Morning Coffee – Fri, Sep 18

It's ok to be anxious about Ujiri | Priority is to lock up everyone else | Crazy offseason ahead | Steve Simmons is a pos

Cover Photo: Unknown Source/DM to update

Development program: The skills each Raptor should focus on this offseason – The Athletic

Later Arc (Peak Extenders)

Marc Gasol (35, 12 seasons) – Develop Adria Moncanut for Basquet Girona
I made a joke on a podcast the other day about how I wouldn’t be surprised if Gasol, at 35, opts to move back home to Spain, live near the beach with his family, play a few more seasons in the ACB and with the national team to finish his career. Then, there was a report Gasol is considering just that. Can you blame him? And so while Gasol has plenty he could fine-tune if he’s going to stay in the NBA for a while longer to try to add a second ring to his collection, priority No. 1 has to be shoring up the long-term roster for the third-division Spanish team Gasol founded in 2014. You know, just in case.

Kyle Lowry (34, 14 seasons) – Catch-and-shoot 3s
At first blush, this seems strange given Lowry’s track record as a shooter. Over the last two seasons, he’s hit 34.9 percent of 3s. That’s a respectable rate at his volume. It is not, however, a high enough rate that if it repeated for a third season, opponents wouldn’t start daring to help off Lowry to shut down other options. Making the matter worse is that Lowry’s shooting decline has come largely on catch-and-shoot attempts, where he shot 34.1 percent this season on 3.6 attempts per game. Especially if Fred VanVleet is retained, Lowry figures to get more time off the ball, necessitating that weapon. Lowry has had his shots assisted on at a below-average rate for a guard in five of the last six seasons, per Cleaning the Glass, but that figures to tilt the other way if he ever ages. There’s plenty of room for optimism, as Lowry has great form, a long track record and was a quality shooter on pull-up 3s this year, which is a tougher skill.

Serge Ibaka (31, 11 seasons) – Playmaking
He turns 31 on Friday, so happy early birthday, Ibaka. Playmaking feels, qualitatively, like nit-picking here. Ibaka posted a career-best assist percentage this year and made reads to cutters or to the corners that he had never really made before. Still, the Raptors will need more, especially if Ibaka is retained and Gasol is not; Gasol’s passing raised the play of the other starters in a way that holds more value to that unit than Ibaka’s ability to efficiently soak up possessions (a valuable skill best used off the bench with this roster construction). What’s more, Ibaka improving this year is a bit of damning with faint praise; he also saw his turnover rate spike and was still only in the 19th percentile for assist rate relative to his usage among bigs, per Cleaning the Glass. If most of his value will now come from the offensive end, the next step is continuing to evolve as an active part of the offence beyond pick-and-pop jumpers and post-ups.

NBA Free Agency: The Toronto Raptors plan ahead for a crucial off-season and 2021 – Raptors HQ

Norman Powell will likely opt out of that final year, if he even comes close to replicating his success from this past year. If he doesn’t, and seems likely to opt in, expect the Raptors to try to move his contract at the deadline. For now, assuming he will opt out is how we’ll approach this.

Now add in the second year of this draft’s first rounder and the first year of the following draft’s first rounder. (I used the 20th pick, assuming the 11th best record, to make sure we capture the likely worst case cap hit.) The Raptors would have the above five players (excluding Powell) and two draft picks locked in for $54.1 million in salary. That’s seven slots, meaning Toronto would also have five empty roster spot cap holds at $900,000 each — so let’s set their total cap commitment at $58.6 million.

With a presumed $109 million cap, that means $50.4 million in room to add additional talent to that group of seven. One of those pieces to add would be the max salary free agent Toronto will want to sign that summer. If it is Giannis, or someone else with his experience, that max salary is 30 percent of the cap, or $32.7 million.

If — to pull a recently relevant example out of the air — the Clippers crap the bed and Kawhi Leonard sees the error of his ways and wants to return to the North, he would be eligible for the 10-year veteran max, which is 35 percent of the cap, or a total of $38.2 million.

That leaves either $17.6 or $12.2 million in extra room for Toronto. But wait, there’s more: signing that max free agent will actually free up one of the empty roster spot cap holds — remember that $900K I mentioned? — sitting on the cap, so those numbers will increase to $18.5 or $13.1 million.

So, take that as a best estimate right now: the Raptors will have somewhere between $13.1 million and $18.5 million to work with in 2021 before considering this coming fall off-season.

It’s a hefty number, but we can’t just forget about this coming off-season, not with a handful of key Raptors becoming free agents and with some huge choices to make in the short and long term. Now that their 2019-20 season is over, we have to ask: what should Toronto do this fall?

Masai Ujiri on Raptors free agents, looking ahead to 2021 – Yahoo!

Out of the five players mentioned, the most sought after player will be VanVleet, who just wrapped up a career year averaging 18 points and seven assists while also being one of the league’s best defenders at the point guard position. The 26-year-old is expected to draw interest from a number of teams in addition to the Raptors, although the majority of those rumoured suitors are lottery teams such as the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons. VanVleet is roughly expected to receive a deal somewhere in the $20-million range, although finances are murky this season due to the global shutdown.

As for Gasol and Ibaka, they are both older veterans that can still produce. Ibaka made $23 million this season, while Gasol earned $25 million, but it’s likely that both players will see a reduction on their next deal, particularly in the case of Gasol. Ibaka figures to be the more coveted player given that he’s younger and far more capable in terms of scoring, whereas Gasol is a better defender.

However, one additional complicating factor in free agency will be the salary cap, which has yet to be determined. The cap is based on a number of inputs, but most importantly on the revenue earned in this current season and how that projects moving forward. Given that COVID-19 shut down arenas for the foreseeable future, there is too much uncertainty as to where the cap number will ultimately fall.

“There’s a priority for us, there’s a priority with Fred, with our bigs. This has been our signature with our team. We also have to look at the game, and see where the game is going, and we also have to wait on the NBA. We are all waiting on the cap, and seeing where the numbers are going to fall, and that’s going to be interesting to see,” Ujiri said.

The last factor here is future flexibility. The 2021 free agent class features several superstars — namely the Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year in Giannis Antetokounmpo potentially being available — who many teams will be planning for. Ujiri explicitly mentioned next summer as one in which the Raptors are hoping to capitalize.

“But you know how we have dealt with this with our team, we have to look at what is now, we have to look at the short-term future and we have to look at the long-term future. After that, we have to look at the key here which is in 2021 and free agency then. This is where we really have to buckle down, make an assessment of what bubble basketball was, against what real, outside the bubble basketball was,” Ujiri said.

Koreen: Masai Ujiri’s future will be decided by how he wants to use voice – The Athletic

“You know how we’ve dealt with this with our team,” Ujiri said. “We have to really look at what is now. We have to look at the short-term future and we have to look at the long-term future. And after that, we have to look at (a) key year, which is 2021 and free agency.”

In order to achieve that balance, it is ideal, if not absolutely necessary, to have a management structure firmly in place. In the case of Antetokounmpo, Ujiri is especially important, as the two have a relationship that predates his time in the NBA. Ujiri knows that relationship gives him additional leverage in any negotiations with MLSE, and he will not hesitate to use it, assuming he wants to continue to work in basketball. (None of the major markets that are frequently cited as potential Ujiri destinations, such as New York, Brooklyn, Los Angeles or Washington, currently have openings.)

Given Ujiri’s work, not only with his Giants of Africa charity but many other endeavours, it’s been easy to assume his next job might be outside basketball. Ujiri is famously competitive, but so are 99 percent of people in the sports industry. Ujiri’s outside interests, which (in many ways, lamentably) align well with our current political and social climate, have never been hidden.

As Ujiri has gained more stature and fame, he has only been more and more willing to show that side of himself to the world.

“I think we have to figure out a way to overwhelm,” Ujiri said. “We have to figure out a way to make an impact, to create programs, to help youth, to see more people in these boardrooms, to see more Black people or minorities in this boardroom. So that’s what’s going to make, I think, the difference. It is important for us now to have a voice because we don’t know when that voice might not be there. Now we have a voice. It’s what the players talk about. It’s what you talk about. It’s what we are all talking about. We have to have it now. It’s very, very important. All the rest of the issues, we have to be in front of, we cannot run away from. To me, we know what the two pandemics are now: We have COVID, and we have racism. And Black Lives Matter.”

Certainly, being president of one of the NBA’s 30 teams, and the only one in Canada, presents him a great power to influence the world. He’s friendly with Justin Trudeau and Barack Obama. He has lines to other world leaders and power brokers. Also, there is a symbolically potent force in seeing and hearing an African-born Black man answering these questions during a team’s end-of-season wrap. These conversations are usually dominated by roster matters. While there was still plenty of that, the questions were split nearly evenly between basketball and broader societal issues, and that in itself is an accomplishment. It does not happen without Ujiri not only allowing it to happen but encouraging it. With all due respect to these men, it is difficult to imagine Sam Presti or Rob Pelinka going into as much detail about as many topics as Ujiri did Thursday.

Ujiri simply changed the conversation by sharing his passion.

The longer uncertainty around Raptors’ Ujiri remains, louder the questions – Sportsnet.ca

But as close as the team was and became doesn’t preclude Ujiri having to make some difficult decisions. Lowry is heading into the final year of his contract and might be the most valuable trade chip the Raptors have. VanVleet, Ibaka and Gasol are also free agents and it seems impossible that all three will be back. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is a free agent and Chris Boucher is heading into restricted free agency and OG Anunoby — who might have more upside that any player on the roster — is eligible for a rookie extension.

Figuring out how to navigate the now while keeping an eye on the future — hefty commitments to VanVleet, Ibaka and Anunoby would, for example, seemingly leave the Raptors on the outside looking in when the loaded free agency class of 2021 become available — will require a steady hand and forward thinking.

Which is why it seems at the very least a little strange that Ujiri is letting uncertainty about his future in Toronto linger.

And let’s be clear: This is not a case of ownership dragging their feet on this. They would sign Ujiri yesterday if they could. Their error — in retrospect perhaps — was not being faster off the mark when the Raptors won the title in June 2019. They probably could have signed Ujiri in the champagne-drenched locker room at Oracle Arena. But given he had two years on left on his deal then and a hefty championship bonus in his pocket and the off-season was compressed as it was, it’s understandable why it wasn’t the first thing on their to-do list after cleaning up from the parade.

But it’s now lingered over a year and it only begs the question: What gives?

Elsewhere in the league, the delay — it seems like a stretch to suggest it’s an impasse at this point, as negotiations haven’t started — is viewed with some puzzlement. “I know he loves it there and he has full support of ownership,” said one league executive. “He can be active in things outside of basketball, which is important to him, so it’s a good fit. And also, there’s no obvious pivot point. There are no jobs out there right now, so where would he go?”

That an extension hasn’t even been meaningfully discussed could be interpreted two ways.

The most benign is that Ujiri simply hasn’t’ gotten around to it and that it didn’t seem top of mind when first the pandemic struck and then he was in the bubble and the chase for a title and social justice issues were at the forefront. Now Ujiri seems to want to make sure his team has been dealt with. First was Nurse, Webster is on deck and then there will be the rest of the management and basketball operations staff.

Looking at it that way, Ujiri simply wants to make sure everyone else eats first, even if there is an argument to be made that stability flows from the top down.

Toronto Raptors, president Masai Ujiri yet to discuss contract extension – ESPN

When he was asked about how those deals were getting done with his future still up in the air, Ujiri pushed back on the notion that taking care of those who work under him first was an improper order of operations.

“Maybe you take care of the organization first and then you go last?” Ujiri asked in response. “Maybe?”

Ujiri’s contract is just one of many unknowns awaiting the Raptors over the next year. After losing Kawhi Leonard in free agency last summer, Toronto has made no secret that it would be going big-game hunting in free agency next offseason. The obvious top candidate is presumptive two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Raptors also have plenty of questions to answer this offseason — beginning with free agents Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol. VanVleet’s future is the most pressing concern, as he is likely to have a robust market and Toronto will have to mind its cap space as it hopes to pursue Antetokounmpo next year. Ibaka and Gasol, on the other hand, both could be candidates to return on one-year deals.

Ujiri said he would like to bring back all three, but the Raptors have to balance both the short and long term in deciding how to approach this offseason and beyond.

“We do respect who our players are. Yes, they are a priority. Fred is a priority for us. Our bigs are a priority. Serge is a priority,” Ujiri said. “We have to really attack this head-on and we know where their game is. We know how much they can improve. We try to project that as much as we can. We know where they have come from too, because we have gone through all these struggles with all these guys and we mutually appreciate that.”

Raptors boss Masai Ujiri will talk contract with MLSE when the time is right. Toronto fans are anxious, but it’s how he rolls | The Star

The conjecture about Ujiri’s future will remain a talking point, and with it the requisite anticipation and excitement and dread and worry until he either agrees to stay or decides to leave, and that day has not arrived.

“To me, if there are not distractions with me, with my team, with the organization, I’m totally fine with it,” he said. “I understand it gets talked about, but there is a focus that when there is a time to have a conversation, we will have that conversation.”

He has not yet had discussions with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment ownership — about either an extension to the contract that runs out at the end of next season, or a new one that would start immediately — and he gave no indication Thursday when that time will come.

“Honestly, coming out of this (season), things are a little raw,” he said. “I’m going to reflect a little bit and we will address it when it’s time to address it. It’s not something I’m going to do in the media and publicly, with respect. But no, I haven’t had conversations.”

It is not what fans wanted to hear, but it does dovetail with the way Ujiri operates: everything comes in an order and, for him, that order begins with having a team in place before his personal situation is addressed.

“Maybe you take care of the organization first and then you go last,” he said.

Masai Ujiri’s future remains uncertain as Toronto Raptors enter crucial off-season – TSN.ca

The clock is ticking. The Raptors signed Nurse to what’s believed to be a lucrative multi-year contract extension earlier this week. They’re also “close” to inking general manager Bobby Webster – who also has one year left on his current deal – to an extension, according to Ujiri.

There are still a few other members of Ujiri’s leadership team that will need to be taken care of, and some big decisions that will need to be made in free agency. The cloud hanging over it all is the uncertain future of the man making those decisions, though Ujiri doesn’t believe his contractual status will be a distraction heading into a crucial off-season for the organization.

“These things they come and go, they happen,” Ujiri said. “To me, there are no distractions with me, with my team, with the organization. I’m totally fine with it. I understand it gets talked about but there is a focus [and] when there is a time to have a conversation, we will have that conversation.”

If and when he’s ready to have that conversation, you would imagine Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment will be all ears. Whatever it is that Ujiri wants – whether it’s to get his top lieutenants paid, or to maximize his leverage going into negotiations – he knows he’s in a great spot. Not only did he help take the franchise to new heights, he might hold the key to reaching the apex again.

These next few months will be critical in setting the Raptors up for the much-anticipated summer of 2021 – an off-season that Ujiri has spent years preparing for.

Can the Raptors retain free agent guard Fred VanVleet, who’s coming off a breakout campaign and is sure to command interest around the league, without eating into their coveted 2021 cap space? Can they sell either of their big men – Serge Ibaka or Marc Gasol, who are also unrestricted – on the idea of returning for one year?

It will be a balancing act for Ujiri, Webster and Co. – maximizing the present without jeopardizing the future. That’s one of Ujiri’s many strengths as an executive – he’s been walking that line for years.

Ujiri’s contract status up in air as Raptors tackle busy off-season – Sportsnet.ca

On Tuesday, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was announced to have signed a new multi-year contract extension with the team. His deal was set to expire at the end of next season, and this ensures he won’t be a so-called “lame duck” coach next season.

That was an important piece of business, but more important is probably the status of Raptors GM Webster and president Ujiri, whose deals are also set to expire at the end of next season.

Regarding Webster, it sounds like an announcement of them locking him into a new deal is imminent.

“We’re close, we’re close,” said Ujiri. “We are getting there. Like I said, it is a priority for me to get to our leadership team and take care of the team and the organization in general so we’re close.”

However, Ujiri’s own contract status looks to be more up in the air.

“No, I haven’t had discussions and, honestly, coming out of this, things are a little raw,” Ujiri said. “I’m going to reflect a little bit and we will address it when it’s time to address it. It’s not something I’m going to do in the media and publicly, with respect, but no I haven’t had conversations.

“It’s been an obligation for me to take care of my leadership team, obviously starting with Nick Nurse. Super excited about that, and him. The future is bright. But in terms of me, I haven’t had those conversations and I’ll wait ’til those happen in the future.”

This is obviously a worrying quote for Raptors fans as Ujiri is the most responsible for what has been an outstanding seven-season run of success and counting that, of course, included an NBA championship that he helped architect in 2019.

But as nerve-wracking as things are right now, there’s no real need for panic. As Ujiri said, his priority right now is taking care of his own executive leadership team below him and that includes Nurse, Webster and even before that with hires such as John Wiggins.

Though it may take longer than many would like, Raptors fans should still feel confident that their president isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Should Raptors fans be worried about Ujiri’s future in Toronto? – Video – TSN

Raptors president Masai Ujiri explained that he wants to take care of his coaching and leadership staff before thinking about his own potential contract extension. TSN Raptors reporter Josh Lewenberg spoke with Jack Armstrong to discuss whether or not Raps fans should be concerned about Ujiri’s desire to remain with Toronto.

The Masai Ujiri contract issue should have been settled long ago. Until it is, there are no guarantees | The Star

“It’s not something I’m going to (negotiate) in the media and publicly, with respect,” Ujiri said. “But no, I haven’t had conversations.”

Maybe that shouldn’t alarm Raptors fans, since retaining the services of the chief architect of the 2019 championship squad seems like the no-brainer of no-brainers, something even the multi-tasking corporate folk who helm Canada’s richest sports conglomerate couldn’t possibly screw up. But make no mistake: Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment made an obvious mistake in not offering Ujiri a new contract in the summer after the Raptors won their first title, even as reports swirled that well-heeled owners from Washington to New York were ready to open their vaults to pry Ujiri from Toronto. And sources say there are those among the MLSE board who’d now admit as much.

So maybe there’s no hard feelings, no harm done, a healthy understanding of Ujiri’s indispensability in place. The president’s contract doesn’t expire until the end of next season. There’s plenty of calendar between here and there to right the wrong.

“I think it will come,” Ujiri said, speaking of the right moment to weigh his future. “When it comes, we will deal with it face on.”

In the meantime, maybe there’s something to be said for Ujiri having the space and leeway to reward his most important lieutenants with contracts. Ujiri, after all, has long preached the importance of a selfless, all-for-one culture in Raptorland. And on Thursday, Ujiri spoke of his “obligation” to his “whole staff,” this on a day he spent considerable time giving credit to various and sundry club employees who helped get the Raptors to a second-round Game 7 in the Disney bubble during a season in which plenty of prognosticators pegged them to do much less.

“I thought everybody was phenomenal,” Ujiri said. “I’ll say it again: I’ll go to battle with these guys any time, any day. They were incredible.”

So that’s one way of looking at it: Ujiri, the ultimate in magnanimous bosses, taking care of his best people, doing unto others in the spirit of the golden rule. Maybe the folks in charge at MLSE will take the hint.

Why have Raptors and Masai Ujiri not discussed a contract extension? | Instant Analysis – Sportsnet.ca

Brad Fay & Michael Grange break down Masai Ujiri’s end of season media availability including Masai’s future with the Raptors, Bobby Webster’s contract status, Kyle Lowry & more.

The Toronto Raptors were always going to win or lose together as a team – Raptors HQ

In running down Toronto’s roster and reflecting on the various happenings of the past 465 days — the length of time between their 2019 title win and their eventual 2020 defeat — the mind fills with memories. Led by their second-year head coach Nick Nurse, the season got underway as a success thanks to the teams’ returning core members. But then injuries to Lowry and Serge Ibaka saw them face their first challenge. How would they respond as a group? That was when Toronto’s undervalued bench exploded, when we (including Nurse) began to realize what we had with this iteration of the squad. Suddenly, names like Terence Davis, Matt Thomas, Chris Boucher, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson were on the tips of our tongues. Everything was in play after that — even after more injuries struck to Pascal Siakam, Norman Powell, and Marc Gasol. The Raptors just kept on winning anyway.

A stunning bench-led win over the Lakers in Los Angeles gave way to a stirring home victory against the Sixers. Joel Embiid was held to zero points in that one after venerable Gasol’s defensive clinic, while Siakam did the clutch scoring. Then there was that 30-point comeback against the Dallas Mavericks, one Lowry decided to spearhead with the help of a deep-bench full-court press with about 14 minutes to go. A road victory in OKC kicked off a 15-game win streak, which included a pair of raucous games against the Indiana Pacers, and seemed like it could go on forever. The season shutdown interrupted the Raptors in the midst of another 4-game run, but they just kept at it once all the action moved to the Orlando Bubble, winning 11 of their final 12 regular season games — including another silly victory over the Sixers led by rarely used Stanley Johnson. (It perhaps should have been a warning sign that only Boston was able to beat them during that stretch though.) In all, it looked like the Raptors were still having fun together, even in this new setting.

It’s hard not to admit the Bubble changed things, made playing and watching basketball feel like an alien experience. It clearly affected Siakam, turning what had been an exciting All-Star season into a referendum on his future. It also highlighted the Raptors’ strengths — their team unity and defensive approach — and their weaknesses — an inability to manufacture points in a tight half-court setting. The Raptors sailed through their 8-game restarted regular season with ease, operating as a well-oiled machine juiced back to life. Their first round playoff series against the Nets was also relatively easy. In all, it looked like the Raptors hadn’t missed a beat as a team, like they were just getting stronger as they went along. Yes, they eventually found themselves with no place else left to go — but try not to think of if that way. Think instead about how far they made it together.

Whatever the future holds for the Raptors, this group of players, this team, will likely not be together in the same way again. And eventually, whether we want to admit it or not, their leader in Lowry will move on too. (Hopefully he’ll retire a Raptor, but who knows.) Eventually Ujiri will leave too, in some way or another, closing the book on a generation of basketball in Toronto. We don’t yet know what the Raptors will look like next year, and we certainly can’t say what form they’ll take next. (We don’t even know what the NBA will look like for next season.) Maybe Siakam will evolve again to become the team’s centrepiece, maybe some other star will arrive, maybe it will all fall apart in time. If there’s comfort to be found in that unknown for Toronto, it can be located in what we know for sure.

Send me any Raptors related content that i may have missed: rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com

Cover Photo: Some genius from the internet

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