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Tim BontempsESPN
Raptors basketball chairman Masai Ujiri said he was not sure what would happen to Kyle Lowry when he woke up Thursday morning, but that he and the rest of the Toronto office would feel comfortable in both directions.
“Honestly, I didn’t know which way to go,” Ujiri said after awarding Norman Powell to Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood, but did not deal with Lowry before Thursday’s ET trading deadline at 3 p.m .: 00. “Because we really talked about looking at this team in all the directions they could go.
“We got to a point where we felt comfortable with whatever direction it went.”
Ujiri joked that Lowry’s press conference after Wednesday night’s victory over the Denver Nuggets – one that felt like a 25-minute farewell to Toronto and his fans – was a “circus” and that “he didn’t feel it, maybe , that it was the right path to follow … it seemed surreal to me, a little. “
But as he continued on Thursday, Ujiri finally decided that the right move was to cling to the biggest player in the history of the Raptors franchise, pushing the decision on what will happen to his future with the team in the offseason.
When asked what would happen then, Ujiri said it was something he would talk to Lowry about at the time.
“We’ll talk about that then,” he said. “I think we will talk about them when the time comes at the end of the season. But I think we all know the respect and feeling about Kyle and this ball club and what he did not only for the city, the team, the country, the league.
“Honestly, our team can go in many different directions. I keep saying it. We are comfortable in whatever direction we go. We may have lost a chance here, but we think we have gained a chance in other things in the future. This team in particular with what we’ve been through this year, it could pivot in many different directions. Here we are now. “
Lowry, in an Instagram post on Thursday night, called Thursday “a crazy day, but the love I received from everyone was amazing.” He added: “Thank you all for making it known that I am loved and for all my birthday wishes.”
As for the player Ujiri changed, Powell, he said the opportunity to get a talented player who is also a few years younger in Trent – who will be a restricted free agent in this summer – it was too good to give up.
“Gary Trent is a 23-year-old player who has a lot of top situations, a shooter, a defender, he fits our core team,” Ujiri said. “That’s why we’re excited.”
Ujiri has also been asked several times if he will address his own free agency, as his contract will expire this summer. As he has done repeatedly in the past, Ujiri said this will be addressed later, adding that the Raptors will be “okay” no matter what.
When asked later to quantify what that means, Ujiri gave a lengthy response praising fans in Toronto, where the Raptors – who play this season in Tampa, Florida – have not played for more than a year.
“That place is incredible,” Ujiri said of Toronto. “The property, the city, the country, everything it represents. I wish anyone in this world who can experience it. It’s incredible. And anyone can experience my position, God bless you. It’s a great, great blessing. There is nothing else I can tell you about the Toronto Raptors. It’s amazing. “
It was a difficult season for the Raptors, who broke a nine-game losing streak with their victory over the Nuggets and are 11th in the Eastern Conference. But with a talented core signed in the long run in Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby and with Lowry still on the team, Ujiri said the Raptors will not be stored to try to maximize their draft pick.
“Yes, they are fighting,” Ujiri said. “They fight together, you see they like to play together and, yes, there have been ups and downs, you’ve seen it, there have been challenges, but at the end of the day, when you walk into our locker room with these guys, and I see them Kyle and Fred, OG and Pascal and they all really get together.
“What they want to build, the experience they had together to win, we are lucky, we are blessed to have been a winning organization and we hope we can continue this in one way or another and have a good vision for this ball club to continue this. “There may be stops along the way and adversities along the way, but I think the general culture that we need to continue and these players are a huge part of it.”