Title: A New Chapter Begins
Date: July 20, 2018
Original Source: Raptors.com
Synopsis: I’m going to be helping Raptors.com out a bit this year. In my latest for them, I wrote about Masai Ujiri’s press conference discussing the Kawhi Leonard trade.
Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors are taking a leap.
Earlier this week, the franchise made the most dramatic acquisition in team history, sending DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. Holly MacKenzie recapped the specifics on Wednedsday, and on Friday, Ujiri, the team’s president, met with media on the practice court of Scotiabank Arena to discuss the trade.
The situation still requires some time for clarity. His message does not. Despite all of the risks and uncertainty associated with the move, Ujiri weighed them and found that this opportunity – the chance to land an elite talent, to better position the Raptors for their first-ever run to the NBA Finals – was worthwhile. In that he was steadfast, and his confidence in the organization’s ability to work through some of the muddier aspects of Leonard’s departure from San Antonio and the quadriceps injury that cost him most of his 2017-18 season is unbreached. In his eyes, the Raptors have been building to something over the last five seasons, and acquiring Leonard and Green, even with risk and cost, furthers that goal.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 