It took five postseasons without a title before Masai Ujiri had seen sufficient.
The Toronto Raptors had tapped out. In five seasons out of 2013-14 into 2017-18, the Raptors won more regular-season games than another Eastern Conference team, but the Raptors saw more first-round exits than trips to the Eastern Conference finals, never reaching the NBA Finals.
And so, last July, Ujiri forced his move. The Raptors traded DeRozan — the top scorer in franchise history at the peak of his profession — along with Jakob Poeltl along with a top-20 shielded 2019 first-round pick into the San Antonio Spurs to get Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and money considerations. The Lowry-DeRozan backcourt was broken up, the athlete of the Year Dwane Casey was let go after seven seasons, and also a new era in Toronto had started.
The outcomes have, so far, been optimistic. Despite Leonard lost about a quarter of the season, the Raptors now have greater championship odds than they did at this time last year. Therefore, the home run of Ujiri effectively put the rest of the league on notice. If DeRozan isn’t secure, who’s? The same as Miami’s Big Three triggered the era of participant agency, the Raptors could have broken the seal for additional perennial underachievers to follow suit.
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