Thomsen: Lowry, Raptors silencing skeptics during uncertain times

JoeyJoJo Shabbadu · 01-17-2014, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Their criticism was meant to be constructive. One by one, Ujiri and his colleagues told Lowry of the potential they saw in him, of the leadership their team needed from him, and of this opportunity to become the player that they and he believed he could become.
"It put a lot of things into perspective for me," said Lowry. "For him to have those guys in that room with me was big for me. All these guys telling you how important you are, it's humbling. It makes you just focus in on, you do not want to let these guys down because of what they are telling you."

Lowry spent the opening five weeks putting their advice into practice, but to no avail. Ujiri had already shipped Andrea Bargnani to the Knicks for three picks (including a first rounder in 2016) and three players; on Dec. 10, after he packaged Rudy Gay to Sacramento, the Raptors were a disappointing 7-13. It was time to investigate the value of the team and the potential for improvement. The next moveable piece was Lowry.

"I explained to him and his agent it could go either way," said Ujiri. "If we develop and play well and grow as a team, then I have to look at this one way; and if we totally collapse and we're not winning very often, then I have to figure out something. Kyle knew and his agent knew. He was really professional and he really pushed the team, so give him all credit. It wasn't something where we were doing stuff without him knowing; I spelled it out in every possible way I could."

But there was no market for Lowry, which spoke not only to the reputation he had earned as a destructive leader, but also to the urgency of his current mission. At 6-feet and 175 pounds there was a hint of Isiah Thomas to his game: He fought so hard to compete against the bigger opponents that he created enemies. In Lowry's case he was blind to the negative impact he made on his own teams, which led to his departure from the Grizzlies (who picked him No. 24 out of Villanova in 2006) and the Rockets, who were relieved to trade him to Toronto in 2012. The message of the Raptors leadership was for Lowry find a way to channel his competitiveness in a constructive way.

Read More: Kyle Lowry, Raptors silencing critics with timely turnaround - NBA - Ian Thomsen - SI.com

m5racer · 01-17-2014, 01:19 PM

Quote:

But there was no market for Lowry, which spoke not only to the reputation he had earned as a destructive leader, but also to the urgency of his current mission. At 6-feet and 175 pounds there was a hint of Isiah Thomas to his game: He fought so hard to compete against the bigger opponents that he created enemies.

That right there is good news for us. This means that come FA, we can hopefully work out a deal thats fair for both sides, with out losing and or overpaying for him. Looks like his rep was a lot worse then was publicly known (both right after the trade and pretty much up until now.

The way

handles things though is straight up OG. We really scored a touch down with

me thinks......

LX · 01-17-2014, 01:23 PM

Having a solid relationship with the whole organization is nothing to spit at for a guy that has experienced so much trouble fitting and sticking. He's still going to have to get paid, but it won't be about looking for greener grass elsewhere.

niggles · 01-17-2014, 01:57 PM

This just shows how thorough Masai is in dealing with issues in a forward thinking manner.

From the article, it seems that this whole situation was being dealt with even before the season began.

There is a lot more that happens, behind the scenes that we never hear about, and we bitch and gripe about a whole lot of things, but Masai has probably thought about it, before we start talking about it.

jeffb · 01-17-2014, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niggles

This just shows how thorough Masai is in dealing with issues in a forward thinking manner.

From the article, it seems that this whole situation was being dealt with even before the season began.

There is a lot more that happens, behind the scenes that we never hear about, and we bitch and gripe about a whole lot of things, but Masai has probably thought about it, before we start talking about it.

It's his job to think about it......duhh

niggles · 01-17-2014, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffb

It's his job to think about it......duhh

Well he thought about it and started handing it. Stop being bitter.

The Diamond Scorpion · 01-17-2014, 03:06 PM

Really good read. Hope he resigns to a good contract that benefits not only himself but the organization as well.

carp · 01-17-2014, 03:09 PM

Lowry proving Colangelo right these past few weeks!

niggles · 01-17-2014, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carp

Lowry proving Colangelo right these past few weeks!

Don`t think anyone had a problem with the things Colangelo did right. It was the things he did wrong.

DocHoliday99 · 01-17-2014, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carp

Lowry proving Colangelo right these past few weeks!

The starting 5 AND the coach are proving BC right

DocHoliday99 · 01-17-2014, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niggles

Don`t think anyone had a problem with the things Colangelo did right. It was the things he did wrong.

You're only as good as the last deal and in todays society no one really cares about reporting positives, doesn't sell.

TORaptor4Ever · 01-17-2014, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LX

Having a solid relationship with the whole organization is nothing to spit at for a guy that has experienced so much trouble fitting and sticking. He's still going to have to get paid, but it won't be about looking for greener grass elsewhere.

Agreed. I can't see him going to a contender for peanuts and I can't see him going to a bottom-feeder even for a decent raise.

It's a good fit for him here. He's respected both on and off the court and gets to lead a team that's improving from week to week.

LX · 01-17-2014, 04:05 PM

BC did finally start to get some idea of what he needed to do. Even then he was ready to sign Nash. He was not entirely incompetent, luckily. And luckily him and the old ownership that were all about selling seats and not so much about selling winning, are gone. I can't really muster up any desire to curse any of that now that Masai has somehow traded Rudy Gay.

JoeyJoJo Shabbadu · 01-17-2014, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carp

Lowry proving Colangelo right these past few weeks!

Colangelo never would have handled this properly and it would have blown up in his face.

JoeyJoJo Shabbadu · 01-17-2014, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocHoliday99

The starting 5 AND the coach are proving BC right

Hardly because we still would have Andrea and Gay and these 5 proving they are good never would have happened. Just because his scouts can pick talent doesn't mean BC had any clue on how to build a team.

Dario · 01-17-2014, 10:04 PM

BC's mind was focused on derozan playing with gay, we wouldnt be over .500 right now if he was still here....

moremilk · 01-17-2014, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeyJoJo Shabbadu

Hardly because we still would have Andrea and Gay and these 5 proving they are good never would have happened. Just because his scouts can pick talent doesn't mean BC had any clue on how to build a team.

that's BS, Bargnani was on the trading block since last winter, but he got injured before the deadline. There's no way Bargnani was still a raptor if BC stayed. As for gay, again - one of the things I really like about BC was that he always made good on the moves that didn't work, from kapono, to JO and Turkoglu. If the team played like it did this season, he would have tried to move him.

I guess, in hindsight, Bargnani was the one guy he kept too long, but before those famous 13 games, he was kind of about to be moved - it was his last shot (the preceding summer, BC criticized him publicly for the first time for his rebounding problems). After those games, nobody wanted him gone anymore, and after the start of last season, he got hurt and couldn't be traded.

As to the make up of this team, not only the starting 5 is drafted or acquired in trades that now look like steals (delfino for amir and steven adams for lowry), but MU may not be here if BC didn't give him his first major front office job. He also got the doctor from LA who gets all the credit for the lack of injuries.

moremilk · 01-17-2014, 10:08 PM

and casey, of course - although most on this board hate him for some reason.

jeffb · 01-17-2014, 11:25 PM

Jokes

RealGM • View topic - DJ Augustin is a better PG than Kyle Lowry

Quote:

those of you who play basketball will understand why DJ is better for this team. NBA 2k14 fans will prefer Lowry because he has better stats in video games

JoeyJoJo Shabbadu · 01-18-2014, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moremilk

that's BS, Bargnani was on the trading block since last winter, but he got injured before the deadline. There's no way Bargnani was still a raptor if BC stayed. As for gay, again - one of the things I really like about BC was that he always made good on the moves that didn't work, from kapono, to JO and Turkoglu. If the team played like it did this season, he would have tried to move him.

I guess, in hindsight, Bargnani was the one guy he kept too long, but before those famous 13 games, he was kind of about to be moved - it was his last shot (the preceding summer, BC criticized him publicly for the first time for his rebounding problems). After those games, nobody wanted him gone anymore, and after the start of last season, he got hurt and couldn't be traded.

As to the make up of this team, not only the starting 5 is drafted or acquired in trades that now look like steals (delfino for amir and steven adams for lowry), but MU may not be here if BC didn't give him his first major front office job. He also got the doctor from LA who gets all the credit for the lack of injuries.

how can you think BC knew how to finish building a team and that even when he had moved into that other job he wasn't still trying to convince Mu to keep Bargs. he never would have taken the knicks offer because he overvalued bargnani. he was an idiot.

hindsight? half this board said it was the thing to do a YEAR before. He fucked up with Bosh. He signed terrible UFAs. He drafted Bargs over LA, ross over drummond and a few others. He could not finish building a team. he traded away endless 1st round picks. We almost never made the playoffs. the fact that he acquired 5 players only over that time with the high picks we had is a fucking travesty.

how you defend him and the record this team had ...

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01-17-2014, 01:23 PM	#3 (permalink)
LX with pink peppercorns In the Paint Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 27,514 Representing:	Having a solid relationship with the whole organization is nothing to spit at for a guy that has experienced so much trouble fitting and sticking. He's still going to have to get paid, but it won't be about looking for greener grass elsewhere.

01-17-2014, 01:57 PM	#4 (permalink)
niggles doesn't care where LeBron plays. Or Melo. OY!! Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Loch Ness Posts: 2,692 Representing:	This just shows how thorough Masai is in dealing with issues in a forward thinking manner. From the article, it seems that this whole situation was being dealt with even before the season began. There is a lot more that happens, behind the scenes that we never hear about, and we bitch and gripe about a whole lot of things, but Masai has probably thought about it, before we start talking about it.

01-17-2014, 03:06 PM	#7 (permalink)
The Diamond Scorpion A True Diamond In The Rough Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Newfoundland Posts: 2,584 Representing:	Really good read. Hope he resigns to a good contract that benefits not only himself but the organization as well.

01-17-2014, 03:09 PM	#8 (permalink)
carp . Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Toronto Posts: 11,485 Representing:	Lowry proving Colangelo right these past few weeks!

01-17-2014, 04:05 PM	#13 (permalink)
LX with pink peppercorns In the Paint Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 27,514 Representing:	BC did finally start to get some idea of what he needed to do. Even then he was ready to sign Nash. He was not entirely incompetent, luckily. And luckily him and the old ownership that were all about selling seats and not so much about selling winning, are gone. I can't really muster up any desire to curse any of that now that Masai has somehow traded Rudy Gay.

01-17-2014, 10:04 PM	#16 (permalink)
Dario straight ballin' Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Vancouver BC Canada Posts: 8,134 Representing:	BC's mind was focused on derozan playing with gay, we wouldnt be over .500 right now if he was still here....

01-17-2014, 10:08 PM	#18 (permalink)
moremilk whatever Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: toronto Posts: 9,229 Representing:	and casey, of course - although most on this board hate him for some reason.