TORONTO - Its been just over two months since Masai Ujiri aggressively opened trade season in the NBA, pulling off a blockbuster seven-player deal with Sacramento, but the Raptors general manager opted to employ a different tactic Thursday afternoon, as the deadline came and went without much noise. Scott Laughton Flyers Jersey . "Its weird with the trade deadline," Ujiri said, shortly after 4pm et, one hour removed from the deadline itself. "We all get caught up in it, were working the phones and doing all kinds of stuff." "Nothing really significant got done but its always a tedious time because youre always trying to see what makes sense for your team, now and in the future." It wasnt for a lack of effort - Ujiri and company had contemplated a number of larger scale trade scenarios - but ultimately the Raptors core was left untouched, their roster kept intact, apart from a last minute tinker to the back end of the bench. "For us in our positions, its always tough to stand pat," the Raptors GM admitted. "There are things that are tempting and you do the exercise in your mind, on paper, you try to picture it [but] you dont know until its actually put in there and they begin to play." For Ujiri, the evaluation process has been muddled by his teams unexpected success since the Rudy Gay trade in December and the porous Eastern Conference in which theyve experienced said success. The result of that appraisal was somewhat inconclusive. Ujiri is still unsure what he has in the Easts surprising third seed but their recent play - and most importantly the chemistry theyve developed - has piqued his interest enough to buy them more time. "You pray and you hope for chemistry and I think we found it a little bit," he stressed. "We said we were going to give these players a platform and they would dictate where we go and to be fair, I think weve also tried to live up to our part of the bargain here and they have, too." Simply put, the right deal wasnt out there, not one that would satisfy Ujiris long-term goals while also maintaining what they have in place now. Ujiri is confident most of the discussion that has taken place over the last week can be revisited over the summer, if need be. At that point, he should have a greater idea of whats available but also how much his own assets are worth. One of those players, soon-to-be free agent point guard Kyle Lowry, has been the focus of trade speculation and will headline Ujiris offseason decision-making process. "Obviously, we didnt do anything with Kyle because we view him highly in this organization," Ujiri said of Lowry, who is averaging career-bests in points and assists this year. In Wednesday nights loss to the Bulls, Lowry knocked down his 129th three-pointer of the campaign, matching his career-high for threes made in a single season, with 28 games still left to play. Ujiri met with Lowrys agent, Andy Miller, on Wednesday, the eve of the deadline. Overall, the Raptors GM has been content with the communication on both sides and seemed enthusiastic about Lowrys progress and his future with the team. "We set some good [goals] and had good talks with him," said Ujiri. "He was upfront with us, we were upfront with him in the beginning of the season and hes living up to his part and I think weve lived up our part, too. I think thats how you build partnerships. Well see how he grows." It was a relatively quiet day league-wide. The most notable deal was leaked by Yahoo Sports shortly after the 3pm et deadline had passed with Indiana, the Easts best team, shipping often-injured former all-star Danny Granger to the rebuilding 76ers for a package that included breakout forward Evan Turner. The Raptors also made a late, albeit inconsequential move, trading seldom-used forward Austin Daye to San Antonio in exchange for French combo guard Nando De Colo. De Colo - averaging 4.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 26 games for the Spurs this season, his second in the NBA - is due to become a free agent this summer and doesnt figure to factor into Caseys rotation as long as his regulars stay healthy. Daye has appeared in just eight games for Toronto after signing with Raptors for the league minimum in the offseason. Often at the end of the bench, or one of Caseys inactives, Daye hasnt logged more than three minutes in a game since early December, coincidentally against the Spurs. "You never know when an opportunity will come," Daye said in conversation with TSN.ca last month. "I know I can play in this league. Its just a matter of a numbers game right now." "Its tough when you feel like theres no hope," he continued, "but you have to also look at it this way, you may not be playing, then youre thrown in a trade and then youre needed to play." With the trade deadline in the rear-view mirror and the uncertainty of Lowrys immediate future put behind them for the time being, the Raptors can focus all their attention on the stretch run. "[The deadline] does weigh on you, it weighs on everybody," Ujiri admitted. "Theres anxiety, people are wondering whats going to happen. Its gone, its gone and now everybody plays a little more free and they kind of figure at least were here for another few months or for the future. As tough as we all try to be, me included, the trade deadline is a date, I think, thats significant for everybody." Travis Konecny Flyers Jersey . Next up is another showdown with Michigan. Payne scored 18 points, Branden Dawson had 14 and No. 22 Michigan State beat No. 12 Wisconsin 83-75 on Saturday to reach the Big Ten tournament championship. Bobby Clarke Jersey . Inter moved five points behind fourth-place Fiorentina and eight points behind third-place Napoli, which visits relegation-threatened Sassuolo on Sunday. http://www.nhlflyersproauthentic.com/dave-schultz-hockey-jersey/ . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form.OKLAHOMA CITY - One week after surgery on his broken right hand, Russell Westbrook is upbeat about his recovery and trying to help his injury-riddled team find a way to survive without current NBA MVP Kevin Durant and himself on the court.Westbrook met with the media for the first time since suffering a small fracture early in the Thunders October 30th loss to the L.A. Clippers. He underwent surgery the following day, and is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks.For the three-time NBA All-Star, it was the fourth surgery in less than two years and another frustrating moment for one of the leagues most mercurial competitors.I missed a shot and tried to come back up and get a rebound and I hit my hand on Perks (teammate Kendrick Perkins) elbow. I knew I hurt something, I thought I dislocated my finger of something. I couldnt tell until I got the ball back when I ran back down the court and couldnt dribble, said Westbrook. I was already mad once I hit my hand because I knew it wasnt gonna be good, so I was instantly upset and frustrated. Obviously, I was ready to go and ready to help my team go out and get wins, especially since we were down some guys already. It was frustrating for me, but itll be alright. Ill get back to where I was at.Already hobbled by injuries to Durant and newcomer Anthony Morrow, the injury to Westbrook wasnt the end of the misfortune. Forward Perry Jones and guards Jeremy Lamb and Reggie Jackson have also missed games, while rookie forwards Mitch McGary and Grant Jarrett have yet to begin their NBA careers due to injuries. Bernie Parent Flyers Jersey. On most nights, the team has had only eight available players.The Thunder has been competitive in five of six games, but saw their record fall to 1-5 after a 91-89 home loss to Memphis Friday night. Oklahoma City has had to employ journeymen Sebastian Telfair and Lance Thomas in the starting lineup and recently picked up another well-travelled guard in Ish Smith.Coach Scott Brooks is trying to stay positive while waiting for the return of his superstars, which will likely not come until January. Until they can get back on the court, Brooks is trying to keep Westbrook and Durant involved in encouraging the players who are trying to hold down the fort.He and Kevin are incredible encouragers during games. They are cheering every possession and they get on guys during huddles when needed, Brooks said. Theyre involved, theyre engaged, they want to make an impact while theyre not playing and thats good to see.For his part, Westbrook is happy to play that part while he waits to return to the court.Just try to find a way that we can help guys. You dont wanna talk to nobody once you start the game because it gets annoying, Westbrook said. Youve got to find a way to get through to people even if it is off the floor, timeouts, whatever it is, just find a way to help the team out. ' ' '