Masai Ujiri on why Raptors lacked spirit this season

Raptors president Masai Ujiri gives his thoughts on why the Raptors lost their team culture this season.

Video Transcript

MASAI UJIRI: Ah. It's a good question, Mike. You know, I think sometimes there comes a time when there's a little bit of complacency, I think. And when there is a little bit of complacency with us, I think some selfishness, like sieved in.

I think sometimes people mentioned contracts too but I personally don't think contract is an issue. Because I think historically here, the players know that we've taken care of the players here. You know? Like, there's been barely any players that, that that's kind of what we do, you know?

Like, is we like continuity here. So I didn't see where like that was an issue. But some people would say accolades and all the different things that players can get, or what they are gunning for. But yeah, selfishness. Like I think I mentioned it before.

And I think the players know that. You know, they know. I think did that happen because of the system or different things that we did? Or was it them, individually?

Again, I'm not going to point fingers now. I just want to know how we are going to do better. You know? Like, and whoever wants to do better, whoever wants to play the right way, whoever wants to win, whoever wants to win is going to come with us.

- Like clockwork, your name has been associated with some openings. Your intention is still to stay in Toronto, and lead this coaching search and be here for a while?

MASAI UJIRI: Until you guys kick me out, I'm going to be right here with you guys.

- How tough was it to balance this season, just a different direction this team could have gone. Obviously, we had the trade deadline. There was a million rumors around this team. Just mentally, how hard were those conversations to kind of navigate? Not only this season, but sort of the future of the franchise?

MASAI UJIRI: Yeah, I think with where the NBA is, again, I mentioned like, parity. At the end of this season, I said it before, there's going to be 29 disappointed teams. No matter how you look at it. And I think the trade deadline is a hype machine.

There's a lot of hype around it. And I don't know that you can make long-term decisions, unless you have you know, we are deciding to go like, just one direction or break down your team. So I think a lot of the options we had at the end, at that time, will be available for us at the end of the season.

- Masai, you guys were coming off such a high in the previous season. When did you feel that things started to shift?

MASAI UJIRI: You know, even last year, you know, like when you are a growing team like us, you know, like, did we kind of overachieve a little bit? And then this year, where do you measure that? Like, with what happened last year?

Honestly, like those few first games when we came in, like, you went in thinking you can win any game. And I think we had the confidence of that like. And right around the New Orleans game and the Brooklyn game, I think it just-- something there you know, like just didn't seem right, to be honest.

You know, like and it started, it started-- Doug, you remember. Yeah. I know, Grange, you remember. You were there.

And it didn't-- there's something there that did not seem right at all. And from there it started taking a turn. But when you play the team, you are in a season, you hope. You know? Like, you want to do, you know, like you want to do better. Or you see signs, you know? And but it just was tough from there.

- Middle end of this season has gone--