Ujiri: Raptors need a 'culture reset'
TORONTO - Masai Ujiri hasn't yet committed to a specific offseason plan of action, but the Raptors president said Tuesday that plan will involve changes in Toronto.
"After that performance, we need a culture reset here," Ujiri told reporters at his season-ending news conference, just days after the defending-champion Cleveland Cavaliers put the finishing touches on a humiliating second-round sweep of the Raptors.
"Let's call a spade a spade. We thought we could do better."
To Ujiri's point, many projected Toronto as the Eastern Conference's biggest threat to Cleveland after he acquired Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker before the February trade deadline, adding defensive versatility to a team that took two games off the Cavs in last year's East finals.
"Yeah, there's been some success, but we're trying to win a championship here," Ujiri said. "To me, making the playoffs is nothing. We have to figure out how we can win in the playoffs. That's the goal."
No East team has won more regular-season games over the last four seasons than the Raptors, but their October-April success has yet to translate to postseason glory. Despite owning the higher seed and home-court advantage in five of its last seven playoff series, Toronto has won just three series during that four-year run - all of which came in the last two seasons - and has yet to win a single series opener.
"I'm not trying to hear all this superteams or superperson, or whatever," Ujiri added - a reference to the league-wide dominance of the Golden State Warriors and LeBron James' Cavaliers, who appear to be on a Finals collision course for the third consecutive year. "Yeah, they're great, but if it was that, then they would be in a league of two teams. We need to figure out how to beat these guys. That's our job, and that's what we're going to try and figure out. Whether it's now or in the future, I have to figure that out."
Complicating matters for Ujiri and the Raptors is that four of the team's eight most used players in this year's playoffs are set for unrestricted free agency, headlined by All-NBA point guard Kyle Lowry.
"It's not realistic," Ujiri said when asked about the chances of re-signing all of Toronto's free agents (Lowry, Ibaka, Tucker, and Patrick Patterson), though he wouldn't rule out any possibilities before embarking on a top-to-bottom evaluation of the franchise.
Related - Ujiri on Lowry: 'We want him back'
That evaluation may end with more than just roster turnover, as Ujiri stopped short of giving head coach Dwane Casey a full vote of confidence.
"We're talking about it," Ujiri said when asked if he could once again commit to Casey, who the Raptors extended last spring.
"The style of play is something that we need to change. I've made it clear, and coach has acknowledged it, and he's already thought about it - just some of the things that we do - it's not working anymore. I've made it clear that it's going to be difficult for me to just keep changing players.
"My short answer is yes, there's commitment, but we're all going to question ourselves and figure out the best way to do it. Coach Casey has been a phenomenal part of our success here, and in some ways we owe that to him, but I've told him that we all have to be accountable."