It was only a couple of years ago, after Masai Ujiri let another hotly anticipated trade deadline come and go while doing a lot less than most people thought he might, that the Raptors president met the media wearing an almost defiant swagger.
Yes, he’d flipped Norman Powell for Gary Trent Jr. But no, he hadn’t been presented with a deal that had met his price on franchise icon Kyle Lowry. And if there were those who suggested at the time that Ujiri was overvaluing the aging Lowry, who two years on seems to be wearing out his welcome in Miami, Ujiri spoke of the importance of keeping one’s options open.