Final Thoughts: The Toronto Raptors are NBA Champions

Read the second part of that headline again. Maybe a few more times after that, if you're like me and the reality hasn't entirely set in yet, even days later.

For the better part of two decades, the Toronto Raptors were the NBA's unwanted bastard stepchild. The lone Canadian franchise (RIP Vancouver) had difficulty both procuring and retaining top-level talent, while shooting themselves in the foot with myriad miscues, both on the court and in the front office.

Even when they finally became competitive, the Raptors plateaued as a regular-season tease; fodder for LeBron James to demoralize come playoff time. The notion of this franchise ever truly breaking through grew increasingly pipe-dreamy.

Last summer, after yet another postseason collapse, Trade Jedi Masai Ujiri had seen enough, pulling the plug on two franchise cornerstones. While fans revolted at the time, the results began showing immediately. The trade aged extremely well, suddenly, shockingly culminating in an NBA title. It happened almost too quickly to seem real.

As both an NBA fan and Canadian, there's a lot to decompress at the end of this ridiculous journey. This Raptors playoff run was an overwhelming swell of Northern patriotism and anxiety-inducing basketball. From four bounces vs the Sixers, to four straight wins vs the Bucks, and now denying this Warriors dynasty their fourth title, it was a simply thrilling ride.

As the entire country continues to come to grips with this serious rift in conventional thinking - the Raptors are NBA Champs -  here are, in abstract order of importance, five thoughts about the 2019 NBA Finals:

- Before we dive in, a special shoutout to  the entire country of Canada for their absolute outpouring of Raptors support. Firmly declaring ourselves as not just a hockey country, we embodied the 'We The North' credo with unbridled passion and enthusiasm. 

From Jurassic Park, to the multiple clones it spawned, bar-packing viewing parties, droves of social media support, Nav Bhatia, and everything in between, Canada ensured we made history in the loudest way possible. 

The first non-US NBA title is sure to be crucial piece of the NBA's global growth puzzle; a historical footnote with great rippling impact. As a lifelong basketball fan in a country that largely didn't care about basketball, this was a beautiful moment to witness. - 


5. You Have to be Happy For the Raptors
I mean, come on. You're not going to find a much more deserving unit, most of whom are earning their first ring.

Kyle Lowry has been Toronto's heart and soul since 2012; a pint-sized bulldog who slowly fought his way to stardom, spent years battling playoff demons, and had an absolutely dominant game to seal the championship.

Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet forced their way into NBA relevance from the obscurity of the G-League; underdogs evolved fully into alphas.

Marc Gasol was a consummate professional and teammate; a weathered playoff soldier who showed up, went to work, fit the system and - much like Rasheed Wallace on the 03-04 Pistons - raised this team's ceiling to the max.

Serge Ibaka witnessed first-hand the tragic demise of one of the NBA's greatest potential superteams. Him getting a ring seems karmically correct.

Patrick McCaw just three-peated.

Nick Nurse essentially won Dwane Casey a Coach of the Year award last season, and proved his chops by getting more creative with this roster than Casey was ever capable of. As a rookie, he out-coached Brett Brown and Mike Budenholzer, escaping the toughest Eastern Conference in years.

And Kawhi Leonard, whether he stays or goes, put on a simply all-time playoff performance.

Both The Ringer and ESPN's Zach Lowe have posited the extreme unlikeliness of this roster's origin story leading to a championship. In that, there also lies much validity that this team was shrewdly constructed, and played their hearts out, both this season and preceding it.

They've toppled the NBA's evil monolith, and no other would-be underdog could've made for a better foil.

4. Injuries are No Excuse
A lot of people already are - and will continue to for years - mark this title with an asterisk. They'll say that Golden State at full strength was clearly the better team; that Toronto "got lucky". They're right, but also very wrong.

Injuries are an inherent part of the sport; they can strike any team at any time. Yes, this particular timing was extremely unfortunate for Golden State, but it's impossible to fault Toronto for putting themselves in this position.

On several levels, I feel deeply for Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. Both these guys were on the precipice of basketball immortality, and are now left at devastating crossroads. Durant pushed himself to perhaps the ultimate ceiling of a player's urgency to return, and paid the ultimate price. Thompson was simply playing out of his mind, and all but sealed his team's fate on a freak landing.

It's difficult however to feel much for the Warriors' organization. This roster took their first title in shockingly similar fashion; a 6-game win over Cleveland sans Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in 2015. Since then, they've had likely the best run of injury-free variance among any perennial playoff team, particularly when you factor in number of games played.

Would Golden State have beaten the Raptors at full strength? Very likely. But would they have beaten a Cleveland team whose 2nd and 3rd men weren't Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellevadova? Would they have even made the Finals in 2018 if Chris Paul hadn't missed games 6 and 7 of the WCF (both Warriors wins)?

After four years of good-to-impeccable luck in the health department, it's very tough - perhaps even hypocritical - for any pundit or Warriors fan to play the injury card here.

3. Masai Ujiri is a Fucking Boss
The man is pretty much unimpeachable. Not only does he have gargantuan cojones, but apex instinct and cunning. This title is the result of perhaps the most underrated five-year run by a GM in NBA history.

Masai built this roster's entire rotation from shrewd trades and draft steals. It's been famously trumpeted: Toronto's roster houses zero lottery picks; unheard of for a champion. He was forced to be relentlessly creative, while also managing assets cautiously. It's perhaps the perfect blueprint for a small-market team to follow.

Ujiri is a straight up predator who hunts vulnerable franchises (Spurs, Grizzlies, Knicks several times over), leveraging their sense of urgency to extract his will. He's always underpaid for better players (Leonard, Gasol, Ibaka), and gotten Toronto exactly what it needed.

Masai Ujiri's vision and ambition were major turning points in the Raptors' franchise arc. Upon his arrival, the team immediately began their ascent from NBA doormats to fringe contenders. It's fitting that his biggest gamble has now reaped them the greatest reward. Speaking of which:

2. It was a Fun Season with Kawhi Leonard
The decision to trade a franchise icon for a one-year rental on the NBA's most enigmatic superstar must not have been taken lightly. Especially with Kawhi coming off a season-long injury/standoff with the Spurs, this was one hell of a dice-roll.

But the Raptors hit straight sevens. They immediately surrounded him with complementary talent. They allowed him to routinely break offense and run his weirdly-efficient brand of iso-ball. They spent the entire season delicately considering his long-term health (Load Management FTW). They showed him a city (and country) of rabid fans who worship him and are basically proposing to let him exist as a human for free if he stays. And they won an NBA title.

Likewise, Kawhi gave Toronto his all. He played at a near-MVP level in the regular season. He said all the right things. He showed modicums of personality for the first time ever. He was just legendary throughout the playoffs. And he won an NBA title.

It's impossible to know exactly what is going through Kawhi Leonard's head as he enters free agency; where his priorities lie and what his intentions might be. His decision is easily the most daunting variable an NBA champion has faced since Michael Jordan's (second) retirement in 1998.

With Golden State's future now in very serious peril, there's (gasp) potential for the Raptors to contend for years if Kawhi stays. Worst-case, they're left with a solid young core, and extremely good long-term cap sheet outlook.

But regardless of the outcome, both parties involved in this could-be divorce couldn't possibly have done more for the other this year.

And yes, even this one season of Kawhi beyond justifies the DeRozan trade.

1. This Was an All-Time NBA Finals
The 2019 NBA Finals were as much narrative, storylines, historical potential, uncertainty, emotional oscillation and brutally competitive basketball as you could possibly fit into six games. Based on that alone, they're an instant classic; perhaps not on par with 2013 or 2016, probably just a tier below.

But we've yet to see these Finals' greatest impact. Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson are now at ultimate career crossroads, faced both with high-stakes free agency decisions, and devastating injuries. Where they sign, and how fully they recover, could re-shape the NBA's power balance for years to come, possibly at the expense of Golden State's dynasty.

The future of the Finals MVP also hangs in the balance, and could bolster or burden an entire country's interest in the NBA. It was always assumed Leonard was a goner, but him remaining in the Big Smoke could crush several teams' free-agency plans. It would also set new precedent for Toronto; and finally shake their maybe-legitimate insecurity about their market status.

Leonard, Durant and Thompson will all likely be crucial cogs in the ongoing war against regular season attrition. The possibility of a shorter season continues to loom, with stars being sat at record rates and diluting both quality of play and fan experience. Leonard's health - after sitting out 20 games - and Durant & Thompson's lack thereof, are now all inflection points as the debate rages on.

There is also the undecided fate of Ujiri, who had the Washington Wizards offer him the Prince Ali package literally before the champagne had even been sprayed. The unprecedented deal offers ownership stake incentives, and would place a man with far-reaching global ambition in, by far, the most opportune NBA city.

(In related news, Ujiri is also being charged with battery against an Oakland sheriff's deputy, after initially being denied on-court access following Game 6's conclusion)

In the end, history was made, both with Canada's first title, and the Warriors somehow being toppled, in the most impactful way possible.

The Finals themselves were both jarring and inspirational on so many levels. They could also end up echoing loudly enough to change the game for years to come. We've witnessed something profound, but its true magnitude can't yet be comprehended.

Started From the Bottom. Where To Next?

I've always had a bit of a conflicted relationship with the Toronto Raptors.

As a proud Canadian, I've wanted to see them succeed, but as a basketball purist who watched in dismay as their front office butchered move after move, year after year, GM after GM, I found them hard to stomach.

They quickly built themselves a decrepit legacy - if such a thing can manifest in 20 years - of losing. Losing young talent too early, losing large leads in the second halves of games, losing the interest of the rest of the NBA, and myself. I looked at my country's last link to the NBA kind of like Stan and Kyle do Butters on South Park; I kind of felt bad for them, and wanted the best for them, I just didn't wanna be seen hanging out with them (or mind making fun of them from time to time).

Things changed this season, after Masai Ujiri cleared up their roster with a couple simply miraculous blockbuster trades. In two fell swoops, he revitalized the Raptors' roster, by tossing two of the NBA's most egregious contracts at teams who happily forked over valuable assets. The Bargnani and Gay trades were straight pillages.

Suddenly, the Raptors were doing things like upsetting OKC on the road, and beating the Antetokounmpo out of pretty much every team in the East. Even as a somewhat-hastily-made roster of unproven youngsters, led by one of the NBA's most enigmatically challenged players, they looked like a legit team.

They rode this momentous wave of sudden success all the way to a Top-3 seed (albeit in the Leastern Conference), where I, and the rest of the NBA, were hit hard with its swell.

While it may have had something to do with the Leafs not making the Playoffs, the display put on by Toronto's fans was nothing short of incredible. The masses packing "Jurassic Park" for all seven games, and spilling into the neighboring streets to support their team, was unprecedented. Making regular appearances on US networks for the first time in over a decade, their energy was contagious, embodying a passionate credo that - even in poor grammar - our whole country could rally around.

Other arenas looked meek in comparison, Masai was out in Vince McMahon mode, Charles Barkley was loving us; for the first time in my life, I was proud to be an NBA fan in Canada. Even with Drizzy lint-rolling courtside.

Although their season's abruptly ended, the Raptors should still hang their heads high. Going up against a Playoff-tested roster who were better than their seed suggested, they fought tooth-and-claw til the very final possession. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett - the former who blew kisses to the fans after Game 7's win, while the latter sneered, strutting over a still-flattened Kyle Lowry - praised the team and the city.

It appears as though, on several levels, the Toronto Raptors finally Made It this season; resonating enough League-wide to truly command respect. But although this team is in the hands of a competent GM for the first time perhaps ever, and at that a brilliant one, their offseason is far from straightforward.

It obviously all starts with Lowry, who up until this season had been a skilled but mercurial fringe starter for several teams that regarded his weight and attitude as mild liabilities. His contract was set to expire this year, so with a payday up for grabs, he magically shed 20 lbs and morphed into a force on both sides of the ball, has been the Raptors' de-facto Captain, and could very well end up on the All-NBA Third Team.

The Lowry Conundrum is two-fold; plenty of teams will want him this summer and are likely to drive his price up even more than his sudden career-year already has, plus there's no telling whether - with that much more money - he'll be as motivated, in shape, and cohesive as he's recently been. Lowry has always been a good player, but he wouldn't be the first - or second, or fiftieth - NBAer to conveniently blow up right before free agency, ink a fat deal, and revert to his old ways. He's going to command a deal healthily above the $10m/per range, and that's a lot of money to pay if Lowry isn't a lock to sustain this level of play.

The Raptors will also have to weather the Restricted Free Agency of Greivis Vasquez/Patrick Patterson, two vital cogs in their rotation who played up their value this year, and could be given a deal that Toronto's unwilling to match. Patterson in particular showed an aptitude for the kind of skilled, rangy power-forward play that's trending very hard in NBA circles right now.

Giving Lowry that kind of money will push them above the $50 million salary mark (Thanks, Landry Fields!) and severely handicap their ability to both upgrade other positions and re-sign Vasquez/Patterson, thus creating a void and almost-certain downgrade at two bench spots. It's definitely the riskier proposition to ink Lowry, but he's appeared to have a breakthrough in Toronto, and at this level, if it's sustainable, he's worth almost every penny.

Another question will be the impeding expiry of Amir Johnson's suddenly-bargain contract. After next season at $7million, he'll be due at least a slight raise, and is another promising piece that Ujiri could easily Jedi-trade instead of committing to long-term.



Jonas Valanciunas showed a somewhat-disappointing lack of growth this season after dominating Summer League, but it wasn't entirely shocking. Jonas is - very evidently - a player who thrives off of touches; when he gets the ball, he feels involved, and the confidence permeates to the other parts of his game. The Raps' surprise success this year with guard-heavy play forced their hand away from giving Valanciunas much of an offensive role, so his efforts suffered in other areas.

Throughout the Brooklyn series for exmaple, whenever he ran a pick-and-roll with Lowry, the Nets were able to break through his listless screen and double the ball, while Jonas - as aware as Brooklyn that he wasn't being passed to - jogged non-threateningly towards the net. After a Game 1 in which he punished BK's weak interior, he mostly vanished from the series in a disconnected fog. Encouragingly, Jonas will be working out with Hakeem Olajuwon this summer - the NBA Center's version of investment counseling from Warren Buffett or asshole lessons from Donald Sterling. Expect his sometimes-suspect footwork and fluidity (JV leads all big men in Forced Bad Shots-after-Hesitating On Open Looks) to be more polished next year, and for him to command more of a role, potentially reducing the need for as much scoring from the perimeter.

The Raptors could also have room to re-tool, with as much as $20+million in cap space, should Vasquez, Patterson, and Lowry be let go. Again, they were vital to this year's success, but they also played their market values up (tremendously in Lowry and Patterson's cases). One of the implications of keeping this team intact at the Trade Deadline was inevitable: break them up or likely overpay to retain them. Masai clearly calculated that risk, and may still be able to convert sign-and-trade assets out of any offer he doesn't feel like matching. Remember, this team wasn't supposed to be this good, and the current roster was assembled with future flexibility, not "Win Now", in mind.

A season where Toronto rose to the top of East's Shit-Heap (they'd have missed the Playoffs in the West) produced a massive ripple of enthusiasm for a team that tortured its fans with brutal management for most of two decades. The city, the country, hell most of the NBA loved this team, and the raucous standing ovation they exited to Sunday afternoon was justified, and a long time in the making.


The reality though, is that this roster that caught lightning in a bottle, could be a flash in the pan. The optimism brimming from the Raptors' exit pressers on Monday indicated a tightly-bound unity that was almost blissfully ignorant of the shakeups that are likely headed their way. The Raptors could look much different next season, with plenty of cards to play, and a living incarnation of ESPN's Trade Machine running their team.

But for Toronto fans who've grown used to shuddering at the changes they've made over the years, and might be hesitant to see maybe their best team ever attempt to evolve, remember just how quickly this all came to fruition, and trust the guy who made it all happen to help the Raptors go even further.