1:10 pm: That’s the end of the podium section of media day. There’ll be a wrap-up post detailing some of the storylines and most interesting aspects of media day, but this’ll be end for us in this live thread. Some key takeaways:
- Pascal Siakam is clearly emerging as one of this team’s leaders, and both players and coaching staff are really excited about his season.
- The team acknowledges that a championship was cool and all, but it’s still hungry. In fact, the team used the word “hungry” far more than the word “champions” today.
With media day wrapping up, what are you most excited for? How’d you enjoy the day? What’s this season going to hold? Feel free to hop in and continue chopping it up.
1:03 pm: The love for Pascal Siakam continues to pour from this team. In citing with whom he’s most excited to play, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson gushed about Siakam. He said that Siakam’s energy is contagious and that their like-minded defensive aggression and intensity will be hell for opponents.
Norman Powell is ready for a bigger role. He says that in previous years, he had to focus on individual skills to help the team, but he’s now rounding out his game to help in every way. He’s no longer a specialist, and he’s ready to seize a starting position. He’s very confident.
12:28 pm: Serge Ibaka coming in real hot with five champion / championship mentions in his three-minute English spot. I really thought more people would use the phrase, and I was wrong, but Ibaka is definitely in the lead at this point. His championship per minute numbers are off the chart.
12:06 pm: Kyle Lowry is very serious on the podium. His very first comment, when asked what he wants from the season, is “another championship.” He admits that he’s still working into the season, physically and mentally, but he’s following the theme of hungriness. He’s here to win again, and he’s not looking back. Asked about the respect the team is getting, he says “I don’t care… I don’t care what other people say, and whoever says what, we know what we’ve accomplished.”
Apropos of nothing: “Am I allowed to say balls to the wall? I don’t know man, I don’t care.”
11:48 am: The first question for Marc Gasol is about comparing the parades after the Raptors’ championship and Spain’s World Cup win over the summer. He says that Toronto’s was longer, with more build-up, so there was more time to “do stuff”, but he can’t pick one.
11:36 am: Siakam is serious about improving. He opened up his podium time talking about his weaknesses, about what he needs to add to his game. Everyone is slamming the Pascal-has-improved button, and the guy could not be more confident and comfortable with that. Chris Boucher lauded how Siakam “makes the game easy,” and how easy he is to play with. There’s plenty of guys who will take steps forward, OG Anunoby and Boucher himself among them, but Siakam looks like the best bet for internal Most Improved candidate (again) this year.
Masai on the topic: “He’s just become a diverse player, a very dynamic player that continues to grow. He’s going to have more on his shoulders this year. I think he accepts that responsibility. He’s up for the challenge everyday. We see his game continue to grow and grow and have ups and downs. This season I think is a good season for him to grow as a player, to potentially get to where we all feel he can be as a player, which I think could be one of the best players in the league.”
And Nurse, also, agreeing: “I think Pascal, again, had a super focused summer with a great deal of work done and he continues to look like just a more mature player, a more well-rounded player. His tempo looks different and I think he’s gonna have a great year.”
11:33 am: It seems the company line is to resist the urge to look backwards. The past is glorious, but it’s the past, and with Kawhi gone, the team is focusing almost exclusively on the upcoming season. Ujiri, Nurse, and various players have been given plenty of opportunities to gloat about their championship, but they’ve pretty well refused those chances. With the focus on this upcoming season, there’s plenty of opportunity for players to step into bigger roles. Here’s some quotes on that topic:
Nick Nurse: “Opportunity abounds. It’s a new season. I feel almost exactly the same as I felt a year ago, and the expectations are the same that I had. We’re going to try to play a style that we played. Play a lot of people. Play defense. All those things that we want to do, try out all those things, and try to grow this thing from starting tomorrow, first day of practice. Try to get the guys that are here to play, A, to their capabilities, and B, extraordinary basketball.”
Pat McCaw, on loving the group of young guys that Toronto has assembled: “We’ve got a lot of great young guys. We’re all around the same age, so when we’re practicing and playing five on five, guys are competing, talking a little smack, and making it fun to go out there and play. It’ll be exciting to see what the young guys bring, and I’m excited to help and contribute to their success as well… We got a lot of great young players from all the additions from camp, to Terence, Dewan, and Matt. Those guys can really play basketball. Not only basketball, they’re great people off the floor. It makes the game that much more fun when you can compete with your teammates and after have fun. That’s huge.”
Masai Ujiri: “I think the expectations in sports always is to win. We play sports to win, there’s nothing else, we can do all the dance we want, we say whatever we want, we build, blah, blah, blah, anything you do, you play sports to win. It’s that simple, and we’re playing to win. You build from there, you see how your team reacts, I think guys are going to step up, I think guys are up for the challenge and, for me, the focus of our team is always going to be winning. We said this from the beginning when we got here, and we believe in that. This team will win, and I think it rests on my shoulders to adjust whatever we need to adjust with this team to prepare us for what’s coming in the future.”
10:12 am: Masai Ujiri has taken the podium, and he opens very quickly with a smooth championship humble brag: “I hope you had a good championship summer.”
Ujiri isn’t spending the whole time talking about his championship, though. The general thrust is that the organization isn’t resting on its laurels. It wants to win another championship. Even if fans are happy with a first championship, Ujiri does not really seem that way. He wants the team to improve, and he wants to win again: “We play sports to win. There’s nothing else.” The past is the past, etcetera: “I can’t sit here and trade DeMar, and Kawhi leaves, and be upset… We move on as an organization.”
10:02 am: Welcome to media day and the official start of the Toronto Raptors 2019-20 season. In case you’ve forgotten, or if you just want a reason to celebrate, it’s also the start of the Raptors’ title defense, as they are in fact defending champions. We’ll be tracking some storylines throughout the day, counting the number of times each member of the organization says the word “champion,” and altogether just having fun with this thing. We’ll hear from Masai Ujiri, Nick Nurse, and a whole roster of players. This whole season is about victory laps, so let’s start this season on the right foot. Enjoy your media day, and stick with us for constant updates throughout the day.
