In August of 2021, Kyle Lowry left his longtime team, the Toronto Raptors, for the Miami Heat. He was a part of a sign-and-trade between the Heat and the Raptors in which Toronto received Goran Dragić and Precious Achiuwa.
Less than a month later, Lowry wrote “For My Toronto Family,” one of the latest pieces in The Players Tribune. The point guard wrote about his conversation with Masai Ujiri last August.
That Raptors president was extremely frustrated with the situation, but not because Lowry was headed elsewhere. He was frustrated because they had to have a professional conversation about it.
“This phone call is bullsh*t,” Ujiri said. Lowry had called him to talk about his move to Miami.
He knew that the Raptors president was not upset with him, and described their bigger-than-basketball relationship.
“What he meant was: Our relationship, it’s more than just player and management at this point. It’s bigger than just “work stuff,” where you’re leaving one job to go to another, so you give the old boss a call to say thanks. Nah. It’s deeper than that with me and Masai,” Lowry wrote. “That’s not just the GM on the other end of the phone. That’s big brother. That’s family.”
The Heat star said that he and Ujiri had been through a lot together that built their strong bond. In his ten years in Toronto, Lowry was a six-time NBA All-Star and led the Raptors to an NBA championship.
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