Masai Ujiri faces biggest collection of issues ever
The Toronto Raptors ended their season in ignominious fashion, choking up a 19-point lead and ultimately losing to the Chicago Bulls 109 – 105. I don’t want to spend a bunch of my words, or your time, rehashing that game, as thinking about it makes me angry, and my writing suffers. I’m content with pointing out a few things: the Raptors’ embarrassing foul shooting (18 for 36), the loss of a Q4 lead, and poor shooting in crunch time. All of these issues have been plaguing the Raptors for 82 games, so it’s hardly a surprise they bring them down in #83. If this roster couldn’t handle the Chicago Bulls, by far the weakest team in the playoffs, what would have happened when they faced the Milwaukee Bucks? It’s a thought too ugly to contemplate, so let’s move on.
Everyone needs to be reviewed
The Raptors as an organization have been pummeled by the local press, and deservedly so. Even Masai Ujiri himself, almost untouchable in his Toronto tenure, is being doubted. While I’m not prepared to argue he should move on, or be moved on, I do believe he needs to undertake a total housecleaning.
That starts with the suits. Bobby Webster has been in the front office since June of 2013; Nick Nurse was hired as an assistant coach around the same time. Have either or both of them run their course?
Let’s consider the head coach first. Nurse won the NBA title as a rookie in the top job, and it’s been largely downhill ever since. Our squad has won one playoff round since being crowned champions. Admittedly, the roster was eviscerated at great speed after everyone won a sparkly ring, and the pandemic forced a scrambled relocation to Tampa, but still…
Nurse hasn’t done anything to calm down speculation that he’s finished in Toronto, and is looking for a new challenge, perhaps in Houston (I suppose Detroit is another possibility, but Dwane Casey is now in the Pistons’ front office; given the animosity between those two, a reunion seems most unlikely).
I wonder if Nick has run out of things to say to veterans like Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet. It wouldn’t be the first time a coach and his players have become overly familiar. Also, Nurse made his coaching bones in the G League, as a nurturer of young players. The Rockets’ host of kids feels like a fit for him.
Now let’s consider Webster, who’s been for a decade the most important voice in Masai’s ear. Something is off the rails here. The Raptors have flopped badly in personnel assessments over the last few seasons. Why is Yuta Watanabe draining corner-3s in Brooklyn rather than Toronto? Who brought Juancho Hernangomez to town with much fanfare, only to see him flop and be waived? What freaking genius decided Norman Powell needed a new home? And if Joe Weiskamp is the answer, I’m not sure of the question. I am sure that if VanVleet walks, there’s not a starter-grade point guard in sight. In short, there are a lot of flaws in this roster which have not been fixed for several seasons. Webster has to wear some of the failure to plug the holes.
Addition by subtraction
I’m not waffling on my conclusions. Nick is likely to walk on his own, but Bobby needs to be pushed. The good ship Raptors is sailing in stormy seas. New officers are a must. While I’m not usually a fan of change for change’s sake, I’m even less of a fan of rewarding failure with continued employment. Is Bobby Webster the sole architect of Toronto’s misfortune? Of course not. But somebody’s got to walk the plank, and the forced departure of a mid-level guy won’t get the message across clearly. Masai can’t proclaim a new era, which he should do, while retaining his old staff. The housecleaning likely won’t end with Webster’s firing, but that’s where it should start.
- Tags: Masai Ujiri, Toronto Raptors
