Raptors GM Masai Ujiri wants a reset of team’s culture
By Nam Tran
Raptors’ general manager Masai Ujiri thinks the team needs some changes.
In the 2015-16 season, the Toronto Raptors had an amazing campaign. They won 56 games and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. Many people expected them to do better in the 2016-17 season, and let’s just say, the Raptors did not meet the expectations. However, they did not have a bad season by any means. They managed to win 51 games despite injuries plaguing their roster. But the one thing that made this campaign a flop was their performance during the playoffs.
In the first round, the Raptors struggled to beat the sixth seed Milwaukee Bucks, and in the second round, they were (badly) swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers. So what changes can Toronto make to do better in the future? According to Raptors’ general manager Masai Ujiri, the team needs a “culture reset.”
"“After that performance [against the Cavaliers], we need a culture reset here,” Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri said at an end-of-season news conference Tuesday.“We’ve tried what we’ve done so many times and it hasn’t worked,” he said. “We have to go a different direction, do something different. I don’t know now what it is.”"
Although Ujiri doesn’t know what the changes will be, he does know that he wants to keep All-Star point Kyle Lowry, who is becoming a free agent this offseason. Ujiri, according to The Athletic’s Eric Koreen, said that the organization wants Lowry back, as he has been a “huge part” of their success in Toronto.
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But what else can the Raptors do to be a better team? Change up the roster? Create a new playbook? Wait for LeBron to turn to dust?