What is Masai Ujiri’s signature moment with the Toronto Raptors?
I’m thinking about his moments captured in front of a camera. His controversial trade of DeMar DeRozan that landed the Raptors Kawhi Leonard and, eventually, a title, is clearly a once-in-a-lifetime move that will forever define an executive. Ujiri’s conversation with Kyle Lowry during his first year in charge of the franchise, nearly mythical in status by now, in which he told the Raptors point guard that the only person stopping Lowry from being great was Lowry, is another impossibly important moment that took place behind the scenes.
There are a few public candidates. As much as we joke about it, “Fuck Brooklyn” was a perfect partner for the Raptors’ We The North campaign, as it painted them as defiant outsiders, a message the fan base was only too delighted to adopt. Ujiri’s post-championship altercation with sheriff’s deputy Alan Strickland in Oakland,…
