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NBA FINALS: WARRIORS VS. RAPTORSMay 29, 2019Masai UjiriToronto, Ontario - Practice Day MODERATOR: Good morning, welcome to Toronto. We'll start with an opening statement. MASAI UJIRI: Just wanted to say welcome to Toronto. It's really an exciting time for us and the city, and I think it's such a blessing to have the opportunity for our team, our city, country, to play in the NBA Finals. I want to use this opportunity to thank our ownership, Larry Tanenbaum and George Cope and Edward Rogers and Bell and Rogers, has been very encouraging for us and the support has been amazing. Lastly, unbelievable fans, the support they have given us around the country, I think you can see the sentiment around everywhere, there's so much excitement, passion, energy, that we're excited to get started. So welcome to Toronto. MODERATOR: Take questions, please. Q. When you were sitting in this building last July, could you have envisioned or how clearly did you envision having this opportunity, I guess, 11 months later to be speaking at a NBA Finals? MASAI UJIRI: It's surreal but I think when you put the team together and we all dream of a championship, we all think about that and I think the change was hard at the time, but we knew the kind of player we were getting, and if we overcame and we dealt with all the issues that we felt that could come together. I think we were all positive about this kind of moment and all dreamt about it. The players have been unbelievable, the coaches have been remarkable, we have had remarkable leadership from Kawhi, Kyle, Marc Gasol and Nick leading the way. This is what you put yourself in position and our jobs is to try and create that team, try and create the atmosphere for them, the workplace for them to prepare and there's been a lot of preparation and they have done an incredible job. Q. You spoke of Nick, I know the job is not done of course so it's unfair to ask you to assess before the season's complete, but the spot that he was put into, it's always awkward when you replace someone who is the reigning Coach of the Year, someone who you worked for, how would you say that he sort of navigated those choppy waters and got the team to this place? How would you sort of assess what he's done to this point? MASAI UJIRI: To give Dwane Casey credit, he prepared us for this, too. This is not something that started in one year. I don't know that a team can just start in one year. So I think, I want to say that Dwane Casey and DeMar DeRozan are a part of this they are part of our journey and how far this has come. So I think Nick has done a great job just taking it from there and building his own identity and building a team that he wanted to coach in a certain way and bringing up us to this moment. He's made the right adjustments, I think. It's been a roller coaster sometimes. We have had tough games, we have had really, really tough games. Sometimes in this game you need some luck here and there. We're a hard-working team and I think Nick has that persona and that ethic that really translates to everybody and the whole organization as a whole. Q. Just a little bit of a follow-up to that question about Nick, he's had a Game 7 in his first Playoffs, Eastern Conference Finals. If you could maybe go a little deeper on what's impressed you about what he's done in the Playoffs. MASAI UJIRI: Sometimes when you're dealing with pressure and there's games coming every other day, where you're thinking on the fly, thinking during the games, the adjustments to make. Being a first-year head coach there's going to be an adjustment period and I think he's done remarkably well, even using some of his past experiences - he talks about the D League, he talks about Europe, he talks about mixing lineups and different players at different times with what we have gone through this year with trades and load management and injuries and all the different things. And Nick has just been one to never complain, never -- he's always, it's always how does he adjust, how does he use what he has with the players. And to me that's one thing that has really stood out with him, and he's done a remarkable job. Q. Obviously Kawhi's health was the story throughout the season and when you made the trade. Was there a point during this season that you thought, okay, he's in a really good place, we might get to see the very best he has to offer or is that sort of progressed even throughout the Playoffs that it became more certain that you would be able to see that? MASAI UJIRI: Honestly as soon as we made the trade I thought that. As soon as the guy was in our hands, to get a player like that. He made it clear that his health was a priority for him. It was a priority for us, and to see the progress from -- and just his mindset when he came into the building, and into training camp, the work he did in the summer, coming into training camp, and the work he's done all year. Kawhi's quiet but he's relentless. I tell you, his work ethic is almost crazy how his regimen, taking care of his body and doing all the work. So whether it's preparation, I think you are confident and when you see the preparation throughout the season you know what this kind of player, or you feel what this kind of player is going to produce. You don't wish this kind of injury on anybody, but you could tell with him it was a priority to get back to the highest level. Q. You don't have a draft lottery player on this team. You have the roster acquisition or composition that's really unusual. You've had to trade lottery picks to get where you need to go. Does it speak to how astutely the Raptors have drafted and how other organizations, that the organizations that drafted Kawhi and Kyle and Marc Gasol have drafted? It's incredibly unusual. MASAI UJIRI: I give the credit to Bobby Webster, Dan Tolzman, Teresa (Resch), these guys that work, I think, tirelessly scouting these players and studying these players, evaluating them and trying to see what kind of players fit with us. Our tone is set by Kyle Lowry and I think that the way he plays and his attitude towards the game and winning. Because at the end of the day I think sports is all about winning and the mentality of Kyle really translates. The mentality of Kawhi, the mentality of Danny Green, of Marc Gasol, these guys are, Serge Ibaka, these guys are built a certain way. We do our best to study and you hope when these players are put together that the chemistry comes together, but I think it starts from the leaders. Our job is to go out and find these type of players, and I think our player personnel and scouting department do an unbelievable job. Q. When you look at your career yourself you were born to African parents, born in England. Your head coach is coveted around the world as a basketball savant and two of your stars also come from Africa. Has it always been your foresight to kind of make the Raptors a global NBA team? MASAI UJIRI: I think being -- it says a lot that the first NBA Finals outside of America is being played here. Maybe one day it will be real world champions or something, but this is what we dream of. Every day you come to work it's -- this is it and it's overwhelming because you think, when I look at all the international players we have on our team, from Marc and even our staff and the people on our staff and the backgrounds, it's really brought us together and I think it says so much because that's how our city is, that's how the country is, that we can all relate to the multicultural or the diversity of Toronto and Canada and that's how our team is. They talk in different languages on defense, they talk in different languages in the locker room, and it's like that in our organization. And being international myself and being from Africa, I'm proud of that. Q. When your team arrived at the NBA Finals you said Kawhi Leonard is the best player in the league. From the Warriors' perspective, Steve Kerr said KD is the most skilled player in the league, and I understand teams love their guys, but what is the distinction in your mind that makes Kawhi the best? MASAI UJIRI: I don't know that any of those people will argue with me that he's the best two-way player in the NBA and when we talk about basketball, we're talking about playing on both ends. And I feel that if we put him on both ends of the court, he has the ability to be the best player in the league and that's where it came from. Q. You mentioned Kyle a few times and his leadership with this team. Obviously you guys have been through a lot the last several years. I was curious, what have you seen from him in terms of his evolution both on and off the court, and how has that translated to the way he has helped lead you guys to The Finals this year? MASAI UJIRI: There's something about that guy that I just believe in. It's incredible. We have been through so much and he's a winner. There's no other way to put it, he's a winner. He's been hit upside the head from every different angle and every different angle in the world, whether it's personal, everything, and he survives it. Like every day he comes, he comes to win. Doesn't matter what mood he's in, like he comes to win. I saw that one day playing in the gym here when we were, when this was still our practice facility here and nobody knew I was watching that day, it was like four, five years ago, and they were playing pickup basketball, and the way he just competed, without anybody being in the gym. There was just five-on-five, and a couple coaches in there. It was preseason and he played his ass off, and that's just how he is. He leads us I think in the right way. Yes, we have gone through -- we have had our ups and downs, but I think this year there was a really good moment where we sat down and we really talked about what we wanted to accomplish, and it's a tough conversation but these are conversations that you have to have. I did understand how Kyle felt when obviously we made the trade and it was tough. DeMar is his best friend. I do understand that completely. That's the toughest part of the business that we all talk about. But in terms of Kyle, I've seen him grow, I've seen him grow as a person, as a leader on our team, and he can only get better from here. Q. A recent online survey concluded that all but three of the U.S. states are rooting for the Raptors to win the championship this year. For a fan base that has built its bones on "us against the world," how does it feel now to be playing for a title knowing that you're the fans' choice to win? MASAI UJIRI: It feels good. We don't want to -- I don't know if it's underdog, we just feel like we have done a -- like we have prepared well to be here. And you go through that grind, it's very flattering for us as a team, as an organization. I know our players would love that, that we get that support. But these guys have prepared, to be honest. We have been trying to prepare for this moment, to get here and it's been a grind. We get mocked. People talk about us in different ways, but for us that's the growth, that's the thing, those are the things that we have to go through. But I can tell you it's going to be crazy. It's going to be crazy here tomorrow. It's going to be crazy here on Sunday. It's going to be crazy here for a few days because that's the mentality of our fan base. We know it's across the world. That's something special about here. We can reach the world easy from here, from Canada, and we're happy to be the global team that represents the NBA. Q. You touched on it there a little bit in your opening remarks as well, what do you feel it means not just for the Raptors but the city of Toronto to have the global spotlight on our city, and perhaps putting to rest some of the misconceptions about Toronto and basketball in this country? MASAI UJIRI: Yeah, we heard all of it. Again I say, we have to grow to get to this moment. It's such an incredible city, sports city, whether you're talking about us or the Leafs or the Blue Jays or TFC, it's a great sports city and there's room for everybody. But it's incredible how diverse it is and we're going to continue to grow this and live this in this city. You see the fans and wherever you go, whether it's a restaurant, everywhere, the support has been amazing for us. I said it when I came here, I know this city will win, and it's not me or anybody. There's something about it here and sports, it comes around. Many cities will win, and Toronto will win too. Q. You brought Pascal in with the 27th pick. You obviously saw something in him then, but could you have imagined him developing into the player he is today as quickly as he has, and how big has that been in terms of getting you guys here this year? MASAI UJIRI: I tell you, when I saw him in Basketball Without Borders, no. We all want to act like we know everything, but we don't. That guy has been incredible and I think his progress you've seen. Even during the year, Pascal I think should have been an All-Star. He wasn't a All-Star. At All-Star he elevated. After All-Star he elevated. There was a chip on his shoulder during the Playoffs. Everybody said he's young, new player in the NBA; he elevated even more. He's been an unbelievable revelation for us, but I know Pascal and we have had these moments of talk, and he specifically said to me a couple years ago that he doesn't want to be one of those African players that's labeled, whether it's a shot blocker or a defender or rebounder or he runs. He wants to be a star. He wants to be a versatile player in this league and he wants to be able to do it all. And he's put the work into it. We all used to hold our breath when he took a 3-point shot. We all used to hold our breath sometimes when he went on the fast break. And now we can't wait until he does that. Again, it's preparation, it's practice, it's work ethic, it's that mindset of winning and I think he has that mindset, too. Q. You mentioned something earlier about difficult conversations and one of the storylines surrounding your team all year has been what will happen with Kawhi Leonard in the future. When was the last time you discussed his future with him and how have you, if you have, made the case to him that the Raptors is where he should be long-term? MASAI UJIRI: I said it from day one, we are going to be us. I think Kawhi Leonard is a superstar and we're going to treat him like a superstar, but we're also going to do all the natural things that I think will help us get to that level, to convince Kawhi that this is the place for him. The future conversations I've had with Kawhi are about the Golden State Warriors and that's his mindset, his mindset is what is at hand right now, what's the job right now. And the job right now is to beat the Golden State Warriors. I think when he came here he made it clear he wanted to be healthy. He wants to play on a good team that would compete, and I think kudos to Alex McKechnie and Kawhi's team that I think they have worked together to get him slowly back to playing at this level after missing, playing only nine games last year. I think when he sees with the city, the fan base, basketball, I think coaching, everything almost has to come together. I think that was an incredible moment in Game 7 with that shot. All these things I think naturally they have to come together, and I think we're blessed here in Toronto that it's slowly coming together for us. But the trust, you hope to build that trust where at the end of the day we know that there are two tough moments in sports, in the job that we do that make it very, very difficult, and that's trading a player and when a player leaves in free agency. We all have to prepare ourselves for everything, and I think we have built this trust in a way that whatever it is, I think we would have prepared ourselves. Q. Aside from the Kawhi Leonard acquisition, is there anything else that you take away from your past playoff disappointments in how you address or how you went about building your current roster? MASAI UJIRI: Yes, we needed to -- I think we needed to figure out a way where we played sometimes a little smarter sometimes, the way we defended sometimes, the way we adjusted to games sometimes, our toughness sometimes, just going through those games and having those sweeps or those defeats, that teaches you I think. Out team may be hopefully a little bit more versatile. I think we saw when we played Orlando or we played a big team like the Sixers, I think we were able to compete with them. Tough series, but we were able to compete. Same thing with Milwaukee. And I think Nick is able to make adjustments in terms of the personnel we have and all these things have. There's no knock here on the past, honestly, like because we were part of the past. So we're part of that defeat, too. We're part of the knock, right? So we just have to learn from it, that's what I think good organizations should do, and we learned from that and we find ourselves here and there will be more learning moments, I think, but we play sports to win. That's why we play the game is to win and that's what we want to do here is to win. Q. You talk about the timeline at the start of the season. Obviously you're losing DeMar DeRozan, gaining Kawhi Leonard, was there any point in the season where things started to click for you guys, maybe facing DeMar, maybe Kawhi returning against the Spurs or that game against the Spurs, was there any time when things started to feel right in terms of buy-in and that trust that you talked about? MASAI UJIRI: I think there's different moments for different people on the team. It's hard. I'm not big on the trade deadline. I think people know here I like development, I like growth, and we did try a couple years ago. We made a couple moves at the trade deadline and it didn't work. So sometimes you take your chances. Sometimes these are the things that you have to do. For me I don't know that there's any specific moment that I felt that it clicked because every year, every day you're trying to work, every day you're trying to build, every day you're trying to prepare for moments like this. So I don't know that there's one particular moment, but it's a season and you have your ups and downs and hopefully we prepared ourselves the right way. THE MODERATOR: Thanks very much, everybody. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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