After acquiring Kawhi Leonard in a blockbuster trade for DeMar DeRozan in July, the 2018-19 season could easily be the most-anticipated campaign in Toronto Raptors franchise history.
On the eve of their first game, Raptors president Masi Ujiri joined Prime Time Sports on Sportsnet 590 Tuesday to discuss a number of topics.
Listen to the interview with Bob McCown and Richard Deitsch here. Below are some of the highlights:
On Leonard adapting to Toronto and the Raptors
“Many things you can do. First and foremost we all have to be ourselves. We’re not trying to fake anything at all. This is who we are. He’ll discover how great the city is here, how good the people are how unbelievable our fan base is…
“We have to help him be comfortable in our environment and I think it happens organically. There are things we have to show and prove, but other than that we’re very confident in the culture we have built.”
On if he regrets how he handled the DeRozan situation
“No regrets. All that is over with. The big thing is no matter how you look at it a player is going to feel that way when they get traded. We will feel the same way if a player leaves. Those are the two most difficult things to deal with in sports.
“For me, I understood those reactions. I don’t take them against anybody. I always say it’s a difficult part of the business and he’s someone who is loved by me and many others. At some point we had to figure this thing out with our team and this was the decision we came to. But I do feel him as a person.”
On if the Raptors care about their regular-season win total
“No, we don’t. For me, you build a team to build habits to play in the post-season. You build a team to learn the things that will give you that toughness, give you that mindset to prepare you for those moments. The regular season is a huge part of that building…
“There’s no number [of wins]. We could win 40-something games and get into the playoffs and do well because we feel we have the calibre of players. In terms of what our goal is, you want to put yourself in position to be in those games at the end.
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On his relationship with Kyle Lowry
“It’s no different from any other summer. Kyle goes away in the summer and concentrates on what he wants to concentrate on. I do understand that he was very close to DeMar. Nothing you see is fake. He was hurt by it.
“That’s one of the tough parts of the business. I’ve had conversations with Kyle and eventually I will explain to him the whole process and everything that went down but he’s been great. He’s a professional and he’s going to play basketball the best way he can.”
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On Eastern Conference rivals
“Everybody says ‘LeBron left’ and people make predictions and assumptions but the Eastern Conference is going to be good. If you go in overlooking and you go in confident that there’s only one or two teams I think you’re wrong. You have to take the East very seriously because every year there’s always two or three that are better, one or two that are maybe not as good as advertised. I can guarantee the East is better than what people are making it out to be.”