Raptors start thinking about future
Credit to Author: ASSOCIATED PRESS| Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:13:48 +0000
TORONTO: The Toronto Raptors were still partying it up in Las Vegas, part of an extended celebration following their first championship, when the NBA starting reshaping itself for a new season with the blockbuster trade agreement Saturday that will send Anthony Davis to the Lakers.
Talk about snapping back to reality.
Turns out Raptors coach Nick Nurse already had.
Back home in Toronto Sunday, on the eve of a parade to honor his team, Nurse said he and general manager Bobby Webster have already started talking about a future that’s full of tough questions.
“Bobby and I have already had two meetings about it since the championship,” Nurse said. “The reality is that it’s right upon us, and we get to work. I’ve got several meetings today with some players. We don’t have any choice but to get to work on it. My thought, always, is stay hungry. We’ve got to get our guys that we want back.”
No player is more important to Toronto’s fortunes than Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who is expected to opt out of the final year of his contract and become a free agent.
“We definitely want him back,” Raptors forward Pascal Siakam said.
Center Marc Gasol said Leonard’s elite two-way game makes him “one of a kind.”
“I don’t think there’s any other player of his caliber right now in the NBA,” Gasol said. “He’s on a pedestal by himself.”
With status like that, longtime teammate Danny Green said Leonard’s decision is sure to have a ripple effect across the NBA.
“Let’s not be foolish,” Green said. “His decision affects a lot of guys’ decisions. He can change a whole organization.”
Raptors President Masai Ujiri also is the subject of speculation, linked to an offer from the Washington Wizards. Ujiri, who was not available Sunday, is expected to speak at Monday’s parade, which will finish in the square outside Toronto’s city hall.
Even after a year together, Nurse said he has no idea which way Leonard is leaning.
Guard Fred VanVleet said he’s joked with Leonard about the star forward’s uncertain future, but doesn’t plan to deliver a full-scale sales pitch.
“I would assume that he knows what is here and what makes this place special,” VanVleet said. “If it’s enough, it’ll be enough and if it’s not, it’s not. We would all love him to be back and if he’s not then we’ll move on from there. He came here and did what he was supposed to do. He brought this city the championship and I think he’s earned his freedom in his career to do what he wants to do, and we’ll all respect it and admire him.”
Even so, respect and admiration only go so far.
AP
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