Masai Ujiri gave Dwane Casey and DeMar DeRozan credit for their role in the Toronto Raptors' run to the NBA Finals.

Ujiri fired Casey after the Raptors lost to the Cavs in the playoffs for the 3rd straight year. He then traded DeRozan in July.

Ujiri said he knew the team had to make a change after last season.

"It's surreal, but when you put the team together and we all dream of a championship, we all think about that, and I think the change was hard at the time, but we knew the kind of player we were getting, and if we overcame and we dealt with all the issues that we felt we could come together," said Ujiri.

He then added that the two former Raptors are part of this season's journey.

"Give Dwane Casey credit. He prepared us for this, too. It's not something that started in one year ... I want to say Dwane Casey and DeMar DeRozan are part of this. They are part of our journey and how far this has come."