seems like a good time to mention

the lakers, sixers and celtics all could have traded for kawhi last summer. and all got way too cute and came at the spurs with stupid ass insulting lowball offers, thinking they were going to get a distressed asset for the lo lo. like you're really going to outclever rc and pop.

my dogg masai was the only one to come to the table with something real. here and elsewhere, a lot of folks (mostly racists and uncle toms) even said he gave up way too much, and that the spurs had ripped him off.

welp.

best exec in the league. and he AH FREE KAHN too. think i might rock daishiki for the rest of the month, just off the stremfth.

because the Spurs had no leverage? (OKS Lakers fans... chill...not saying Y'ALL said it...but, it was prevailing talk at the time)

shout out to punting on a championship window to hang onto brandon ingram and jaylen brown

the funniest thing there is that the lakers had just been burned by that line of thinking on PG and of course he was always equally if not more likely to sign with the clippers if he hit the FA market. the lakers are probably the worst organization in the league now, though i don't want to underestimate the suns' incompetence.

Spurs said no and in the meantime got back Derozan and no other major young pieces of Toronto’s young core. It’s an extremely lopsided deal.

You’re trying to make a point but you may want to check who actually offered what rather than painting in broad brushstrokes. We know for a fact Boston refuses to offer Jaylen Brown.

san antonio asked for ingram, kuzma and picks, were rebuffed and told ingram was "untouchable" and things pretty much ended there.

but i'm glad your thong got caught in your butthole typing this underwhelming response to my truth minus fact post intended to do exactly that.

Hard to say if the Spurs would have lunged at something with Ingram and much less Brown or Fultz. I kinda suspect that they were looking to get a firm piece like Derozan back.

The Sixers well at least what they were offering netted them Butler, who was 1) more likely to re-sign and 2) not coming off an injury. I wouldn't Nelson Muntz them the same way I would other teams who pussyfooted around here.

"I also think a 60+ win season and a Finals appearance would give Kawhi a *lot* to think about before he packs his bags. And that's the risk Toronto is willing to take. I dig it.

Plus, all it takes is one key injury for Golden State to be *vulnerable.* Still the favorite, but by less of a margin."

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=2668577&mesg_id=2668577&listing_type=search#2669135

They got to 58 wins, not 60, but everything else is playing out precisely that way. Gonna put the Raps in such a great position.

And even if Durant comes back and the Warriors win the next 3 games (definitely not impossible), Toronto's done more than enough to show Kawhi that they can continue their path the next couple of seasons and continue to contend.

if they win and then Kawhi leaves? i don't want it.

it makes the whole thing feel hollow (not to a legit Raptors fan, i get that).

u show up there for one year, get a ring and move on. the team regresses to mediocrity (most likely) and a few years later fans are going "remember that weird year Kawhi showed up in Toronto and won a ring? did that even happen?"

i say all that to say i PRAY he stays there...even moreso if they win the chip.

on one hand kawhi was a top 5 guy and they were never going to win anything significant with what they had.

on the other, they could easily have given up their best player for a guy who played some undefined portion of one season and bailed on them.

in the West.

No need to revise history there

Was nick nurse a genius move?
Or did Masai now to the white powers that be to dump Casey?

Nurse is willing to do so and does it beautifully
----------

IG @h_n_z

>Nurse is willing to do so and does it beautifully

Bwahaha No he fucking doesn't

He has a superstar, top 3 player. And Casey didn't.

Casey didn't even have a top 15 player in the league.



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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

You look at it, they got down to Philly and Milwaukee, made tweaks and won those series. Did anything like that happen under Casey? Not that I can remember. Casey is a good coach and there were many factors in terms of player personnel that contributed to this step forward. Changing the coach was just one move of many, and it wasn't the most important one.

Lebron-less eastern conference

>Was nick nurse a genius move?
>Or did Masai now to the white powers that be to dump Casey?

When you have an ultra strong personality GM, you can't
have a strong personality coach.


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

As I said in the trade post - a pick, an All star, and a young prospect was as good as it was gonna get. And Celtics wouldn’t offer shit. Lakers didn’t have that package (yes, I’d rather have much of the young core than Demar but he’d at least been a proven all star). So yeah. I get this post but...nah.

Anybody saying that Kawhi was a better play than Butler is talking pure hindsight bullshit. Also the Spurs wanted Fultz and he netted them an extra first-rounder (and they also got a recent first-round pick in the deal with Minnie). From a risk and asset management standpoint, Philly did the right thing.

But I don't wanna obscure praise for the Raptors management. Brass balls move and it paid off huge. I always like da gawd and defended him even when I wasn't in love with this deal given the nebulous status of Kawhi's health and pending free agency. He has done a great job in both Denver and Toronto.

>
>But I don't wanna obscure praise for the Raptors management.
>Brass balls move and it paid off huge. I always like da gawd
>and defended him even when I wasn't in love with this deal
>given the nebulous status of Kawhi's health and pending free
>agency. He has done a great job in both Denver and Toronto.

>Anybody saying that Kawhi was a better play than Butler is
>talking pure hindsight bullshit.

unless you're talking about the uncertainty regarding his health.

Obviously Kawhi>Jimmy Buckets, but you have to factor in the injury and also the fact that while both guys were in the final year of their deal, Kawhi was non-committal whereas Butler gave at least some indication that would consider re-signing.

Nobody ranked Jimmy over Kawhi. Nobody.

Play as in trade piece, investment, etc.

One guy may or may not have been healthy this year. One guy was unlikely to re-sign. The other guy was looking for a new situation to settle into and was not coming off a season where he missed 70 games.

Not sure why anyone would interpret this as me saying that Butler is a better player than Leonard other than possibly misinterpreting or misreading the word "play."

reading it correctly it makes perfect sense.

none. Kawhi is a GOAT, and he's about to send his second dynasty to the toilet.

that the RAPTORS pulled that off...UJIRI should have a statue put up.

to be fair to the Spurs, they managed to still make the playoffs in the West post-trade AND with the injuries. but Zaza doesn't step on Kawhi's foot and that's probably another ring for the Spurs. now they gotta find another GOAT.

this i'd say was a mitigated loss, i mean look at the return for shaq, iverson, garnett, et al.

masai was the one who traded melo or no? was that kiki? that was also a pretty smart star trade although where they really cleaned up was sticking their noses in the D12 deal, even though they couldn't hang onto iggy. that was definitely masai. they won that deal, really, the sixers didn't get shit, the lakers got less than it appeared and magic got one good player but had to give up the central piece. the nuggets gave up a couple bench players and got a stud back.

literally the first thing he did after being hired.

I understand hiring a "yes man" coach when you're a strong
willed GM trying to get shit done, but Nick Nurse is an
idiot

And LMAO @ some of those offensive sets at the end


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

>
>I understand hiring a "yes man" coach when you're a strong
>willed GM trying to get shit done, but Nick Nurse is an
>idiot
>
>And LMAO @ some of those offensive sets at the end
>

And that timeout?

That's one of the worst coaching moves of all time.

He's got a rattled, frazzled defending champs down 6 with
minutes left.

He gives them time to regroup and gain composure. What happens?
They win the fucking game.


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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

focus, man. Masai about to pull every whitalytic dork's pants down.

And the coach might have lost them the series, by
himself.

Hopefully not.


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=21&topic_id=108903#109402

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=21&topic_id=108903#109411

is doing all right lol

Raps are Kawhi (who is also injured) and a bunch of
overachieving role players

Golden State still has multiple studs


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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

Siakim is an EXCELLENT player who is not *relied*
upon for production. That's the definition of a role
player. Role players can be outstanding, but they are
ROLE players. So STOP!!

Bro, Y'ALL have this WON.

STOP trying to make it seem like an uphill battle.

you have a TWO TIME MVP and TWO OTHER MULTI ALL
STARS IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE (unlike Lowry, who
would *never* see an All-Star game in the WEst)


STOP IT!!!

how you gonna celebrate being more talented than a team missing its most talented player? lol

their *depth* should be celebrated, but having a better bench doesnt make them "more talented"

Again: unlike Lowry, who would *never* see an All-Star
game in the west (ever). (again, look at Derozan; he
was the lead alpha dog on Toronto; he's a sidekick at
best on a decent Western Conference team, and probably
third wheel on a contender).

Warriors are way, way, way, way, better, even without
Durant.


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1139381622174732288

Figures they were waiting.....

they talking ownership stakes too. and I'm sure that logistically it'd prolly be easier to run basketball without borders out of DC.

he's got to give that some serious thought.

i believe mrs ujiri is from dmv iirc

Ballsy move for the Wiz. If they don't get Masai, they've really fucked themselves over.

did Washington just get a 30% coupon?
https://twitter.com/nbcbayarea/status/1139417668581068800

From Lowry being disrespected

to Masai getting the Michael Bennett treatment

to the GSW being gentrified to SF

FUCK THE WARRIORS!

dude really out here living his best life. Prolly went and got faded and smashed super models after.

the fuck you doing asking the *president/gm* of one of the finals teams for credentials anyway? his face should have been made known to anyone working that night and the warriors staff should have done a better job shuttling him and his team on to the court.

to compete for a title unless you consider Kyle Lowry a “superstar” which most people didn’t before these playoffs began.

the outcome could have been different if klay was available for all of every game (which would reinforce the importance of that other star).

and the outcome would have definitely been different if kd was available.

So Lebron did it too

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

forget folks had “top 5 PF” Kevin Love in the HOF for that stat padding he was doing in Minnesota

>the outcome could have been different if klay was available
>for all of every game (which would reinforce the importance of
>that other star).

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28672620/police-officer-sues-raptors-masai-ujiri-alleged-assault

Police officer sues Raptors' Masai Ujiri for alleged assault
3:12 PM ET
Tim Bontemps

Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is being sued for damages by the police officer who alleged that Ujiri assaulted him in the moments after Toronto's victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of last year's NBA Finals, according to a suit filed in California last week.

The suit alleges that Ujiri struck the officer -- Alan Strickland, who was identified in the lawsuit for the first time since the incident took place -- in the face and chest with both fists as he attempted to reach the court in the wake of Toronto winning the first NBA championship in franchise history.

After the two men were separated, Ujiri eventually was able to make it onto the court to celebrate with the rest of the Raptors.

Raptors' Ujiri won't be charged for shoving deputy
Strickland, along with his wife, Kelly, who is named as a co-plaintiff in the suit, allege that Strickland, as a result of the incident, "suffered injury to his body, health, strength, activity and person, all of which have caused and continue to cause Plaintiff great mental, emotional, psychological, physical, and nervous pain and suffering." It goes on to state Strickland has "suffered great anxiety, embarrassment, anger, loss of enjoyment of life, injury to reputation and severe emotional and physical distress in an amount to be determined at trial."

The suit claims the sum total of these issues have caused Strickland permanent disability. The suit asks for the couple to be rewarded: general damages exceeding the minimum amount of $75,000, as well as, among other things: punitive damages, payment of all medical and incidental expenses, to date and in the future; all proven loss of earnings; and all legal costs of filing the suit. The couple has asked for a jury trial.

Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern initially requested Ujiri be charged with battery of a peace officer after the incident took place, claiming Ujiri struck Strickland's jaw and shoulder. Eventually, however, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office declined to press any charges after a monthslong investigation ended with a meeting between the office, Ujiri and his lawyers in October.

ESPN confirmed with an Alameda County Sheriff's Office spokesperson that the officer is currently on leave, although the representative declined to say anything further for privacy reasons.

"We have just been made aware a claim has been filed," said a spokesperson for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the Raptors' ownership group. "We have no comment at this time."

The couple are suing not only Ujiri but also the Raptors, MLSE and the NBA itself on six separate counts: assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence (twice) and loss of consortium. The suit alleges that the Raptors, MLSE and the NBA, among other things "failed to provide adequate safety and security measures to protect members of the public."

The suit went on to list several things that could have been done, including, "post signs warning of danger, including the danger of Masai Ujiri."

One could make the argument.

Masai more of a god than I thought; I had him top 5 but he might be the best out there period. I thought he was picking up these creaky vets options/short extensions to maybe move them and re-tool around Siakam, FVV, et al. Nah, they are still balling as a squad and it seems like Lowry and Gasol will probably finish their careers there. Wild.

Also shout out Nick Nurse, who has them playing amazing team ball. Injuries haven't affected them much, they rotate well on D and move the ball great on O, almost like a college offense but at a high, NBA pace.

Remember when the Raptors and Bucks were dumb AF for making coaching changes? Yeah, me neither.

>Remember when the Raptors and Bucks were dumb AF for making
>coaching changes? Yeah, me neither.

Nurse was an assistant under Casey for 5 years and happened to take over the year they got Kawhi and Lebron went to the western conference.

Budenholzer bottomed out in Atlanta then was handed the keys to the Bucks just as Giannis was hitting his prime.

>
>>Remember when the Raptors and Bucks were dumb AF for making
>>coaching changes? Yeah, me neither.
>
>Nurse was an assistant under Casey for 5 years and happened to
>take over the year they got Kawhi and Lebron went to the
>western conference.
>
>Budenholzer bottomed out in Atlanta then was handed the keys
>to the Bucks just as Giannis was hitting his prime.

Like, VanVleet should not be THIS good. I liked Siakam as a late first rounder coming out, but he is *much* better than he was then (even than he was 2-3 years ago). Norman Powell has made a leap. My boy Anunoby is coming along. Boucher is improving. Terence Davis, who shouldn't be a net positive player at this point in his young career, is actually a solid bench guy.

While it's easy to look now and say "damn, what great value picks!"... they're only value picks because they're *all* getting better. Like, looking at the players they've picked up and their stats year after year? They just all improve notably, across the board. Super impressive.

masai's legal team just released bodycam footage of him being assaulted by the officer when he tried to access the court after the Raptors chip.

of course the cops and his bosses lied and said the cop was attacked by Masai.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1295912276243828738

dude literally attacked the president of a basketball team, trying to simply get to the court after his team won the NBA Finals. Then , he lied and said he was attacked and sued for permanent physical damage. His wife even has a little piece in there...saying she will be permanently deprived of support, due to Usai. Shit is ridiculous. His punk ass boss backed him up, too, Fuck all them.

i mean, he's CLEARLY pulling out a court credential to show the officer.

even the white dude (who appeared to be credentialed) was like "yo chill you know who this is?" to the cop

smh.

there should be charges for that.

or your career in law enforcement should at least be impacted...if not completely over.

in your supremacy to not only lie, but completely sensationalize what happened...when you KNOW it's on camera? Dude said he had suffered injuries to his head, jaw and teeth...as well as a "shock injury to his nervous system that will result in permanent damage". Masai would legit have had to RKO him on the court for all that shit to happen.

i bet it was them 2 dudes to the left of Masai when it all went down.

i mean...it doesnt get mentioned a lot but they draw their personnel from the same pool as anti maskers and folks who blame obama for 9/11,

dumb people tend to think everyone else is dumb too. he prolly had no idea that the people you accuse of shit get access to the evidence too lol.

there are literally no consequences for their actions, that's all

people do what we let them do

came from the body camera of the dude that lied, right?

If so, wow.

>there should be charges for that.
>
>or your career in law enforcement should at least be
>impacted...if not completely over.

someone in a similar situation could be looking at years in jail. This type of shit gets me too heated.

he'd be under the jail already.

.

hella naive maybe


COp may as well been holding up two forms of Govt ID too

https://twitter.com/stephaniesmyth/status/1296176728264658945?s=19
#UPDATE - Alameda County Sheriff's office tells @CP24 "We 100% stand by original statement that was released that Mr. Ujiri is the aggressor in this incident...don't be quick to judge based off of what lawyers are saying." @Raptors #Toronto

.

https://twitter.com/Raptors/status/1296539480036384775/photo/1