Thirteen years ago, the Toronto Raptors were an afterthought, if they were thought of at all. The organization had missed the playoffs in nine of the previous 11 years. Then the franchise hired Masai Ujiri as its lead executive and things changed — the Raptors made smart decisions on players, built one of the best player development programs the league had seen, and turned itself into one of the top teams in the East led by beloved players such as Kyle Lowry, winning the franchise’s only title in 2019. Ujiri was at the heart of turning the franchise around and he became one of the most respected executives in the NBA. The franchise has reportedly quadrupled in value since he was put in charge of basketball operations.
Ujiri is now out as Vice Chairman and President of the Toronto Raptors, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) announced Friday, the day after the NBA draft. Ujiri was about to enter the final year of his contract.
The rest of the front office staff, including general manager Bobby Webster, remain in place, and the team will begin a search for a new president. It will be interesting to see who Toronto can bring into a job where the GM is already in place and just extended his contract, combined with the fact that MLSE has shrunk or eliminated the president role with other sports organizations it owns, such as the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, reports Josh Lewenberg of TSN.
Ujiri was born and raised in Nigeria and, with that, has been instrumental in the NBA’s growth on that continent and internationally, at one point serving as the director of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program. He has been actively involved in numerous charitable programs in Canada and internationally as well.
On the court, the Raptors struggled to a 30-52 record last season and have missed the playoffs three consecutive years. That said, they have rebuilt a roster that could well return the team to the postseason if healthy, led by Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and center Jakob Poeltl. Of that group, only Barrett played in 65+ games last season due to injuries.
If Ujiri wants to jump to another team immediately, there will be plenty of offers — teams have tried to poach him out of Toronto multiple times over the previous years, but he has remained loyal. Until the organization did not.
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