Three times.
A quick search of the nearly 5,000 words of transcription from Masai Ujiri鈥檚 50-minute chat with the media the other day shows he uttered the word 鈥渞ebuild鈥 just three times.
Good for him. It might have been used once or twice too often.
As the Raptors go into another extended off-season, everything that is about to be done has to be about forcing the next step. Not waiting for it but making it happen.
They will have to get into the play-in portion of the NBA playoffs at the absolute least. They’ll have to decide which nine or 10 guys are going to play and stick with them. No more throwing a bunch of players at the wall and seeing who sticks.
Ujiri might need another Kawhi Leonard-type move before he is accused of crying wolf.
Ujiri might need another Kawhi Leonard-type move before he is accused of crying wolf.
There鈥檚 enough there to start the long climb. You cannot tell me, after watching the Eastern Conference play-in games this week, that the Raptors aren鈥檛 as good as any of them if they decide to ride their best players.聽
This reminds me of the same situation they faced in the mid-2010s. There are the makings of a good team that has to get better; the emphasis must be on winning, not developing.
No one thinks the Raptors are going to go into next season on even the periphery of championship contention. But everyone should think that the process begins with winning and getting into the post-season, not just hoping for incremental skill development.
No more 鈥渋t takes time.鈥
No more 鈥渋t鈥檚 part of the process.鈥
No more 鈥渨e鈥檙e part of the rebuild.鈥
It will be hard, but it鈥檚 not like the Raptors have never done it. DeMar DeRozan grew into DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, who grew into DeRozan, Lowry and the Bench Mob, from which Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet emerged.
It was steady and it was a process, but it was predicated on winning, which has to be demanded of this group.
It鈥檚 going to put coach Darko Rajakovic in the crosshairs because he has to cut back on the rotation, figure who he wants to concentrate on and, as they say, coach them up.
鈥淚f I wanted to keep people happy, I would be selling ice cream,鈥澛燫ajakovic said this week. 鈥淢y job is not to keep people happy. My job is to keep people accountable, to help them to grow, to put them in a position to be successful.
Maluach ticks every Raptors box and could be around by the time 海角社区官网picks.
Maluach ticks every Raptors box and could be around by the time 海角社区官网picks.
“With that being said, I cannot play 15 players every single day, every single night in a game. Competition? They are going to fight with it. They鈥檝e got to stay ready.鈥
It鈥檚 probably time for Ujiri and Bobby Webster to exhale. They can tweak the edges. They need to draft a young big man聽鈥 Khaman Maluach is intriguing, and聽 I am certain they have someone in mind you might never have heard of聽鈥 but that鈥檚 the only need.
They have too many six-foot-sixish wings, so adding one more makes no sense. NBA free agents? Not worth the investment, given the financial realities and the construction of the roster.
Demand that Rajakovic and the existing group start the winning process from Day 1 of camp and hammer that point home. Get them on the ladder going up, even if it only ends up with a play-in appearance a year from now. And then be ready to strike.
Ujiri likes to say that he鈥檚 always ready to pounce if something comes to the Raptors, but the time is coming when he might have to initiate rather than react.
I鈥檓 not 100 per cent sure this group is where the championship team was when Ujiri augmented it with his Kawhi Leonard move, but given the East and given what he has, it has to be on his mind.
But if he can鈥檛 pull that off聽鈥 and the only two guys I鈥檇 remotely think about doing it for are Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant聽鈥 then his message to the players, the coaches and, most important, to the fans has to be clear.
鈥淲e鈥檝e rebuilt. Time to win.鈥
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