The NBA offseason is a time for rumors and official denials. The Washington Wizards were reportedly going after Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri to run the franchise. The reported talks with Ujiri centered around a role that could have expanded his influence beyond the Wizards. Monumental Sports owns the Washington Capitals and Mystics in addition to the NBA franchise.
Now Wizards owner Ted Leonsis is denying that they have pursued the Raptors president. Speaking to the Washington Post this week, Leonsis said that they will not name a new president until after the 2019 NBA draft on Thursday. That seems like an odd decision given that the draft is one of three ways NBA teams can get better, and likely is the only way the Wizards will be able to improve their roster thanks to the cap hell they find themselves in due to John Wall’s massive super max contract.
Via the Washington Post:On Tuesday, Leonsis released a statement to The Washington Post in which he shared the plan to take his time in forming the franchise’s new leadership team. Leonsis also denied reports that the Wizards pursued Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri, who constructed the roster that last week won the NBA Finals.
Tommy Sheppard, who has led the Wizards’ basketball operations on an interim basis for the past 11 weeks, will continue in the role through Thursday’s NBA draft and the start of free agency, which arrives June 30.
“I am very happy with the work and preparation Tommy Sheppard, Coach [Scott] Brooks and our staff have done and I’m confident we’ll execute both the draft and free agency in an expert manner,” Leonsis said in a statement. “Having that confidence has given me the freedom to continue the conversations I’ve been having on how to build a great organization and, as a result, I don’t expect to make any decisions before the start of free agency.”
This comes with information from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that the Raptors would require significant compensation to allow Ujiri to walk to another NBA team.
Ujiri is still under contract with Toronto.
Via The Hoop Collective:
Ujiri took a big risk to land Kawhi Leonard and it worked out. The former San Antonio Spurs small forward is now trying to decide where he wants to go this offseason as well, with reports saying he is still strongly considering the Los Angeles Clippers.
Marc Stein mentioned in his most recent newsletter that Leonard could also sign a 1+1 deal that gives him a $33 million payout for this upcoming season and an option for the next.
In short, everything is up in the air and nobody has gone anywhere... yet. The NBA offseason is already wild with July still some weeks away. Strap yourself in, it’s only going to get weirder from here.