Masai Ujiri tears up when talking about Pascal Siakam / News - Basketnews.com

Masai Ujiri bids farewell to Pascal Siakam in an emotional press conference: "That guy's success is my success no matter where he is."

Credit: AP - Scanpix Credit AP - Scanpix

Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri became emotional before gathering himself to discuss the departure of Pascal Siakam, who was traded to the Indiana Pacers in a three-team deal.

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In his eight-season tenure with the Raptors, Siakam achieved an NBA title, two NBA All-Star nominations, two All-NBA teams, and a Most Improved Player award, solidifying his status as one of the franchise's greats.

Ujiri, a British-born Nigerian-Canadian executive, shared a personal connection with the Cameroonian power forward.

"Two African guys that won a championship. I share that with him," Ujiri said of Siakam at Thursday's conference.

"A lot of people don't know that when Pascal came to Basketball Without Borders in South Africa, he had been admitted to pastoral school in Cameroon and only came to Basketball Without Borders to see his sister, who lives in South Africa. ... Again, I say to you guys, that guy's success is my success no matter where he is.

"When you look at a guy that has that kind of impact, that kind of capacity, in our league, it's something, that's just who he is," Ujiri went on to say. "That guy worked harder than everybody, came to practice before everybody, left after everybody. No excuses. He played every freaking game."

Leading the organization since 2013 and serving as the key architect behind the 2019 NBA Championship-winning team, it's no small feat for Ujiri to trade away many players who have defined his executive career.

"You think that's easy for me? It's not easy. It's not easy," Ujiri noted. "And I'm a tough motherf*****. Honestly, the human part of this business is tough.

"My wife and my kids see me suffer. My son texted me and said, 'You traded OG [Anunoby]?' It's tough, it's really tough.

"Trading a player and when a player leaves is the most difficult thing. Fred [VanVleet] said it. When he was asked, 'What was the most difficult thing?' He said it was the call he made to me. I remember that call. It's the most difficult thing in this business."

Lastly, responding to a question about his management style, Ujiri rejected the notion of being colder, stating, "Colder than I am now? I mean, goddamn. I don't know if it gets any colder, man."

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