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I'm feeling kinda bittersweet about the last one or two games of the season here. I think the extent to which we've gotten manhandled by Washington pretty-much guarantees that Ujiri will need to make major changes to the team in the offseason, and for literally every member of the team, there's a possibility that this is the last time they wear a Raptors jersey. And change is exciting... I'm excited to see what Ujiri is going to do this offseason when he's got pretty-much full license to do anything he wants with this roster.
At the same time I like all of these guys, and when guys are traded or not resigned, I'll be a bit sad to see them go. Especially since pretty-much all of these guys like being Raptors, like the team, like the city, and are very clearly proud to be Toronto Raptors. It seems very possible we may be watching the last Raptors game for Amir, for example, who's worn his love for his team and his city on his sleeve as much as any player in the team's history. And who knows who else? They're in an awful position right now: on a personal level, each of them probably knowing that their play has potentially had a role in costing their coach his job, they may have played themselves off this team, and in the coming months their career as a Toronto Raptor may end, and yet they've still got to go out there and play as though they can win this series.
I'm not suggesting anyone should feel pity for these guys; they're professional athletes, getting paid ridiculous amounts of money, living an amazing life. But I'll be watching the remainder of this series with a bit of a different attitude, I'm going to put aside all my frustration with the way they've been playing of late, and appreciate the amount of effort they've given to this team over the last few years. This has been, at times, a very fun core of guys to watch over the last couple years, filled with a bunch of very likeable people, at least in my opinion. They've represented the team well, they've made the team more relevant in the league, in Toronto, and in Canada than it has been for a very long time.
Anyway, we're probably all approaching these last few games with different emotions, just wanted to share this moment of reflection.
At the same time I like all of these guys, and when guys are traded or not resigned, I'll be a bit sad to see them go. Especially since pretty-much all of these guys like being Raptors, like the team, like the city, and are very clearly proud to be Toronto Raptors. It seems very possible we may be watching the last Raptors game for Amir, for example, who's worn his love for his team and his city on his sleeve as much as any player in the team's history. And who knows who else? They're in an awful position right now: on a personal level, each of them probably knowing that their play has potentially had a role in costing their coach his job, they may have played themselves off this team, and in the coming months their career as a Toronto Raptor may end, and yet they've still got to go out there and play as though they can win this series.
I'm not suggesting anyone should feel pity for these guys; they're professional athletes, getting paid ridiculous amounts of money, living an amazing life. But I'll be watching the remainder of this series with a bit of a different attitude, I'm going to put aside all my frustration with the way they've been playing of late, and appreciate the amount of effort they've given to this team over the last few years. This has been, at times, a very fun core of guys to watch over the last couple years, filled with a bunch of very likeable people, at least in my opinion. They've represented the team well, they've made the team more relevant in the league, in Toronto, and in Canada than it has been for a very long time.
Anyway, we're probably all approaching these last few games with different emotions, just wanted to share this moment of reflection.
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