“I’m willing to take risks.” That’s what Masai Ujiri said the day after he traded for Kawhi Leonard, with no guarantee the blank-faced superstar would stay. The Toronto Raptors had risen to a damned place where they could truly disappoint you, and themselves. So their team president fired the coach of the year, and traded one of his two all-stars in the middle of the night from Nairobi. All in all, he made the biggest bet of his professional career.
All the roads converged on Sunday. The Toronto Raptors will play Game 7 of their second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers, and everything that led to this place will either be rewarded, or not.