Ujiri has Raptors winning their way
President says success isn’t about copying what other teams are doing
In an industry built on mimicry, Masai Ujiri is quite fine with the Raptors being iconoclasts. Don’t have a centre? So what? Fill a roster with a dozen or so six-foot-eight and six-foot-10 athletes around a gritty six-foot-one guard? Go for it.
Ride starters with heavy minutes? It’s about winning, and if that’s what it takes the sports science staff can figure it out.
There’s no definitive right or wrong way, but there certainly does seem to be a Raptors way. It’s a bit of tilting at windmills, a bit of an experiment, but it’s their way and that’s cool with the man at the top.
“Listen, we’re in a copycat league. Everybody wants to do what another person is doing. Go play like Golden State or go play (like someone else),” the Raptors’ president and vice-chairman said Friday. “Well, we don’t have those type of players. You know, it’s hard to find those type of players.
“So, for me, we have to create ways where we think we’re going to win in this league, because it’s about winning. And I feel strongly that we can create our own style of play and bring these types of players (in) and figure out a way to do it.
“Look, will it succeed? I pray it does. I’m hoping it does, and I think it will.”
And that gets to the heart of Ujiri’s sporting existence: winning.
“This game is about winning,” he said, with the Raptors riding an eight-game win streak heading into Saturday night’s home date against the Denver Nuggets. “These guys have showed it. The coaching staff, the players, the organization has shown we have resilience, and continue to play and be professional and put winning first. That’s what this game is about.”
He made that abundantly clear in a wide-ranging 45-minute session with reporters, ostensibly to provide his take on where the red-hot Raptors are just after the midpoint of the NBA season. He said he’s
impressed with where the Raptors are, but cautioned tangible success is hard to pinpoint. The nebulous “improvement” is paramount.
“Pascal (Siakam) has grown as a player, Fred (VanVleet) has grown as a player, OG (Anunoby) has grown as a player, (Chris) Boucher has grown as a player, Precious (Achiuwa) — we can go down the line, all of them, Scottie Barnes. I think we can see growth. We are excited about our players. Hopefully they continue to grow and continue to play like they’re playing. This game is about winning.” Among Ujiri’s other points:
He and other Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment officials continue to press the provincial government to ease pandemic restrictions on attendance at Scotiabank Arena, but will not use it as an excuse: “We’ve had conversations — MLSE is in conversations, I’ve had lots of high-level conversations. With these things there are a lot of studies. There are a lot of unknowns. They tried to take their time to do the right things. The way it’s trending, I’m hoping maybe we can get back sooner than the proposed dates.”
On the impact of no fans: “I feel this game is all about playing, winning, human interaction. It’s the biggest thing I feel sometimes, and it’s lost. I know there are people that are going through more. There are people that need to come out more in terms of having the ability to open businesses and get back to real life. This is the business I work in, and I have to push as much as I can for the business that we work in and the game that we play.”
On whether there’s a window for this group of Raptors to win: “I know I sit here a lot and you guys think I’m BS-ing, but I know that we can all agree that these guys are growing and that they’re getting better. We can point to every single player — almost every single player on our roster — and we can say that they’re growing and getting better at playing basketball and competing in a tough league.”
On the trade deadline acquisition of veteran forward Thaddeus Young: “On the court, off the court, an athlete that can still play. (He) still does the things that are very important to how we play in our organization, and the leadership off the court is significant. Thaddeus brings so much energy, good spirit. I think he will help the young players.”