pc28����

But in a pre-all-star, on-the-record interview in front of a group of season-ticket holders at OVO Athletic Centre, Ujiri made it clear this is the same organization it has always been. It’s just trying again.

“When we talk about rebuilding, I think there are pieces of teams that come to you at certain points in time, and sometimes those pieces might be part of what a championship team is,” said Ujiri. “You have to look at the gradual vision of what building a team is. I don’t know that this is going to be a championship team next year, but I can tell you that there’s going to be good progress with a young team.

“We want to create two-way players that can really challenge on both sides of the court. Are all these good players going to end up being on a championship team? I would say no. Just because we made a trade now does not mean we cannot make a bigger trade two years from now, or three years from now, or a year from now. It doesn’t stop that at all.”

Ujiri is aware of the doubts. It’s been a bruising couple of years for the Raptors, and there have been internal questions about where they went wrong. When the Star , we determined the disconnect came partly because of a faith in processes that had worked before: hitting on late draft picks, teaching players to shoot, being able to move players at the right time. That plus a mix of players that didn’t fit sent them backward.

But the formula hasn’t really changed. Getting two second-round picks in Jonathan Mogbo and Jamal Shead who could become contributors, plus first-rounder Ja’Kobe Walter, even in a terrible draft? Classic Raptors. Going into tank mode when it’s logical? That’s the Tampa Raptors, with better home crowds.

And the Ingram trade was a repeat of the Jakob Poeltl trade, with talent acquisition at a low capital cost: expiring contracts, a 2026 top-four protected first-round pick from Indiana, and a second-rounder. Ingram has never really driven winning, is not a plus defender, does not get to the line or to the rim as often as truly elite scorers, and rarely stays healthy. But he can score and is a player whose ceiling always seems just out of reach. Ujiri says true recruiting via free agency is dead, and this kind of deal is how free agency more or less works now.

So, Ujiri is betting on health and performance guru Alex McKechnie to keep Ingram healthy, on coach Darko Rajakovic to fit Ingram into the offence, and on the team culture to drive Ingram to new heights. Classic Raptors.

“Somebody that creates his own shot, somebody that you can go to in the fourth quarter, there are not many people that have that. We haven’t had many of those,” says Ujiri. “And when you mix it with a 6-9 guy that has a 7-3 or 7-4 wingspan, it amounts to something if you can push it.”

The 23-year-old Barnes, for all his gifts, is not quite one of those guys yet, and pairing him with even a semi-elite shot creator is clearly appealing. And while Ingram can be seen as languid, Ujiri says: “I think Brandon Ingram is one of the hardest-working players that we’ve ever had; he’s a gym rat.” He added Ingram chose the Raptors over two other teams. One is believed to be Atlanta.

But why add a $40-million (U.S.) per year player to a rebuild? Well, Ingram and his injured ankle probably won’t play much this season, so the drive for a top pick remains intact. (“So Brandon Ingram is rehabbing his ankle. For how long, I don’t know,” said Ujiri, dryly.) And critically, in a fast-moving league, the Raptors do not believe rebuilds have to be multi-year affairs, even before the current collective agreement squeezed teams like lemons. Some big players will become available that you might not expect, for less than you’d think. Some already are.

It’s a mistake to see this team as static in a league of churn. What Ujiri made clear is he believes the days of superteams built around older players such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, whose massive earned salaries can cramp team-building, are done. But he still believes building a title team requires two to three true difference-makers, special players, plus a supporting cast.

So that’s the key. Asked who is the true core of this team, Ujiri’s answer boiled down to Barnes, due to his talent and what Ujiri calls his winning instincts. Ujiri added centre Jakob Poeltl (if he is playing with “incredible players”) in what was essentially a subcategory, because Poeltl fits with anyone.

“I think our core is built around Scottie,” Ujiri said. “Does (Immanuel) Quickley need to grow? Does Gradey (Dick) need to grow? Does R.J. (Barrett) need to grow? They all need plenty of work to do this, and it’s going to be the same with the high pick that we get this year. That’s why it’s going to take time, and we’ll see where Brandon Ingram fits with this, too.”

If Barnes is one special piece, the Raptors hope their 2025 lottery pick is another. And with the rest of their assets — players with identifiable skills and tradable contracts, young players with promise (Shead, Mogbo, Dick, Walter, Ochai Agbaji) and all but one of their own picks — Ujiri believes they could chase a third. This is still the team that waited for Giannis Antetokounmpo, that wasn’t far from Durant, that wondered about Damian Lillard.

“There’s three ways to build a team, or to get a team to a championship level, correct?” Ujiri said. “It’s through the draft, it’s through free agency and through trades. The way we won the championship was through a trade. And I think we’ve set ourselves up for all three.

“So you have to operate with a plan, and our plan was to rebuild, to grow this team with young players. And then, you know, there are many things that are going to change in the NBA as we go.”

The questions won’t stop, either. Are the Raptors right about Ingram, and for that matter about Barnes? Are they right to believe these pieces fit, and to what degree? What will the draft deliver? Which salary will they move this summer? And then, can they make themselves attractive enough that another core piece will choose Toronto?

It’s the same story as the post-title years but with different players, more assets, a changing league and the same front office. Asked if he ever doubted himself or his staff, Ujiri insisted he was not an overconfident person, and said the team had addressed mistakes and learned; he still shouts out GM Bobby Webster, assistant GM Dan Tolzman, his extensive staff. And with his dear friend Larry Tanenbaum set to exit his minority ownership, likely next year, Ujiri was asked if he ever worried his job could be on the line.

“There’s never a point where I worry about this job,” says Ujiri. “If you do that, then I don’t think you do it that well. I say that because if I don’t have this job, I swear to you guys, I’ll have a better job, and that better job might not even be a job is what I’m saying to you.

“I have to leave this place just like I left Denver. I’m going to leave this place in the best position that it has ever been in. I’m not going to leave this place and they’re going to look at it and say: oh, man, look at what Masai and these guys did.

“When I think about what happened to me (when the Raptors won the title in Oakland in 2019) and the police officer and the moment he took away from me, from enjoying winning the championship, every single one of you, you don’t think I want to win worse than you guys?” At this point, Ujiri pointed at the crowd. “Yes, I want to feel it. I want to feel what winning a championship means, the feeling that I’ll have when we actually win, rather than feel the way I had. And I’m guaranteeing you, if I’m being selfish, I know that I’m going to have that feeling again. That’s my driver.”

Masai Ujiri still believes in himself, and in what he has built. It’s become a cliche, but Ujiri is betting on himself. Everyone will find out how right he is.