Masai Ujiri expecting jumps from Raptors’ Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby

In his opening of the 2022-23 season availability, Masai Ujiri discusses where Toronto is with Fred VanVleet extension talks, drafting Christian Koloko, the battle at the end of the roster and players that could make a leap in the upcoming year. Check out all of the Raptors media day availabilities on our YouTube channel.

Video Transcript

MASAI URIJIRI: It's good to see everybody again. We're back in the groove again and we're excited about the upcoming season. I hope everybody has had a good summer. I think I'll take questions from here. I think it's really good to see-- come back from a normal summer again and hopefully we get through this winter and we have a bit of back to normal. It's good to see everybody. No mask, a couple, but hanging out. I know we, as a team, are very excited about the upcoming season. So any questions. Ready to roll.

- [INAUDIBLE]

- Michael Grange from SportsNet. Your team didn't make a ton of changes in the off season. Obviously, Otto Porter was a nice pickup, but you look around the league a lot of teams making changes. And so, how do you think you're set up given your decision to be pretty, keep things pretty simple?

MASAI URIJIRI: Yes, we made a-- I think we made a commitment with a plan to grow and we have a young team, a young, growing team, and that's what we talked about last year. Lots of players that I think are on the jump. And even our veteran players, our young veterans in the league with Freddy Pascal OG, and I think in this organization we've always wanted to preach patience, but we want to win. We are expecting to win.

But honestly, we can't react to what's going on in the league. And yeah, you look at other teams and we study all of that, but in terms of our plan it's to grow our young players and continue to develop and see how that pays as well. And it's a commitment we've made to this team, and Nick and coaching staff to keep growing.

- Yeah, I'm sorry. Doug Smith, the Toronto Star. Putting on your alternate governor's hat, the NBA through Robert Sarver, Ime Udoka, Anthony Edwards, Kyrie Irving, has been through some difficult times in the last three weeks. Do you think there's been some slippage in the league's social awareness responsibility vein, or how to explain the tumult over the last month or so?

MASAI URIJIRI: I think we all have to visit our cultures and the way our organizations are run and how we work. I think respect in the workplace is very, very important. It's the number one key and core to, I think, what we do and what we do in our organization and I think what Adam Silver preaches in this league. And the things that start to deviate from that, people are going to make mistakes. We're all human beings and they make mistakes, but we have to be held accountable too, to all these things.

And I know in our organization, our culture, and treating people well, the respect for whatever positions we have, the kind of language we use is very, very, very important for us. So seeing all these cases are learning examples for us and it tells us that we have to tighten up in everything that we do.

We be ourselves, but I think it comes down to who we are as human beings. And some of the things I hear, to me, name calling and all of that, I don't know that that's who we want to be as individuals. So it comes down to who we are as human beings, I think.

- Hey, Masai. Josh Lindbergh, TSN. Following up on Grange, and as you mentioned, you went into the off season preaching patience, but like every summer, things pop up and guys become available who you may have not expected to be available. How closely did you guys look at that, and how much did you consider maybe doing something bigger?

MASAI URIJIRI: We always look at those things. I think working with Bobby and Nick, you have to open your minds to different things that come up, but we also have a plan with this team. And we are focused on that and growing this team. I think every team can make the playoffs in the NBA. You can have a good year and make a jump. We have to make a jump now with this team, and seeing how all these pieces fit together. It's a good challenge to have going into the future, going into the season.

So yeah, we always look at things. The phone rings and we try to be as active as we can, but we're also focused on who we are as a team and where we want to go with our basketball team. Sports is about winning and we want to win here. Sometimes it's good to be patient too, and wait for the right one.

- Oren Weisfeld, Yahoo Sports Canada. Just to go back to Doug's question. You talked about the drama in the league this off season, but the only real news coming out of this organization was work these guys were doing in their communities with scholarships and camps and stuff along those lines. So can you just talk about the character of this group, and kind of the culture that you guys have cultivated here?

MASAI URIJIRI: You know, I give the leaders Nick, Bobby, Theresa, whether it's Alex McKechnie, Jim Sann running our developmental programs, John Wiggins. All these guys, they put great programs in place. And then I give the players credit. You know, they get the most credit here because they commit themselves to their own personal development, whether it's basketball, or whether it's off the court. And they challenge themselves in everything they do. And when I look at what they've all done this summer-- there's a lot of work to be done now in this season.

But I'm super proud of the work everybody in the organization has put in. It's the commitment. It's culture. It's how we grow. And we see, whether it's the time spent in LA, or they're playing pickup basketball, or it's Fred or Pascal being committed to the community. Or OG precious going back and doing basketball camps in Africa. These are meaningful things that I think make a difference. And it keeps them busy. It keeps them occupied with things that are joyful to them.

And now the time has come where we turn it up. And it's time to focus on basketball and competition and winning and the NBA. And that's what we're committed to do now.

- Hey, Masai. Eric [INAUDIBLE], The Athletic. I have two very different questions. So first on what Doug was touching on, were you satisfied with how the league's process with the Sarver situation unfolded from the original penalty to eventually him making the announcement about selling?

MASAI URIJIRI: I think it has ended up in a good place. I saw what the process was, and these situations I know are difficult, very, very difficult. But I think it has ended up in the right place. There's no place for that kind of behavior in our league. You know, people are going to make mistakes, and sometimes there's consequences for these mistakes. And I think thankfully, it has ended up in the right place. And I know Adam has-- it's a tough situation to be in, but I think it's been handled well.

- On another note, Fred is extension eligible as of July. What have your discussions with his team been like, and do you anticipate getting anything done?

MASAI URIJIRI: We've had good conversations with Fred and his representation. Whether it's now or later on, Fred is beloved to us and his progress and as a basketball player, as a leader. I mean, our community is incredible, and hopefully we'll figure out with time. These are not things we discuss publicly, but I think we're in a good place.

- Masai, Vivek Jacob, Raptors.com right here. You mentioned the pickup runs, the team spending time together over the summer. That's something we've seen in the past with the bench mob as well in the previous iteration of the team. How does that carry you over? How does that culture carry over through different iterations of the team?

MASAI URIJIRI: Well they spend so much time together. And our guys are just naturally like that. They hang out around each other. They like being with each other. They like playing basketball together. And you hope that we make that jump. This is a difficult one here and now to make a jump. I always say, it could put me, Grange, Bruce, you, and Lori. Where is Lori to play point guard? Right here. And we could surprise the NBA with one game or something, get one win here, or maybe even make the playoffs.

[LAUGHTER]

Now you are telling on yourselves, right? So Coach Casey used to say we told on ourselves and you have to make that jump. And this is where it gets difficult fitting, but you build those from the summer, from the time spent together. And honestly, with the hiring of Rico Hines and the young Jamison and how much attention they pay. And Nick Nurse, the program he runs with getting players the one on ones they spend trying to develop physical strength. They are trying to build endurance. All those things are really important. And mental wellness, you know, the right frame of mind. I think it's very valuable for us to have this time together, and hopefully it translates to the real basketball game starting soon.

- Masai, Stephen Long, SportsNet. Obviously, the team is playing exhibition games in Edmonton and Montreal. So why is it important for your organization to kind of get back out there and kind of tour cross country again?

MASAI URIJIRI: I think that tour has been good for us in years past. And it's now the feeling of our team, we feel like we are Canada's team. We feel like we're a global team. So to touch all these cities, whether it's training camp in Victoria or playing in Edmonton or Montreal. We want to feel like the people of Canada because we know of the support.

Man, it's been a couple of years since we've been able to do stuff like this because of obviously, COVID and the restrictions. But now we get back to normal tradition that we've had for many years here and we're excited about it. And I think it's important for our team and our fans to see us in different places.

- Masai, to your right.

- Thank you, [INAUDIBLE]. I'm just curious as to how do you balance being patient and wanting to win? And to that point, how quick, or how soon do you think this team can actually be a strong contender in the NBA?

MASAI URIJIRI: We play sports to win. It's simple. We can have any patience we want. We can do whatever we want. We play sports to win. We compete to win. We expect to win. It doesn't matter what phase we are as a team. Are we good enough to win a championship? I don't know that we are there yet. Are we good enough to grow to make a jump? I think so. So we expect to win.

So yeah, there's patience with the team, and we want to grow. We know we have young players on our team and it takes time. We have different sets of styles of players on our team and that takes time to put together. And it's a challenge to make that jump, but winning is why we play. And winning is what we want to do in the NBA here. We want to win. We've always wanted to win. And we're going to win again.

- Hi Masai. Mike Ganter from the Toronto Sun. I wanted to ask you about-- you talked about the plan and the step you want to make this year. Can you be a little bit more specific about what you can see happening this year to get you to that next level?

MASAI URIJIRI: I wish I could tell you, man.

[LAUGHTER]

Can't you see the last two weeks in the NBA you can't tell what's going to happen the next day, asking me what's going to happen. We expect to win. Honestly, that's what we want to do. We have a young team, dynamic players. And I think Nick runs a great system that fits with these guys. And at the end of the day, you have to go out and play the games, right? Every day. And we are excited to go out and compete.

And with how we play, you see the style, the type of players we bring here and how we want to play, and now we have to go implement it. So yes, we're expecting to win. If that's your question, to be more specific I never put wins or losses or numbers on what this season could be because you're going to have your ups and downs, and we expect that. We are expecting to win wherever we are in this organization. We expect to win.

- Did Scottie's emergence last year sort of push this further along?

MASAI URIJIRI: He's still a young player in the league. You know, it takes-- young players take time in this league. You saw an example is Boston. You know, like they've had young players and they grew and took time and went through adversity, and it grew to where they are. It really takes time in this league.

And we're happy with his progress. He's an exciting, incredible, young player in this league that's going to have an incredible career and hopefully win a championship here. But it does take time with these players. And I know Scottie's going to make another jump this year.

- Hey Masai, Aaron Rose si.com. What has most excited for this season?

MASAI URIJIRI: I tell you what, watching these players over the summer, just seeing their eyes and how they want to compete, getting everybody back in the gym together. Just seeing the organization honestly grow is important, I think, for me. As, I think an organization, we go through years. We won a championship and now you kind of get back. You get hit. We fall down. We fell down a little bit, and you start to come up again. And we want to go all the way again to get right back to where we were. And we understand the challenges.

Personally, it's good to be out of this. And for me, selfishly, personally with Giants of Africa are going to celebrate 20 years next year. I'm excited going into the 20 years and just seeing everything, the support, the organization, Nick Call coming. All around it's been an incredible journey. And I'm anxious to see what the next 20 years is going to be here as a team on the court and off the court.

- Hi Masai, it's [INAUDIBLE] from The Score, right here.

MASAI URIJIRI: Hi.

- We see so much international talent nowadays, whether it be the g-league, inside the NBA itself, the BAL. Do you think the NBA is ready for more international expansion?

MASAI URIJIRI: The whole world has to wake up to this. Look where the game is going. We have to pay attention to it. Everybody has to pay attention to it, including those covering the games, including ESPN. It's a global game. Look at who the players are. It's opening up now. Everybody is watching their games on this. Pay attention. People are learning the game through this. OK?

We don't have to be stuck on cable watching the games every day. We can watch it right here. So I see the international players and where the opportunities are around the world, and it's time we pay attention to that because there is talent coming from everywhere. Whereas the MVPs, the future MVPs, past MVPs, you name it, every sport is global. Our platform is bigger than all of us now. It's bigger than one particular place now. You can find talent anywhere in the world now. That's where this game is going, and we're paying attention to it as an organization and as a league. We should be.

- Masai, Adam from Daily Hive over here. I just wanted to ask about the players that are sort of fighting their way for a roster spot. What's your message to the guys who are trying to crack a new role in the NBA, or even just crack the team for the first time, just the guys at the lower end of the rotation?

MASAI URIJIRI: It's only one word. Fred VanVleet. Simple. We have him here. How did he bet against anybody, right? You can do it, rise. Championship, to all-star, to leader, to community leader off the court. He teaches us every single thing and how you want to learn to be, to take it to another level. And that's what we tell these guys.

And look at all our guys, too. They were all drafted in their 20s and have risen to where they are. And we're proud of them for that. They compete and they want to win. That's what we tell all those young players. That's why we pushed to have a feeder team in our g-league team here, so that we can give them that development.

- Hey, Masai. Samson Folk, Raptors Republic. You talked about Scottie taking a big leap this year, and you have a significant background in scouting. Given what you know about his game last season, what he was working on in the offseason, what do you expect that to look like?

MASAI URIJIRI: You know, honestly, Scottie is one of those guys that like, can you tell what that guy is going to be? He's like one of those players of the future or something. I don't know how to describe him. Somebody came up to me yesterday and said, they told me Twitter was going crazy because we listed Scottie as a guard. I don't know what position that guy plays. Who knows what position he plays? He's one of those guys that just plays basketball and he's an incredible basketball player and he wants to win.

You know, but how dynamic he is, yeah, he's one of those players of the future I see. He can pass basketball IQ, learn how to shoot, I think that will come with time. Incredible teammate, incredible person, but just so dynamic on the court. Growing pains will come, as usual. You saw play of somebody that's committed to winning. I am excited about his progress.

- [INAUDIBLE]

MASAI URIJIRI: Come on, JQ, I'm trying to be like Presti here, stay here for like two hours. Come on. Oh, people have to go after him? OK. End of season we'll do three hours? OK.

- Hey, Masai. Libaan Osman from the Toronto Star, right here.

MASAI URIJIRI: OK, perfect.

- I wanted to ask you about Christian Koloko. When he got drafted he said it meant a lot for him to get drafted by you specifically. I wanted to ask you, what did it mean for you to draft him following him for so many years, especially to look at Pascal and Precious potentially as a blueprint?

MASAI URIJIRI: Yeah, these guys, it gives me goosebumps. You know, when you see those young guys sit down in camp, whether it's Basketball Without Borders or Giants of Africa, and you see them appear on my team, that's-- I give credit to our scouts from the work. Bobby, Dan Tolzman, Patrick Englebert, Curtis Crawford, these guys are on the road. They are constantly scouting scouts in Africa. They're constantly watching these guys.

But the progress that these guys make I think is what we follow, too. You know, when you see a kid that young, then all of a sudden he appears in Memphis, like Precious. Or they appear in Arizona, like Koloko did, our guys follow them and you see what their development is. Then maybe we have some kind of cheat sheet, you know? Because you follow them.

This is something we do with pride and our scouts do with pride. And I'm not hiding it from anybody. We do it because I believe in those young players on the continent. It doesn't mean I'm just going to draft anybody, but I truly believe in these players.

So to see Christian Koloko, you see this lanky kid in Basketball Without Borders that can't take three steps here and three step backwards, and then now you start to see touch and it's getting bigger and developing as a player. And I think it makes me proud because they're not there just to fill in. Precious is not there to fill in. Precious is there to play. And Pascal is not there to fill in. Pascal is an all NBA player. And we're proud of that from where they've come to. Not just Giants of Africa, but also the work that the NBA is doing on the continent.

Super proud of all the work [INAUDIBLE] does with the ball league. It's developing, it's coming, it's what I'm telling you guys globally the game is coming. It's not going to be a surprise that we see the Christian Koloko's and Precious's appear on other teams many places in different organizations. It's coming.

- Hi, Masai. Eduardo for [INAUDIBLE]. You touched a little bit earlier on international basketball last season. The Mexico City Capitals became the first Latin American team to be in the NBA. They're part of the g-league. So what do you think about this effort made by the league to expand its borders, as well as just the opportunity for Latin American players in general?

MASAI URIJIRI: Yeah, I think it's awesome. Because it's needed, and I think the expansion is going to become even more. It's what I talk about, it's global. And the NBA has that energy. We see it with the players. We see it with the work with this new team in Mexico City. And I again, biased, but with the Ball League in Africa, you know it is growing. And we have to look everywhere and give opportunity everywhere. So we're really happy about that.

- [INAUDIBLE]

- Hi, Masai. Ryan Wolstat, Toronto Sun. How does OG fit into things here, and what do you expect from him this season?

MASAI URIJIRI: I expect a big jump from OG. He played 43 games last year, I think it was. I think OG has put in incredible work this summer. I know we had all those rumors last year, but I think OG is in a good place. We have almost-- it's intentional that we've done this, the same type of big wing players that can play. He's just such a dynamic player that plays a lot of positions, can shoot the ball. And I think his growth is coming. You know, and we saw the impact he had and a little playoff opportunity that we have. And I think it's going to be even bigger this year.

Yeah, OG has to realize now, too that he's one of the leaders on this team. Unfortunately, now he's not like a young guy on the team. He's been preaching young guy for five years now. You know, he's no more the little one of the team. And I think he's showing that with good leadership with the young players. He's close to Precious and Scottie and all these guys, Justin and Delano. And I think he'll continue to show that growth this year and make a big jump.

- [INAUDIBLE]

MASAI URIJIRI: Thank you guys. Thank you.