Aktuelles » will always follow money and a chance to win and 2014-15

TORONTO - If things dont work out for Masai Ujiri as president and general manager of the Toronto Raptors, he could have a career in motivational speaking. Ujiri followed an uplifting speech from his boss, Tim Leiweke, with one of equal - perhaps even greater - passion on Friday night when the Raptors hosted an event for season ticket holders. His message to the fans in attendance at the Air Canada Centre and to those watching online: "we need your help." "We have to make this place a living hell for [opponents] to come play here," he told them, standing centre stage in the middle of the ACC court. "And you guys can do it." "When you come play here on [a] Sunday at 1:00, guess what, youre getting your ass kicked. Thats what we need to do here. Thats how we need to build it here. When you come here, play here on a Friday night, youre getting your ass kicked." For over 30 minutes Ujiri held court. He preached, he joked and he shared a story or two. One such story occurred when he visited Toronto as GM of the Denver Nuggets three years ago. It started off with an anecdote about having dinner at the house of Bryan Colangelo, playing him and his kids at ping pong and kicking their butts (he also challenged the crowd to take him on). When he returned to the team hotel, the Four Seasons, at 1am he ran into 10 of his Nuggets players who were just about to head out on the town 12 hours before their Sunday matinee with the Raptors. They were not worried. "We will win tomorrow," they told him. That cant happen going forward, Ujiri insisted. Opposing teams shouldnt be able to get away with taking the Raptors or their fan base lightly. Ujiris third-seeded Nuggets were recently upset by Golden State in the first round of the 2013 playoffs. The difference, according to Ujiri, was the advantage the Warriors had at home thanks to their fans and the environment at Oracle Arena. Thats the impact he believes home-court advantage could have in Toronto. "You know you guys can win us five, you can win us 10 more games, do you guys know that," he asked. "You can. You can. Weve got energy that you guys give us and we have to do it here." This was the first time the Raptors have ever hosted a "season preview" event in which the teams high-powered executives were able to address and interact with some of its most loyal fans face-to-face. The goal for the organization, per Leiweke and Ujiri, is to strengthen the teams relationship with its supporters. Friday nights meet and greet was the first step. "This crowd, everybody talks about it around the league," Ujiri told TSN.ca following the event. "How do we get their support even more? Thats what were trying to encourage." "When there are hard times Im going to interact with them, when there are good times Im going to interact with them. For me thats the nature of the business and there are going to be hard times, we have to be patient here but we have to be spirited, I think, as an organization." It all starts with honesty and respect, Ujiri explained. Although he acknowledged there is always going to be certain information that cannot be shared with the public, he stressed the importance of being up front and avoiding false promises or expectations. "For me theres no spin to it, I dont believe in all that, for me everything is from here," he said pointing to his heart. "You say what your plan is, you say what your direction is and you go execute. We have to be accountable and thats what [fans] want, thats what I think we are supposed to do." "These are the people that pay, these are the people that support the team, these are the people that fight for these guys and we have to be accountable, I truly believe that. Ujiri, like Leiweke before him, thanked Raptors fans for sticking it out through hard times but promised to deliver change. The caveat: it may take some time for the results to reflect that change. This year the measurement will not be wins and losses, the Raptors GM told the crowd, instead success will be contingent on growth. Accordingly, the plan will be determined based on that growth. "We have to figure out our team and evaluate everything and that evaluation starts October 30," Ujiri explained. "Is there chemistry? Is there growth? Are we moving in the right direction? Are players getting better? Are we giving them the right opportunity?" "You try that and when you see that doesnt work, then well figure it out. Trust me, well figure this thing out." For at least one night, the Raptors brass had fans drinking the Kool-Aid. Whether it was Leiweke taunting a fan for wearing a Celtics jersey - "How is the preseason going for you," he joked - or Ujiri regaling us with a tale of executive VP Jeff Weltman attempting to fleece him in a trade a few years back, they put on a show. The culture around this organization has certainly changed, but when will the results follow suit? The answer to that question could go a long way in strengthening the relationship this new regime is working to build with an already restless fan base. "Were one team, one country," Ujiri preached to those fans. "Together, one team, one country. We dont care what the 29 other teams think of us. Were here and Im telling you its going to take patience [but] were going to win. Were going to build it here, were going to work and were going to work hard and build this team." 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Fake Jerseys 2019 .C. -- The Edmonton Oilers used a late-power-play goal to get a hard-fought road victory.For the Toronto Raptors and their fans, the heartbreak from Sundays loss to the Brooklyn Nets in Game 7 is still fresh - so fresh that even contemplating next season, or even this offseason, might be too painful to do right now. Perhaps thinking about anything else at all would be a welcome distraction. The 2014 Toronto Raptors seemingly came out of nowhere. In a season when the club was expected to be "riggin for Wiggins" or one of the other highly touted prospects available in next months NBA Draft, not only did the Raptors compete, they won the division and, in the process, became the most likable team that Toronto sports has seen for some time. Now, whats next? What would you do to build upon this years breakthrough season going into 2014-2015? The Raptors success was a confluence of many different things and credit is due to many different people. General manager Masai Ujiris December trade of Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings opened a number of doors for Dwane Caseys squad and was the chief catalyst for the success to follow. Nobody will dispute Gays credentials as a gifted scorer and a well-liked teammate, but on many nights, he was a black hole on offence for the Raptors. Sure, Gay led the team in scoring, but he also led the team in shots taken with many of them low-percentage and poorly thought out. The Raptors offence lived and died with Gay and the teams 6-12 record at the time of the trade indicates that there was a lot more dying being done. Gays removal did two major things for the Raptors – it opened up the floor for the emergence of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry and effectively rounded out the teams second-unit. Not much more ink can be spilled on the seasons that both DeRozan and Lowry had for the Raptors. In becoming the teams out-and-out number one option, DeRozan rounded into a smarter player who, when given the ball, did one crucial thing much better than Gay did – he picked his spots. Rarely did you see a Gay-like game from DeRozan with 25+ points, but on sub-30 per cent shooting. DeRozan earned himself on an All-Star appearance in becoming the Raptors go-to player and it was well deserved. Lowry was inarguably the best point guard in the Eastern Conference in 2014. The Raptors backcourt general, Lowrys vision and quick decision-making on most nights opened up the floor and allowed the Raps to develop into a solid offensive team in the leagues top half. Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, two of the players acquired from the Kings, were sparkplugs off the bench, contributing both valuable minutes and timely scoring. Of course, there was more than just that. Jonas Valanciunas built on his rookie season, growing more accustomed to the North American game, to continue to develop into a more than effective post presence. Amir Johnson, the heart and soul of the team, was a dependable energy player, both responsible defensively and able to chip in on offence. None of this would have been possible without the guiding hand of Casey. The man who finished fifth in voting for the NBA Coach of the Year award got his charges to commit to his system and work as a cohesive unit. More often than not, one of the most consistent talking points you would get from any interview given by a Raptors player over the course of the season was that there was a real sense of camaraderie amongst the squad and that was fostered under Caseys tutelage. But what now for Ujiris second act? Soon, though, when the heartache from that last-second loss begins to subside in earnest, Ujiri will some difficult decisions to make in guiding his 2014 Atlantic Division champions forward. Firstly, lets look at who on this team is almost certain to return. Under guaranteed contract for 2015 are DeRozan, Valanciunas, Terrence Ross, Chuck Hayes, Steve Novak and Landry Fields. Thats 60 per cent of your starting five and three bench pieces, but ones that are not remotely irreplaceable. The team has five players with non-guaranteed contracts for next season, three of those of consequence. With all due respect to Julyan Stone and Dwight Buycks, whether or not the team chooses to retain the pairs modest salaries is insignificant, considering the two are in street clothes more nights than theyre dressed. Amir Johnson, John Salmons and Tyler Hansbrough are the trio of players that Ujiri has options on. Johnson and Salmons both have a $7 million option and Ujiri will be loath to let the former go. Johnson is arguably the teams most popular player and his workmanlike effort will not be easy to replace. Barring the unforeseen, Johnson is a Raptor next season. The situation is murkier for Salmons. A piece who came over from Sacramento as part of the Gay deal, Salmons found himself in and out of Caseys favoured rotation over the course of the season. A more than competent sixth or seventh man, there certainly is value in retaining Salmons in his leadership and sharpshooting. That said, $7 million isnt exactly a drop in the bucket for a bench player who will turn 35 over the course of next season and the team might try too explore a trade for veteran before deciding not to qualify him.dddddddddddd Salmons probably wont be back. As for Hansbrough, his $3.3 million is commensurate for what "Psyco T" brings to the table and, while hes not a lock to come back, hes likely to return. The team holds qualifying offers on three players: Vasquez, Patterson and Nando De Colo. Both Vasquez and Patterson want to return and its easy to see why Ujiri would want them back. Vasquez excelled as the teams back-up point guard with Casey feeling no unease inserting him to spell Lowry. His dependable off-the-bench scoring, competent defence and the ability to start in a pinch guarantee that a player like Vasquez, due to make $3.2 million next season, wont have any troubling finding an NBA job. The same goes for Patterson, who comes in at just over $4.3 million. Expect there to be interest league-wide for both players, but look for the Raptors to be game to match. De Colo, who came over at the deadline from the San Antonio Spurs, was serviceable in his limited role as a number-three point guard and would be welcomed back in that role. This, of course, leaves the teams biggest question mark on the court and its only unrestricted free agent: Lowry. The player wants to come back. Management wants him to stay. His teammates want him to return. Kyle Lowry doesnt have to clean out his locker room stall at the Air Canada Centre if he doesnt want to. The sticking point, as is apt to be the case in situations like these, is money. Lowry, a player who was attached to trade rumours for much of this past season, was the 23rd-highest-paid point guard in the league. You can guarantee that wont be the case with his new deal, but two key factors come into play for the Raptors: just how much the 28-year-old is looking for and how big the market is for his services. Obviously, the two are linked. From a financial standpoint, Lowrys career-year couldnt have come at a worse time. There just simply arent vacancies right now around the league for a point guard to be paid what the Raptors talisman will likely command. Sure, Lowrys easily the best unrestricted PG out there (with the likes of Rodney Stuckey and Mario Chalmers also on the board) and a team like the Los Angeles Lakers is a potential destination, but in all likelihood, theyre keeping their chequebooks open for next summers probable free agent bonanza (including UCLA product Kevin Love, who they covet highly.) What that boils down to, then, is the fact that for a myriad of reasons, Toronto is Lowrys best fit. Its all a matter of finding common ground. Hes not going to get max money, but hes going to be in line for a significant raise that will eat up some of the teams available cap space. All signs are pointing to a deal getting done, but dont think that Lowry wont be listening to other offers. So where does this leave the Raptors for next season? Theyre clearly a work in progress, which is a blessing and a curse. Theres potential here to build on, but theres also a clear indication that this team needs to raise its talent level one way or another, whether its through free agency or trade. Its difficult to speculate on the trade market just yet, but there are several potentially attractive names for the Raptors available on the free agent market. The likes of Trevor Ariza, Luol Deng or even a returning Vince Carter could all make sense for the Raptors and represent an upgrade in the overall talent department. Yes, theres always been the concern about how attractive Toronto is to NBA players, but much of that is unfounded speculation based on ignorance. Players will always follow money and a chance to win and 2014-15 could be an opportunity for the Raptors to strike while the iron is hot. Dont get me wrong, nobody is suggesting that this team is in the same class as the Miami Heat or even the Indiana Pacers, but look around at the rest of the East and especially the Atlantic. The Nets are obviously anticipating the return of a healthy Brook Lopez, but Brooklyn is both expensive and old. The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers will both be buoyed by a high selection in next months draft, likely a player who could make an immediate impact, but each team is in the midst of a long rebuild.The New York Knicks will play the waiting game with Carmelo Anthony and whether or not hell want to opt out of his current deal. Yes, the likes of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade have opt-outs, too, but out of the premier players in the NBA who have that option, Anthony is the only one who realistically might take it with the Chicago Bulls potentially waiting in the wings. As Phil Jacksons team focuses on Anthony, the rest of the team around him just isnt good enough. There is room to move in the East and the Raptors will do whats necessary to help facilitate that. Next October is a long ways away, but the path to it will start soon. Masai Ujiris Toronto Raptors face a pivotal offseason after the teams greatest success in recent memory. How would you move forward with the Raptors? Its Your Call! ' ' '