Masai Ujiri Intends to Stay With Toronto Raptors
By Kevin Gamgort
It looks like Toronto Raptors’ president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is staying put.
A little over a week ago, it was reported that the Washington Wizards intended to give Ujiri a prolific offer to take over as their president of basketball operations. Although the offer was rumored to upwards of $10 million annually, it appears that it wasn’t enough to lure Ujiri from Toronto.
At today’s end of the year press conference, Ujiri confirmed that he is happy in Toronto and intends to stay.
Masai says he plans to stick around. “For me, it’s always been about Toronto. I love it here. … My wife loves it here, which is very important. My kids are Canadian.”
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) June 25, 2019
Says other teams wanting him is blessing, but blessing for him is being wanted in Toronto and being happy here
He sure doesn’t sound like a man who intends to depart for another country, but it’s worth noting that after winning NBA Executive of the Year in 2013 with the Denver Nuggets, Ujiri left to sign a larger, long-term deal with the Toronto Raptors. Although the offer from the Wizards is financially enticing, Ujiri sounds pretty firm in his conviction that he intends to remain with the 2019 NBA Champion Toronto Raptors.
Given the Wizards have one of the worst overall situations in the league outside of Bradley Beal, it’s hard to blame Ujiri. He took the biggest risk of his career and hit a home run, is adored by the legions of Raptors fans, and has a championship ring on his finger. It would be pretty tough to abdicate his role after a year like this one.