General manager Masai Ujiri spoke Tuesday morning about being “open for business,” the D-League, the draft and Greivis Vasquez’s comments.
Here’s the interview, select quotes below:
On the D-League:
Good news:
Raptors keeping fingers crossed on D-League "we're in the end zone"
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) June 23, 2015
Bad news:
Masai still not sure if D-League team will be in place for next season or not.
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) June 23, 2015
Considering how much the Raptors played up the arrival of a D-League affiliate following a disastrous end to the season, it would reflect poorly on the franchise if they failed to deliver. Ujiri has talked about how the D-League would help players like Bruno Caboclo, Bebe Nogueira and DeAndre Daniels. What we know is that the Raptors have been approved to purchase a D-League team, but acquiring a team, fleshing out the management structure and deciding on a location all takes time. Fingers crossed indeed.
On the draft:
Here’s the classic “We’ll buy a second-round pick” mantra. Chances are good that a potential second-round pick would be stashed overseas.
Masai said Raptors would consider buying a second. "Can never have enough young talent."
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) June 23, 2015
And the Raptors have narrowed down their list
Raptors have narrowed list for 20 down to five or six players. Talent, skill paramount, but lots of factors to consider.
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) June 23, 2015
Who are these five or six players? I have no idea. This man took Bruno Caboclo last year. Considering that the Raptors have several holes in the rotation with key pieces leaving in free agency, you would assume that Ujiri is leaning towards a more NBA-ready player. But who knows? We’ll find out on Thursday night.
On Greivis Vasquez and Trades:
Speaking in Venezuela on Monday, Greivis Vasquez curiously touted that he was drawing interest from the Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves. It was a strange thing to publicize for a player under contract. Vasquez would later tweet about his love for the city of Toronto.
Ujiri brushed off Vasquez’s comments, citing the brazen guard’s propensity to talk. Still, he couldn’t have been thrilled with Vasquez’s decision. Ujiri runs a tight ship with respect to rumors and to have one of his own players leak information must be maddening. It only serves to bring unwarranted questions upon Ujiri, Vasquez and the team.
Masai on greivis saying Houston and wolves interested in him: "greivis says a lot of things."
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) June 23, 2015
Of course, Ujiri also left the door open for moves.
Masai: "We're open minded and open for business. That's the nature of the NBA. We're trying to get better… We believe we have assets"
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) June 23, 2015
Then again, what is he supposed to say? The Raptors are far from a finished product, so of course moves will be made. As usual, Ujiri is deftly hiding his true intentions. Que sera, sera.
And then there’s this mini-bombshell where Ujiri admits that he messed up.
Masai says he "messed up" with the "composition" of the team, a few changes are coming but suggests the core could still remain intact.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) June 23, 2015
MU: "I think I messed … a lot with the composition of the team, how we played, the types of players we had…"
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) June 23, 2015
