Ujiri bid emotional farewell to Pascal Siakam-Thankful message from Trudeau as well

After eight years and one championship o Pascal Siakam left Toronto in a trade for the Indiana Pacers, with Masai Ujiri and Justin Trudeau publicly addressing a press conference and X respectively for the Cameroonian.

“Two Africans who won a championship. This is what I share with him. This man’s success is my success wherever he issaid the emotionally charged Raptors president who shares a deep personal connection with the 29-year-old power forward.

“To trade a player and when a player leaves is the most difficult thing. Fred Van Vleet said so. I remember that call in the summer. It’s the hardest thing about this jobUjiri commented with Siakam being the last player to play with the team in the finals that won their first championship in 2019. The only one left since then is Chris Buscher, who didn’t see any minutes at all back then.

Here’s the full three minute answer of #Raptors president Masai Ujiri being asked if it would benefit him to be colder in terms of management.

“Colder than I am now? I mean, goddamn.”

Touched on DeRozan trade, losing VanVleet, firing Casey & Nurse: pic.twitter.com/JhDS3p7JWq

— Adam Laskaris (@adam_la2karis) January 18, 2024

The Cameroonian was also greeted by Justin Trudeau. “Thank you Pascal Siakam. It’s sad to see one of my favorite Raptors go, but we’re grateful for what you did for the team, the fans and the sport. Good luck, Spicy P!» wrote the Prime Minister of Canada in X.

Thank you, @pskills43. It’s sad to see one of my favorite Raptors go, but we’re grateful for what you’ve done – for the team, for the fans, and for the sport. Best of luck, Spicy P! ??? https://t.co/5mbL72tGIo

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 18, 2024