Masai Ujiri Says Raptors Need Culture Change After Cavaliers Sweep

Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri said the team needed a "culture reset" after being swept in four games by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, per the Canadian Press (via Sportsnet), adding the Raptors looked a "little wide-eyed" against LeBron James and company. 

However, Ujiri was clear to add that free agent and star point guard Kyle Lowry remains in the team's future plans.

"It’s our job to try and get Kyle to come back and do it the best way that we possibly can," he said. "We want him back, he has been a huge part of the success here."

While the Raptors won 51 games this season and advanced past an up-and-coming Milwaukee Bucks team in the postseason's opening round, the bitter taste of a sweep against the Cavaliers—especially after the Raptors took them to six games in last year's Eastern Conference Finals—is sure to linger.

"I sometimes feel like that wasn't our team that we saw out there," Ujiri said of the sweep. "We are going to hold everybody accountable because we need to. We need to figure it out."

The Raptors may find themselves with a different look in the 2017-18 season, culture change or not. Both Lowry and Serge Ibaka are hitting free agency and, for financial reasons, it's hard to imagine the team returning both players. 

As ESPN.com's Zach Lowe reported on Sunday: "What [the Raptors] won't do: Bring back this same group. Doing so would vault them at least $30 million over the luxury tax, for a total bill of something like $250 million. You don't pay that for a noncontender."

Bringing Lowry back will likely mean a max contract, which will cost the Raptors a five-year, $205 million deal. So changing the culture and building a championship contender around Lowry and DeMar DeRozan will take some creativity from Ujiri and his staff this offseason.