HOW RAPS WON 10-DAY TRADE WAR
Defining deals for Ibaka, Tucker culmination of emotional journey
It was a whirlwind 10-day stretch that shook and shaped the Toronto Raptors’ season — and may have saved it. Two trades that made the Raptors tougher, older and arguably better prepared to take a run at playing for an NBA championship were consummated from Feb. 14 to 23. Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker in; Terrence Ross, Jared Sullinger and a couple of draft picks out. Upheaval in lives, difficult conversations had, tough decisions made. Here’s how the principals felt about it, in their own words:
Masai Ujiri (team president): “I always say with trades, my expectations are this much (holding fingers tight together) because there’s a hundred of them that we talk about and there are two that happen.” Ibaka was the first domino to fall, obtained from the Orlando Magic for Ross. News of the deal broke the morning of Feb. 14. The Raptors were in Chicago to face the Bulls that night, but the work had begun long before.
Ujiri: “On and off, we’ve been working on stuff. Last summer we had talked a bit about him. But when you do stuff like that, the other team has to feel comfortable with it, too. Obviously they were at a certain place. That was the timing. We talked about it and the timing worked out for us.” Ibaka, who had been with the Magic for only 56 games, was traded for the second time in eight months. He had to leave his school-age daughter behind and get himself to Toronto to meet his new employers.
Ibaka: “Basketball is just a game, but when you have a daughter and already she’s going to school, that is a moment that gets you off your guard. You don’t know what to do. It’s business, so I understand it. It was easier than the first time.”
Ross: “I was getting ready for shootaround. It was crazy. I was about to get my jerseys from outside the door, and I opened the door and (coach Dwane) Casey was just standing there before he even knocked. I was just like, OK. My agent called me the night before saying there were some rumours that something could happen, but who knows. When I saw Casey that morning, I kind of already knew what was going to happen.” It wasn’t an easy conversation for anyone. Casey: “It was tough, on both of us. I was emotional, he was emotional and unfortunately that’s part of the business.” With that trade consummated, there was still work to do for Ujiri. Having filled one hole at power forward, there remained a need for defence and toughness in other spots. And Tucker became a target in the week leading up to the league’s trade deadline. Jeff Weltman (general manager): “(Tucker) was a coveted player. The real question was on (Phoenix’s) side, what they were going through. We were just one of the many teams they were talking to.”
Tucker: “It was a crazy week because there were just so many rumours. There was like eight or nine teams that were on me, and then there were more and more rumours and different scenarios. I was in St. Bart’s (on vacation during the NBA’s all-star weekend). I was out of the country and that was kind of on purpose, so I wouldn’t look at my phone. The team was good about it. They were pretty up front about letting us know what was going on. It was a crazy week, that’s the only way I can put it.” The deal for Tucker — Sullinger and two second-round draft picks — barely beat the 3 p.m. NBA trade deadline. Tucker had finished practice with the Suns and was in the shower when teammates all came in to tell him.
Weltman: “You’re discussing a hundred trades, and some of them just go away and some of them, you talk to a team and say, ‘This just isn’t going to work out for us. There might be some conversation here, but there’s really nothing to do.’ And then there are teams that keep calling each other, keep calling each other. Get closer to the deadline and you say, ‘Maybe this one’s real.’ ” Ujiri was at the team’s practice facility on an off-day in the schedule when he had to break the news to Sullinger.
Ujiri: “I called Sully. It was good. Sully was good. I apologized that it didn’t work out here. . . . I think with this you have to develop relationships where you are able to speak to the kid and explain truthfully everything: what the mindset of the organization is, why it worked, why it didn’t work and why this decision was made.” It was a tiring 10 days, but a productive time. It was a combination of months of small talk and quiet chatter and the adrenalin rush that comes with finally pulling it off. This post-season will tell if it was all worth it, but there’s no question the Raptors are better off thanks to the deals.
Ujiri: “I think it’s fun, but our jobs are fun. Everything we do is fun. To me, everybody makes noise about the trade deadline — and, yes, it’s ramped up because you have to have these discussions and all — but you have discussions before.”
Weltman: “It’s always fun when you’re working hard and you’re working with your group. That’s what it’s all about: pulling together, and challenge each other and come up with new ideas. It’s full of twists and turns, conversations with other teams. It’s always fun because every five minutes there’s a new challenge.”
Casey: “It was tough week, but a good week for everybody involved.”