Masai

Ujiri

Ujiri spent the last 12 years with Toronto, highlighted by the franchise’s first and only title in 2019. With the members of that title team scattered to the win and a new young core in place, the organization will move in a different direction. Ujiri’s success in Toronto should position him well to land another gig, though it’s unclear who the Raptors will bring in to replace him.

Bledsoe is “almost certain” to be bought out by the Blazers according to Hollinger, and once he is bought out, he could be a target for the Raptors this offseason. Delon Wright is also a name that could make sense for Toronto as he spent four seasons with the Raptors from 2015 to 2019. They will also likely take a swing at Tyus Jones and Ricky Rubio, but it is unlikely that Toronto will be able to afford either of those guys. Either way it goes, the Raptors desperately need a point guard to help relieve some of the load off of Fred VanVleet.

Ujiri, who has been in Toronto since 2013, remains the team’s top basketball executive. With his contract set to expire soon there was no lack of interest in Ujiri from other franchises, whether it be in the NBA or elsewhere. His deciding to remain in Toronto means that the front office pecking order is unchanged as the Raptors begin life without Kyle Lowry.

The top five will be rounded out by the Orlando Magic and followed by Oklahoma City, Golden State, Orlando, Sacramento, New Orleans, Charlotte, San Antonio, Indiana, and Golden State again at 14. Orlando ends up with two top-10 picks with numbers five and eight, via the Nikola Vucevic trade with Chicago, who ended up without a lottery pick. Minnesota also ended up without a lottery pick as their pick fell outside of the top three, meaning their pick went to Golden State, who will now pick 7th and 14th in this year’s draft. Toronto was able to move all the way up into the top-four of this draft, and though it is still unclear if the Raptors will bring back GM Masai Ujiri, the fourth pick in the draft will certainly provide some optimism heading into 2021-22.

“What are we doing to put ourselves in conversation with all the great teams, and all the winners?” he asked. “That’s the conversation I’m going to have [with ownership.] Yes, I’m going to have asks, I’m going to have a lot of things that I think we need to put forward here to address these things, and I think ownership is open to hear this.” Ujiri was the architect behind Toronto’s championship team in 2018-19, but the team has backslid since then and didn’t even make the play-in after tanking late this season.

The Raptors played their ‘home’ games in Tampa this season due to COVID regulations, a situation the team is keen to avoid in 2021-22. “We have been incredibly disadvantaged from [the relocation to Tampa]. The displacement did not work out well,” Ujiri said. He also added that although the Raptors haven’t received clearance to resume playing in Canada, he’s optimistic that the government will grant them clearance.

There was some hope that the team would be able to return to Toronto at some point this season, but that will not be the case. Canada still has strict travel rules in place due to COVID-19, which would have made it very difficult for the Raptors as the NBA’s only team not based in the United States.

Ujiri, who has one year left on his deal, has an amazing reputation around the league and would be instantly pursued by several teams if he became available. Tanenbaum said that an extension will likely get done right after he extends GM Bobby Webster. “We have time and we’re going to work through the process in the right time and the right way, I know that for sure,” Tanenbaum said.

Ujiri, who built the team that won the Raptors’ first NBA title last season, has one year remaining on his current contract. But he hasn’t begun talks of a possible extension with ownership, saying that for now he’s focused on taking care of his leadership team. Nick Nurse, who won NBA Coach of the Year honors, recently agreed to an extension. While Ujiri’s status will certainly raise some eyebrows given his credentials, the man himself did not sound too concerned on Thursday. “When that time comes, I will deal with it,” Ujiri said.

“I love it here. My family loves it here. My wife loves it here, which is very important,” said Ujiri. “My kids are Canadians. You want to win more... In my mind, I’m here.” The Wizards reportedly had some interest in trying to lure Ujiri away from Toronto, but he’s not biting, and will now focus on trying to retain Kawhi Leonard.