Selling the brand
Raptors president Masai Ujiri working on selling Kawhi Leonard on Toronto
TORONTO The sales pitch normally comes before the deal, but Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri is doing things the other way around with Kawhi Leonard.
Ujiri spoke with media for the first time after Wednesday’s blockbuster trade that sent fan favourite DeMar DeRozan to San Antonio for Leonard, the 2014 NBA Finals MVP. Several reports say that Leonard is reluctant to come to Toronto, instead preferring to go to either the Clippers or Lakers in his hometown of Los Angeles.
Even if he has no problem reporting to the Raptors, he has a player option for the 2019-20 season and could become an unrestricted free agent after just one season in Toronto.
Either way, it’s up to Ujiri to sell Leonard on the benefits of living north of the border.
“I think there’s a lot to sell here,” said Ujiri on the Raptors’ practice court at Scotiabank Arena. “Our team, our culture, our city, our ownership. We have everything here except a championship, in my humble opinion.
“I don’t think we lack anything in this city. We have great fans, we have a great organization, we have a great following. I think we have a great country. There’s something about this place reaches out to the whole world.”
The trade was finalized Wednesday. The Spurs also sent Danny Green to the Raptors, who shipped Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round draft pick to San Antonio.
The trade ended a drawn-out saga regarding Leonard’s future in San Antonio. He appeared in only nine games with the Spurs last season, and any doubt about whether there was a disconnect between him and the team was answered earlier this off-season when he asked for a trade.
“I’ve had conversations with Kawhi, with his agent, with his uncle, and everything has gone well. I look forward to meeting them face to face,” said Ujiri on the Raptors’ practice court at Scotiabank Arena. “That’s our responsibility, to figure it out and make them as comfortable as possible.”
Much of Leonard’s unhappiness in San Antonio centred how the Spurs handled the ongoing problems with his right quadriceps. The team cleared him to play in late February, but he got a second opinion from his own doctor and refused to suit up for San Antonio, even after his teammates asked him to in a players-only meeting in March. These issues behind the scenes found their way to media and Leonard held Spurs president and head coach Gregg Popovich responsible for the leaks.