Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri has had a lot on his plate this offseason. The team lost arguably the franchise's greatest player ever in Kyle Lowry and it's still unclear whether they'll be able to play in Canada next season due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Amid all these, Raptors fans can now breathe easier as Ujiri checks off all doubts concerning Pascal Siakam and Nick Nurse's relationship.
Re: the mid-season, post-game confrontation between Siakam/Nurse, Masai says he knows their relationship is in "a much better place" now.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) August 18, 2021
To recall, Siakam and Nurse were involved in a locker room argument back in March, resulting in the former being benched for one game.
Both of them are invaluable to the Raptors' climb to the top in 2019. Siakam's growth and versatility proved instrumental in the matchup strategies against the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Golden State Warriors' entire offense.
Meanwhile, Nurse is one of the main architects of the Raptors' turnaround which dates back to his days as an assistant to Dwane Casey.
Siakam is coming off another rock-solid campaign that saw him average 21.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. Still, these numbers did not prevent his name from being dragged into several trade rumors this offseason—something Ujiri also talked about.
Via Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports:
“I know the fan base has been hard on him. But trust me, Pascal is a prideful man, Pascal is an unbelievable basketball player… Pascal is here, he's a Raptor, and he's going to play with us.”
As the Raptors embark on a new chapter in the organization's history, the 2019 Most Improved Player figures to play a critical role in their future success, alongside Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., Chris Boucher, and rookie Scottie Barnes, among others.
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