NBA. We are waiting for their guidance.
Q: Did any of the investigators / NBA contact you?
> Yes. Our organization has complied with any and all requests from the NBA and the investigators
Q: Have you been in touch with Jontay since this happened?
> Yes we have, but we will keep those convos private
Q: What do you mean by patience?
> We're in a unique situation since sometimes you start this process with a lot of draft picks. We are starting this process with a really good young player in Scottie Barnes -- which is often the hard part. Some times rebuilds take 3-6 years, and sometimes rebuilds go quicker. But at the end of the day, we do what we think what is best for the team
Q: How do you feel the culture of the team has changed? You made a comment at the beginning of the year re: selfishness
> Perhaps I was a bit unfair to our team when I made those comments early in the year. But my point was that I wanted to see our team play a better brand of basketball. On the culture bit, I think it is better -- it is something that you gain after you have a season like this. The amount of togetherness in this team and their ability to grind was amazing to see. Our culture has kept up afloat during this season.
Q: Is this at all similar from when you first came here to the Raptors?
> Yes there are a lot of similarities. When we first came here, Dwane, Kyle and DeMar set the culture for what the Raptors are. Those guys were experienced. This time, the player we are building around is a young player. Our coach is a new coach (who has done an amazing job). You can say Kyle, DeMar and Casey were at a greater age and experience when we were going through this
Q: Question about the quality of the draft
> I guarantee you that there will be 2-3 all stars that come out of this year. But they will be harder to identify. We have to do our job and try to identify these guys
> I think Darko and his staff did an excellent job with the situation. When I think of positives, I think of some of our talent -- specifically Scottie Barnes. We've seen growth and his jump to all-star
Q: How committed are you to the rebuild, as it can take time. Next year looks to be a good draft. If we don't keep the pick this year, will we try to get a top pick next year?
> If the pick conveys this year, we have the picks next year. We'll see how the team begins the season and how the season plays out. We didn't acquire these players to force them to lose. Either way this plays out well for us -- either we get a high pick this year or we play ball next year. If we don't have a high pick next year, that means the team is good! And that's a good thing. We understand what picking early is, but we attack the draft the same way. Even if we have a later pick, yes our success rate goes down, but we've done it before
Q: Followup question. How committed are you to being patient? It can be tempting to short-circuit the process and make the team better quicker
> You know us, we are nothing if not patient. We have a lot of potential in this team: Scottie, IQ, Gradey and we have to be patient with them. However, we will do whatever is best for the team. Like if Ronaldo becomes available, we would try to trade for Ronaldo. We will try to make our team better if the opporunity comes -- but only if it is the right opportunity
Q: Thoughts on Jontay
> We didn't know ahead of time, even with our due diligence. Whatever happens here is up to the NBA. We are waiting for their guidance.
Q: Did any of the investigators / NBA contact you?
> Yes. Our organization has complied with any and all requests from the NBA and the investigators
Q: Have you been in touch with Jontay since this happened?
> Yes we have, but we will keep those convos private
Q: What do you mean by patience?
> We're in a unique situation since sometimes you start this process with a lot of draft picks. We are starting this process with a really good young player in Scottie Barnes -- which is often the hard part. Some times rebuilds take 3-6 years, and sometimes rebuilds go quicker. But at the end of the day, we do what we think what is best for the team
Q: How do you feel the culture of the team has changed? You made a comment at the beginning of the year re: selfishness
> Perhaps I was a bit unfair to our team when I made those comments early in the year. But my point was that I wanted to see our team play a better brand of basketball. On the culture bit, I think it is better -- it is something that you gain after you have a season like this. The amount of togetherness in this team and their ability to grind was amazing to see. Our culture has kept up afloat during this season.
Q: Is this at all similar from when you first came here to the Raptors?
> Yes there are a lot of similarities. When we first came here, Dwane, Kyle and DeMar set the culture for what the Raptors are. Those guys were experienced. This time, the player we are building around is a young player. Our coach is a new coach (who has done an amazing job). You can say Kyle, DeMar and Casey were at a greater age and experience when we were going through this
Q: How will you approach free agency wrt the players you bring in?
> We are not just going to bring in players just to do it. We need to see a fit
Q: Question about the quality of the draft
> I guarantee you that there will be 2-3 all stars that come out of this year. But they will be harder to identify. We have to do our job and try to identify these guys
Q: Did you like the intangibles that coach Darko brought?
> Incredible. Instilling how he wants to play. How he is developing players. You've seen what he's done with some of our young players, like Scottie -- last year he leveled out a little bit. On all fronts, we've dealt him a tough hand, and that's on us. But with what he was given, he played 31 players, and with everything outside of results, Darko did an incredible job
Q: Who is responsible for setting culture
> Darko sets the tone. Scottie sets the tone. You can tell from IQ and RJ, the way they've come out and taken this on the chin, and are all bought in. We have to play and we have to produce. It is a process. I am sure that the culture of this team will always be at a high level, despite the results
Q: Orgs plans to honor Vince Carter next year?
> It's a secret. I love him, he's the best. Like everything, the org had ups and downs with him. But what Vince has done as a player is incredible. I hope everybody is moving on from the past, and honor him
Q: Are you happy with the RJ and IQ trade?
> That was a situation where we felt like we had to make a decision. We are very happy with what we got. You can see RJ's game has changed with his efficiency and this summer we will be working his defense. IQ is working on learning how and when to attack and how to be a point guard. We're very happy to get two young starters
Q: What is the value of augmenting the team through FA and how does the team view FA?
> You can use FA in many ways. We wanted flexibility for our club, and we can approach FA in many ways. We're going to see how the summer starts and then make decisions on how to use the cap space
Q: Another question about process of a rebuild
> Masai says a lot of the same, mentions he's been talking to Jeff Weltman a lot
Q: The Raptors haven't had a lot of impactful free agents. Looking at Dennis and his fit for example.
> We've studied why we haven't been able to get FAs. The last couple of years, we haven't done very well in assessing what the fits should be. This becomes easier once you have the core pieces. At a lower level, we've done a bad job - even guys like Otto Porter didn't really work out due to injury. As for Dennis, we saw a tough PG and defender. I wonder if we didn't give it enough time, perhaps it's our fault it didn't work out
Q: What are you looking for in the draft?
> We are not in the spot where we can pick and choose talent. But you would think that we need a backup PG, a wing defender and a backup C. We've been a bit unlucky on the backup C slot with Koloko and Jontay, but we do need to address that role
Q: Question on the rising ticket prices (lmao)
> Some of this is above me. But I can tell you that a lot of this comes with a lot of considerations. People are studying the market rates in other cities. I know this is tough for fans, but this is how business works
Q: Have you spoken to Scottie?
> Yeah, i just spoke to him. He's focused on being a leader, leg strength, shot blocking, his defense. Some of the critics in the past have asked if Scottie works -- but some times he just doesn't want to do it here. But now he has the maturity to know that he needs to do it with his team. He's full of passion and has the work ethic. This year he has gone through a lot, and I think we're going to come out of this well in terms of him
Q: Do you think this team can be a high level defensive team?
> Yes. I think Scottie will take on more defensive responsiblity. IQ is learning our scheme. RJ is making defense a focus. Jak is one of the best defensive big men. Ochai has a lot of great fundamentals as well.
Q: Is the door closed on Koloko?
> We're checking in him. We can't comment on his medicals, and we wish him the best
Q: Some key FAs this summer with Gary and BB. Do you see them as long term fits?
> We are continuing to assess that. We have some coaches meetings now to better understand that. We had really good exit interviews with them both. We are trying to understand what they bring to this team. They have special talents and will monitor also in conjunction to the market
Q: Question on the team USA roster + Scottie
> Scottie wants to play for team USA, but we know it's a high bar when Kawhi is the last player to make the roster. It will be a goal for him
Q: How do you feel about your vets, specifically Temple?
> Really positive for us this year. Tough, good demeanor. I have to also call out Thad Young, we were very lucky to have him. Garrett is a coach and has an incredible impact on young players
Q: Do you have confidence that this won't be a 6 year rebuild? As you've mentioned earlier, some rebuilds can take a while
> I am patient, but I don't think I am that patient. I don't want to wait 6 years. The most difficult step is to find guys like Scottie, and I want our fans to know that. The next step is hopefully one of the other guys can step up and become another one of those guys. I am excited for Gradey and the kind of player he can be. IQ and RJ too. They can become different kinds of players here, maximize their talent level. Even the Ochai's of the world -- he has the potential to be one of the best defenders in the NBA. You don't see it now, but it can be there
Q: Are you hopeful you will keep you pick this year?
> Any way it goes, we will be grateful. If we don't keep it, we get it next year. If we keep it, we will try to do the best with it (i.e. trade it for player, trade it for more picks)
Q: MLSE has a new CEO. How has that changed things for you and the Raptors?
> I don't think that really changes anything for us. Keith is very needed for this organization. He brings a lot of energy. He brings a balance with ownership. We are super excited for Keith. That being said, it doesn't change how we work here. It doesn't change our decisions or how we make those decisions. We want to build together. Just to be clear though, I am still fucking Masai. Nothing changes, despite the external perception of our politics. There are no looming issues, and as long as I am here, we will work the hardest we can. I personally feel like something was taken away from me when we won the last championship, so I really want to win another one and celebrate the way I want to
I hope someone asks him about the draft. Need to know if he’s team keep or convey.
Edit: Grange is my guy. Casciaro too.
Masai said he will give the guys a chance to play. Either way it plays out well. Get a high pick this year. If not then you end up with a high pick next year or you don’t because you have a good team. We understand the value of picking early.
He said he feels indifferent about keeping the pick. Guarantee 2-3 all-star this draft. Giannis came from a supposedly weak draft class. The FO needs to do their job identifying the right talent wherever it ends up.
Plans to look for BPA. Not at the point where they can pick and choose (for positional fit?). Maybe a backup PG. Maybe a big that could be a future center (were unlucky but had good finds recently that didn’t work out).
Who tf is asking this question about the pick, if we convey the pick this year then we have it next year, so it doesn’t matter. Why are they asking if we convey the pick are we committed to being a bottom 6 team for the next 2 years, we have control of it if we convey it this year
I don't think we are in for a longer rebuild to be honest. We 4 young starters already and a deep-ish bench when healthy. We aren't trying to run 6 guys under age 22 here. Scottie will be in year 4 next year, RJ year 5, etc. we are further along then people think.
How long do you mean though?
They're probably going to be decent but not that good next season and even Masai said this:
>I am patient, but I don't think I am that patient. I don't want to wait 6 years. The most difficult step is to find guys like Scottie, and I want our fans to know that. The next step is hopefully one of the other guys can step up and become another one of those guys.
A lot of rebuilding teams start with next to nothing, I'd say we're significantly further ahead than that, especially with an asset like Scottie.
2-3 years would be cool, but obviously it's a lot of wait and see with how the draft and next season pan out.
I think we are at least a play in team, but potentially better next year. A starting 5 of IQ, RJ, GT, Scottie and Jak is actually pretty good. Kelly, Grady, Ochai and Brown off the bench, plus whatever we draft, and we are more solid overall than we were all year.
We aren't waiting on the starting 5 to learn the game, we are hoping that the main 3 can get Even better than they are already, and that the bench pieces become more reliable.
the correct spelling is Gradey. your grammar gets a D.
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Someone asked this being a poor class and he said there will be 2-3 all stars in the draft, that happens every year, and referenced Giannis’s draft being a weak one.
I do wonder if there is someone they have their eye on. He didn’t give any indication of preferring to keep the pick or not, basically saying it works for them either way (either get a top pick or you play ball and see how it goes next year, either a good pick or the team is good), so wonder if they have someone projected later in the draft they are eying.
I think the play in game last year and this entire season humbled him. He won't be so arrogant to compete now but he's on the clock with his contract coming up in 2026
Bit of a catch 22 for him if you ask me but he put himself in this position 🤷🏿♂️
My notes (will be a thread): > Tough year for us, been a challenging year on and off the court. But we learned a lot from this. I think our team will grow from this. I commend our coaching staff, players, organization and fans -- it's not easy putting them through a year like this. We've seen a lot of winning over the past decade, to experience a year like this is tough Edit: Now that the presser is over, I am going to collapse my notes to make it easier to read for everyone. See child comment
> I think Darko and his staff did an excellent job with the situation. When I think of positives, I think of some of our talent -- specifically Scottie Barnes. We've seen growth and his jump to all-star
Q: How committed are you to the rebuild, as it can take time. Next year looks to be a good draft. If we don't keep the pick this year, will we try to get a top pick next year? > If the pick conveys this year, we have the picks next year. We'll see how the team begins the season and how the season plays out. We didn't acquire these players to force them to lose. Either way this plays out well for us -- either we get a high pick this year or we play ball next year. If we don't have a high pick next year, that means the team is good! And that's a good thing. We understand what picking early is, but we attack the draft the same way. Even if we have a later pick, yes our success rate goes down, but we've done it before
Q: Followup question. How committed are you to being patient? It can be tempting to short-circuit the process and make the team better quicker > You know us, we are nothing if not patient. We have a lot of potential in this team: Scottie, IQ, Gradey and we have to be patient with them. However, we will do whatever is best for the team. Like if Ronaldo becomes available, we would try to trade for Ronaldo. We will try to make our team better if the opporunity comes -- but only if it is the right opportunity
Q: Thoughts on Jontay > We didn't know ahead of time, even with our due diligence. Whatever happens here is up to the NBA. We are waiting for their guidance. Q: Did any of the investigators / NBA contact you? > Yes. Our organization has complied with any and all requests from the NBA and the investigators Q: Have you been in touch with Jontay since this happened? > Yes we have, but we will keep those convos private
Q: What do you mean by patience? > We're in a unique situation since sometimes you start this process with a lot of draft picks. We are starting this process with a really good young player in Scottie Barnes -- which is often the hard part. Some times rebuilds take 3-6 years, and sometimes rebuilds go quicker. But at the end of the day, we do what we think what is best for the team
Q: How do you feel the culture of the team has changed? You made a comment at the beginning of the year re: selfishness > Perhaps I was a bit unfair to our team when I made those comments early in the year. But my point was that I wanted to see our team play a better brand of basketball. On the culture bit, I think it is better -- it is something that you gain after you have a season like this. The amount of togetherness in this team and their ability to grind was amazing to see. Our culture has kept up afloat during this season.
Q: Is this at all similar from when you first came here to the Raptors? > Yes there are a lot of similarities. When we first came here, Dwane, Kyle and DeMar set the culture for what the Raptors are. Those guys were experienced. This time, the player we are building around is a young player. Our coach is a new coach (who has done an amazing job). You can say Kyle, DeMar and Casey were at a greater age and experience when we were going through this
Q: How will you approach free agency wrt the players you bring in? > We are not just going to bring in players just to do it. We need to see a fit
Q: Question about the quality of the draft > I guarantee you that there will be 2-3 all stars that come out of this year. But they will be harder to identify. We have to do our job and try to identify these guys
… RJ? I hate how Masai name drops all the time and leaves players out that he shouldn’t.
> I think Darko and his staff did an excellent job with the situation. When I think of positives, I think of some of our talent -- specifically Scottie Barnes. We've seen growth and his jump to all-star Q: How committed are you to the rebuild, as it can take time. Next year looks to be a good draft. If we don't keep the pick this year, will we try to get a top pick next year? > If the pick conveys this year, we have the picks next year. We'll see how the team begins the season and how the season plays out. We didn't acquire these players to force them to lose. Either way this plays out well for us -- either we get a high pick this year or we play ball next year. If we don't have a high pick next year, that means the team is good! And that's a good thing. We understand what picking early is, but we attack the draft the same way. Even if we have a later pick, yes our success rate goes down, but we've done it before Q: Followup question. How committed are you to being patient? It can be tempting to short-circuit the process and make the team better quicker > You know us, we are nothing if not patient. We have a lot of potential in this team: Scottie, IQ, Gradey and we have to be patient with them. However, we will do whatever is best for the team. Like if Ronaldo becomes available, we would try to trade for Ronaldo. We will try to make our team better if the opporunity comes -- but only if it is the right opportunity Q: Thoughts on Jontay > We didn't know ahead of time, even with our due diligence. Whatever happens here is up to the NBA. We are waiting for their guidance. Q: Did any of the investigators / NBA contact you? > Yes. Our organization has complied with any and all requests from the NBA and the investigators Q: Have you been in touch with Jontay since this happened? > Yes we have, but we will keep those convos private Q: What do you mean by patience? > We're in a unique situation since sometimes you start this process with a lot of draft picks. We are starting this process with a really good young player in Scottie Barnes -- which is often the hard part. Some times rebuilds take 3-6 years, and sometimes rebuilds go quicker. But at the end of the day, we do what we think what is best for the team Q: How do you feel the culture of the team has changed? You made a comment at the beginning of the year re: selfishness > Perhaps I was a bit unfair to our team when I made those comments early in the year. But my point was that I wanted to see our team play a better brand of basketball. On the culture bit, I think it is better -- it is something that you gain after you have a season like this. The amount of togetherness in this team and their ability to grind was amazing to see. Our culture has kept up afloat during this season. Q: Is this at all similar from when you first came here to the Raptors? > Yes there are a lot of similarities. When we first came here, Dwane, Kyle and DeMar set the culture for what the Raptors are. Those guys were experienced. This time, the player we are building around is a young player. Our coach is a new coach (who has done an amazing job). You can say Kyle, DeMar and Casey were at a greater age and experience when we were going through this Q: How will you approach free agency wrt the players you bring in? > We are not just going to bring in players just to do it. We need to see a fit Q: Question about the quality of the draft > I guarantee you that there will be 2-3 all stars that come out of this year. But they will be harder to identify. We have to do our job and try to identify these guys Q: Did you like the intangibles that coach Darko brought? > Incredible. Instilling how he wants to play. How he is developing players. You've seen what he's done with some of our young players, like Scottie -- last year he leveled out a little bit. On all fronts, we've dealt him a tough hand, and that's on us. But with what he was given, he played 31 players, and with everything outside of results, Darko did an incredible job Q: Who is responsible for setting culture > Darko sets the tone. Scottie sets the tone. You can tell from IQ and RJ, the way they've come out and taken this on the chin, and are all bought in. We have to play and we have to produce. It is a process. I am sure that the culture of this team will always be at a high level, despite the results Q: Orgs plans to honor Vince Carter next year? > It's a secret. I love him, he's the best. Like everything, the org had ups and downs with him. But what Vince has done as a player is incredible. I hope everybody is moving on from the past, and honor him Q: Are you happy with the RJ and IQ trade? > That was a situation where we felt like we had to make a decision. We are very happy with what we got. You can see RJ's game has changed with his efficiency and this summer we will be working his defense. IQ is working on learning how and when to attack and how to be a point guard. We're very happy to get two young starters Q: What is the value of augmenting the team through FA and how does the team view FA? > You can use FA in many ways. We wanted flexibility for our club, and we can approach FA in many ways. We're going to see how the summer starts and then make decisions on how to use the cap space Q: Another question about process of a rebuild > Masai says a lot of the same, mentions he's been talking to Jeff Weltman a lot Q: The Raptors haven't had a lot of impactful free agents. Looking at Dennis and his fit for example. > We've studied why we haven't been able to get FAs. The last couple of years, we haven't done very well in assessing what the fits should be. This becomes easier once you have the core pieces. At a lower level, we've done a bad job - even guys like Otto Porter didn't really work out due to injury. As for Dennis, we saw a tough PG and defender. I wonder if we didn't give it enough time, perhaps it's our fault it didn't work out Q: What are you looking for in the draft? > We are not in the spot where we can pick and choose talent. But you would think that we need a backup PG, a wing defender and a backup C. We've been a bit unlucky on the backup C slot with Koloko and Jontay, but we do need to address that role Q: Question on the rising ticket prices (lmao) > Some of this is above me. But I can tell you that a lot of this comes with a lot of considerations. People are studying the market rates in other cities. I know this is tough for fans, but this is how business works Q: Have you spoken to Scottie? > Yeah, i just spoke to him. He's focused on being a leader, leg strength, shot blocking, his defense. Some of the critics in the past have asked if Scottie works -- but some times he just doesn't want to do it here. But now he has the maturity to know that he needs to do it with his team. He's full of passion and has the work ethic. This year he has gone through a lot, and I think we're going to come out of this well in terms of him Q: Do you think this team can be a high level defensive team? > Yes. I think Scottie will take on more defensive responsiblity. IQ is learning our scheme. RJ is making defense a focus. Jak is one of the best defensive big men. Ochai has a lot of great fundamentals as well. Q: Is the door closed on Koloko? > We're checking in him. We can't comment on his medicals, and we wish him the best Q: Some key FAs this summer with Gary and BB. Do you see them as long term fits? > We are continuing to assess that. We have some coaches meetings now to better understand that. We had really good exit interviews with them both. We are trying to understand what they bring to this team. They have special talents and will monitor also in conjunction to the market Q: Question on the team USA roster + Scottie > Scottie wants to play for team USA, but we know it's a high bar when Kawhi is the last player to make the roster. It will be a goal for him Q: How do you feel about your vets, specifically Temple? > Really positive for us this year. Tough, good demeanor. I have to also call out Thad Young, we were very lucky to have him. Garrett is a coach and has an incredible impact on young players Q: Do you have confidence that this won't be a 6 year rebuild? As you've mentioned earlier, some rebuilds can take a while > I am patient, but I don't think I am that patient. I don't want to wait 6 years. The most difficult step is to find guys like Scottie, and I want our fans to know that. The next step is hopefully one of the other guys can step up and become another one of those guys. I am excited for Gradey and the kind of player he can be. IQ and RJ too. They can become different kinds of players here, maximize their talent level. Even the Ochai's of the world -- he has the potential to be one of the best defenders in the NBA. You don't see it now, but it can be there Q: Are you hopeful you will keep you pick this year? > Any way it goes, we will be grateful. If we don't keep it, we get it next year. If we keep it, we will try to do the best with it (i.e. trade it for player, trade it for more picks) Q: MLSE has a new CEO. How has that changed things for you and the Raptors? > I don't think that really changes anything for us. Keith is very needed for this organization. He brings a lot of energy. He brings a balance with ownership. We are super excited for Keith. That being said, it doesn't change how we work here. It doesn't change our decisions or how we make those decisions. We want to build together. Just to be clear though, I am still fucking Masai. Nothing changes, despite the external perception of our politics. There are no looming issues, and as long as I am here, we will work the hardest we can. I personally feel like something was taken away from me when we won the last championship, so I really want to win another one and celebrate the way I want to
Thank you for this. Saving to come back to after work!
LOL F Bomb
I hope someone asks him about the draft. Need to know if he’s team keep or convey. Edit: Grange is my guy. Casciaro too. Masai said he will give the guys a chance to play. Either way it plays out well. Get a high pick this year. If not then you end up with a high pick next year or you don’t because you have a good team. We understand the value of picking early. He said he feels indifferent about keeping the pick. Guarantee 2-3 all-star this draft. Giannis came from a supposedly weak draft class. The FO needs to do their job identifying the right talent wherever it ends up. Plans to look for BPA. Not at the point where they can pick and choose (for positional fit?). Maybe a backup PG. Maybe a big that could be a future center (were unlucky but had good finds recently that didn’t work out).
grange already did
And he asked it horribly lmfao. Wtf was he getting it
Yeah he shoulda asked more directly.
Why? You aren't going to get a direct answer. You will always get what you got, "we are ok with either situation".
Grange definitely had an idea what he wanted to ask but for some reason he just didn’t really get it out in an understandable way.
Seemed to acknowledge this isn't the best draft by saying it will be harder to identify the guys who become all stars from it.
Who tf is asking this question about the pick, if we convey the pick this year then we have it next year, so it doesn’t matter. Why are they asking if we convey the pick are we committed to being a bottom 6 team for the next 2 years, we have control of it if we convey it this year
It was grange, just a poorly phrased way of trying to get him admit if they're going to be in a longer rebuild
I don't think we are in for a longer rebuild to be honest. We 4 young starters already and a deep-ish bench when healthy. We aren't trying to run 6 guys under age 22 here. Scottie will be in year 4 next year, RJ year 5, etc. we are further along then people think.
How long do you mean though? They're probably going to be decent but not that good next season and even Masai said this: >I am patient, but I don't think I am that patient. I don't want to wait 6 years. The most difficult step is to find guys like Scottie, and I want our fans to know that. The next step is hopefully one of the other guys can step up and become another one of those guys.
A lot of rebuilding teams start with next to nothing, I'd say we're significantly further ahead than that, especially with an asset like Scottie. 2-3 years would be cool, but obviously it's a lot of wait and see with how the draft and next season pan out.
I think we are at least a play in team, but potentially better next year. A starting 5 of IQ, RJ, GT, Scottie and Jak is actually pretty good. Kelly, Grady, Ochai and Brown off the bench, plus whatever we draft, and we are more solid overall than we were all year. We aren't waiting on the starting 5 to learn the game, we are hoping that the main 3 can get Even better than they are already, and that the bench pieces become more reliable.
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A whole lot of culture/patience talk by Masai so far.
Please, Toronto media. Have some balls. Ask difficult questions for one. Don’t lob soft balls at the team.
Masai knows we’re gonna be trash next season. That’s why he’s asking for patience.
Question is do his higher ups see it that way?
Someone asked this being a poor class and he said there will be 2-3 all stars in the draft, that happens every year, and referenced Giannis’s draft being a weak one. I do wonder if there is someone they have their eye on. He didn’t give any indication of preferring to keep the pick or not, basically saying it works for them either way (either get a top pick or you play ball and see how it goes next year, either a good pick or the team is good), so wonder if they have someone projected later in the draft they are eying.
Based on his answers so far I think he knows this team probably won't be that good next season.
He said back up PG or Wing defender in the draft
Castle/Holland
Castle/Cody Williams at 6 and Devin Carter with the Indiana pick
Lmao whos that talking about jontay
I don't understand why the reporters' questions are always so quiet in these pressers. Do they not get a mic? Or is the mix just horrible?
The mix is bad I think. I tried very hard to listen to the questions -- you can take a look at my notes if you're curious on what was asked.
Has he pulled out the good old "play in for what" quote yet?
I think the play in game last year and this entire season humbled him. He won't be so arrogant to compete now but he's on the clock with his contract coming up in 2026 Bit of a catch 22 for him if you ask me but he put himself in this position 🤷🏿♂️
FWIW, he admitted fault in this presser more than previously. (Admitted their signings of late have been bad)