THE SMILING ASSASSINS OF SPORTS
Cutthroat the order of the day in Toronto these days — as the Raptors have proven
They used to call Isiah Thomas the smiling assassin.
He could look you in the eyes, flash those beautiful bright white teeth, shake your hand, and have you believing every word he was saying.
All the while his other hand was in your back pocket, stealing your wallet.
This, of course, is an analogy, represented in today’s terms by the leaders at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, where homespun and homegrown looks nice and sounds nice, but stone-cold, calculating, unemotional and cutthroat is the way in which business is best taken care of in Toronto sports these days.
It doesn’t matter what Masai Ujiri said or didn’t say to DeMar DeRozan. It doesn’t matter what kind of miscommunication they had if they, in fact, had one.
What matters is that Ujiri saw an opportunity in Kawhi Leonard and couldn’t pass on it.
He made the deal he needed to make, believed he had to make. It didn’t matter who got trampled along the way.
It’s really no different with Brendan Shanahan, the singular figure who runs the Maple Leafs, without apologies to anyone.
He essentially fired his mentor, Lou Lamoriello, and let his assistant whom he once called his best hiring, Mark Hunter, walk away because he so believed in young general manager Kyle Dubas. It wasn’t conventional thinking but Shanahan has rarely thought or acted conventionally. He does what he believes in and never mind which toes might get stepped on or crushed along the way.
Both Ujiri and Shanahan, if need be, have proven to be effective. When you next shake hands with one of them, do yourself a favour, count your fingers afterward.
THIS AND THAT
Ujiri has become the master of the apology and the semi-apology. When he fired coach Dwane Casey, he called it the hardest thing he has ever done. When he traded DeRozan, he said he was sorry. Next time he may be better off saying nothing. It might be a touch more believable ... Prominent Toronto athletes who didn’t want to be traded away: Lanny McDonald, Wendel Clark and Tony Fernandez. Both Clark and Fernandez wound up returning after being dealt elsewhere ... Trading Clark did bring Mats Sundin to Toronto. Fernandez was part of the deal that brought Robbie Alomar and Joe Carter to the Blue Jays ... Twenty five years after the home run, I wonder: when did Carter, who seems to be everywhere these days, become such a nice guy? ... Danny Green, the part of Kawhi Leonard trade that rarely gets mentioned, was a very good shooter in his early years in San Antonio. The last three years his numbers have dropped significantly. He may well be a player in decline but he can defend, which helps the Raptors ... Suddenly, Nick Nurse is on the hot seat in his first year coaching the Raptors. Suddenly, expectations are Eastern Conference Finals or bust. Or maybe higher than that. The honeymoon period basically is over now that Leonard is a Raptor ... Up next for Ujiri and Bobby Webster: Finding a new home for Norm Powell. Surely, they don’t want to pay him $42 million over the next four seasons.
HEAR AND THERE
At exactly what point in time did Toronto become the Sally Field of cities. You like us, you really like us. Some people were thanking DeRozan after the trade for the fact he liked living and playing here. We are, oddly, that insecure. We do care what everyone else thinks of us. We want everyone to love us and we’re just a little nerdy about it. We shouldn’t be. This is a fabulous city, weather and traffic aside: Can’t think of anywhere I’d rather live ... Robin Lehner is Lamoriello’s latest goalie. He is 6-foot-4. Same height as Fred Andersen. One inch taller than Cory Schneider. Size matters to Lamoriello, especially in goal
... Don’t know if a skating pair can qualify for the Conn Smythe Trophy, but just passed the halfway point of the year, would anyone have a better case for athlete of the year than Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir? ... Air Canada Centre has a new corporate name. Ricoh Coliseum has a new corporate name. Surprised that Rogers wouldn’t put the naming rights on the former SkyDome up for sale ... Heard a fabulous Johnny Bench interview on The Dan Patrick Show the other day. Bench was asked about his longtime teammate Pete Rose being out of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He agrees that Rose should not be allowed in the Hall. The reason: Go tell your grandchildren there are no rules anymore (if Rose would be inducted) ... Don’t know what’s more ridiculous — Terrell Owens trying to play in the CFL or him not showing up for his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction later this summer.
SCENE AND HEARD
Having microphones attached to players during play just might save the MLB all-star game as a television product. It was that much fun watching Tuesday night ... Best smile in baseball: Francisco Lindor
... Roger Goodell, who is tripping over himself again with all this kneeling/not kneeling anthem insanity of the NFL, is employed for one simple reason: the league had record profits again this past season, in spite of a long, long list of problems. That apparently is the owners’ favourite subject ... The real prize going to Baltimore in the Manny Machado deal: 21-yearold Yusniel Diaz. The Dodgers had invested more than $15 million in Diaz, who was signed out of Cuba. Diaz hit two home runs in the MLB Future’s game ... Jeff Hunt, who owns the Ottawa Redblacks, has been known to say that 100 per cent of people who don’t know there’s a game being played will never show up for that game. The Argos played Winnipeg on Saturday afternoon. I wonder how many people knew the game was going on? ... If you haven’t been to BMO Field for a football game, you’re missing something. The stadium is the star of this show ... I liked the sense of humour on the Blue Bombers Twitter feed, which read: “It’s game day in the city where DeMar DeRozan used to live.” ... Now warming up in the Milwaukee bullpen: Josh Hater.
AND ANOTHER THING
Blue Jays management has acquired Aledmys Diaz, Yangervis Solarte, Teoscar Hernandez and Kendrys Morales in recent years — and you wonder why this team can’t play defence. Also doesn’t help having Troy Tulowitzki and Josh Donaldson not playing either ... There’s rumblings about that Jays assistant Ben Cherington, the former Red Sox GM, is a candidate to be the next GM of the Mets ... If Vinnie Hinostroza is the prize the Arizona Coyotes claim him to be, why would the semi-rebuilding Blackhawks trade him away as part of the Marian Hossa contract swap? It’s not like Stan Bowman to being giving away quality talent ... Leonard is clearly a top-10 player in the NBA, but those who have listed him at top-3 and top-5 may be a little presumptuous. I’d go 1. LeBron James; 2. Kevin Durant; 3. Steph Curry; 4. James Harden. And then after that, in some order, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Giannis Antetokounmpo and that’s in around where you’d find Kawhi, if he’s playing as he did two years ago in San Antonio ... I know Mike Babcock doesn’t care much for Dominic Moore, but as a depth player he’d be a decent inexpensive buy if he still wants to play in the NHL.
Nick Nurse is on the hot seat in his first year coaching the Raptors. Suddenly, expectations are Eastern Conference Finals or bust.