Kristian Winfield: Masai Ujiri on Raptors coaching search: “It’s a tough place because you have to find that balance. But you can’t always think of the team now, you also have to think of the future.. You have think of the vision as a whole.”
Storyline: Raptors Front Office
52 rumors in this storyline
More Rumors in this Storyline
Kristian Winfield: Ujiri on what 2nd round sweep identified about the Raptors: “It really shows how hard it is to win in the NBA. … These players have to continue to grow and develop. What’s their ceiling? How can DeMar DeRozan make that next jump? … This is the challenge.”
Kristian Winfield: Masai Ujiri on assessing the Raptors season: “The assessment is not just four years. It’s the past 5 years, and where do we go from here?”
After the dismissal of highly successful coach Dwane Casey, Toronto is selling the returning core of a 59-win Eastern Conference No. 1 seed, a past NBA Executive of the Year in Masai Ujiri and a streamlined ownership group with immense resources and a willingness to spend. Milwaukee is selling a transcendent young star in Giannis Antetokounmpo, a solid supporting cast and the opening of a new downtown arena next season.
What do they do about it, besides throwing all of the blame at the feet of the head coach, which is what is coming down the pike? Despite the best regular season in franchise history, sources and league scuttlebutt indicate Dwane Casey will wear this. Masai Ujiri has built a roster that isn’t conducive to being moved for value, promising youngsters aside. Upgrading will be difficult given cap constraints. You can’t fire the players, but …
When Ujiri was finally able to take some time and evaluate what went wrong and how to best move forward, he looked beyond personnel. He spent most of May reviewing the team’s day-to-day procedures – how they practised, trained, travelled and interacted with one another – and asked himself: Can we do this better? “The culture change is about the whole organization,” Casey, who worked closely with Ujiri to reinvent the team’s philosophy over the summer, said last week. “It’s not about offense and defense. Believe me, when he mentioned that, it was about all of us. Everything we do. From scouting, training, how we go about our day in the front office, it’s included in that.”
It’s not often that DeMar DeRozan seals a victory for his head coach by missing a game-tying shot, but that’s what happened Sunday, Feb. 18th, at the NBA All-Star Game. Dwane Casey, courtesy of Toronto holding the East’s best record, coached Team LeBron to victory, mere weeks after winning his 300th career game with the Raptors. “It was fitting,” Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said in an interview with SB Nation. “With all the things he’d done for the franchise, for him to be able to have a moment on a national stage, in L.A. and at the all-star game, and the team wins. He deserves it.”
Last season, after enduring another sweep, this time at the hands of the Cavaliers, Masai Ujiri infamously announced the Raptors needed a “culture reset.” It read like the final nail in the coffin for Casey’s tenure in Toronto. Bobby Webster has an alternative explanation. “We felt like we were better than a 4-0 sweep,” Webster said. “It was really just Masai’s challenge to all of us. Let’s take a look at what we’ve done, and let’s be proud of how we’ve gotten here, but if we really wanna be a championship contending team, we need to make some changes.”
In the days following that low point, the Raptors’ internal braintrust burned the midnight oil to put Ujiri’s “culture reset” into action. When Webster and Ujiri asked Casey what he saw, they were, in Webster’s words, “exactly on the same page.” The league was passing the Raptors’ plodding, isolation style by. And so the mandate was born: more ball movement, more spacing, more running, and an increased focus on developing their young talent. “[Culture reset] suggests that change is coming. But that doesn’t mean you have to change personnel,” Webster said. “People can change.”
Related: the 31-14 Raptors they are just 2-4 in games decided by three points or less. Would some more knock down three-point shooting around DeRozan help come clutch time? With the trade deadline coming into view it would seem that the Raptors would be wise to comb the rosters of teams that are likely punting on the playoffs in a search for additional shooting if they’re going to shoot as much as they do from three. But it’s not a turnkey solution and the organizational philosophy seems to be to look beyond a short-term fix in favour of longer-term, internal development.
DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry knew this season would be different the day after the Toronto Raptors’ latest ignominious postseason departure — a second-round sweep to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers that prompted team president Masai Ujiri to say the organization needed a “culture reset.” The Raptors’ All-Star duo and potential buddy-cop movie tandem didn’t exactly know what that meant nor to what extent. “He said we needed a culture change, and I didn’t know if I was a part of that culture change or not,” Lowry, who was entering free agency last summer, told Yahoo Sports. “I wanted to be here, but you never know. You’re kind of like, ‘[Expletive]!’ ”
Make no mistake, though—this is all by design, part of the “culture reset” that GM Masai Ujiri insisted upon after the Raptors were clubbed by the Cavs in a four-game second-round sweep in last year’s playoffs, and that Coach Dwane Casey has implemented, seemingly seamlessly; after a middling start, Toronto has roared toward the top of the East standings. All the attention has been on the Celtics, but the Raptors are just a game behind them in the loss column, in second place in the East with a very favorable schedule in front of them. And they’ve done it with an emphasis on ball movement and threes that has improved what was already a pretty potent offense.
It might not sound like a novel approach — by now, nearly all of the league’s top teams live by these principles — but the Raptors had been one of the few holdouts. After a string of postseason disappointments, it was time to try something new. It was time to join the modern N.B.A. “The game is changing,” Coach Dwane Casey said. “It’s a 3-point and scoring game. You have to be able to score.”
Change, in other words, would need to come from within. Enter Nick Nurse, a 50-year-old assistant coach who was charged with shaking up the offense. After a recent practice, Nurse was explaining the general importance of passing the basketball when he motioned to Jonas Valanciunas, the team’s starting center. Valanciunas, Nurse said, was no longer tethered to the low post. “This guy loves it,” Nurse said. “He’s touching the ball a lot more.” He added: “I think for a lot of the roster, it’s a lot of fun. It might not be as much fun for the guys who aren’t quite used to it yet.”
Luke Winn: Some news I’m excited about: After 15 years at @SINow, I’ve left to join the Toronto Raptors’ front office as Director of Prospect Strategy.
LeBron James has ruled the East for seven straight springs – and will still be favored to make it eight, regardless of how the Irving saga ends. Kyle Lowry expressed the helplessness of the conference’s other 14 teams while the Cavaliers were in the midst of their second-round sweep of Toronto when he stated, “nobody is closing the gap on him.” DeMar DeRozan said after the series that the Raptors would’ve won – if they had James. Ujiri is approaching the challenge from another perspective. “Our job is to beat him,” Ujiri recently told The Vertical. “You have to figure it out. If not, then go play in some other league or something. Go play in Greece. Our jobs, and the jobs of the players, [are] to figure out how to beat those guys. If not, you might as well give them the championship before it starts. I understand how good he is and I understand how good those teams are, but those things end. At some point, somewhere, somehow, we as leaders of our group, we have to figure out a way and motivate our players and give them the confidence to go out there and compete.”
“To me, sports is all about expectations. You play to win. Nobody should be afraid of it. If you are expected to win, win. It’s that simple. The people that believe in it, that are expected to win, we must win,” Ujiri told The Vertical. “I think we gave ourselves a two-, three-year window, but I think a couple of teams decided to go the other way. I know people say the East is bad, but every NBA team is good. Even the teams that are rebuilding, that’s a game every night. We lost a bunch of games last year to teams that supposedly you’re supposed to beat. Everybody thinks that the East is going to be weaker. I think it’s because of the teams rebuilding.”
Do you worry about Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri departing for the New York Knicks? DeRozan: I don’t worry about that. I think [he stays]. I look at it like, if I’m New York who is the next best guy you could go after? It’s Masai. Why wouldn’t they want to target him? I don’t look at it like it’s a bad thing. Masai has that reputation because he is great at what he does. That organization wants to be great so they can feel like they can compete. So, what is the first thing you do? You go look for the next great person.
In addition, the team is not expected to ask for permission to speak with Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri, sources told Shelburne.
Dolan’s interest in Toronto executive Masai Ujiri is real, not to mention the preferred choice of the folks inside the NBA’s league offices who want nothing more than this Knicks machine to run smoothly one day. There’s already a built-in connection as well: Tim Leiweke, the former CEO of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment group who hired Ujiri as Toronto’s general manager in 2013, is serving as a Knicks consultant. He’s the CEO of the sports and entertainment consulting firm, the Oak View Group, as well as a partner of Irving Azoff, the longtime friend of Dolan’s who played a significant role in bringing Jackson to the Knicks.
Doug Smith: And in other Raptors news, long expected promotion of Bobby Webster to general manager is a done deal, the inimitable sources say
Ryan Wolstat: Raptors announce Bobby Webster is GM, Dan Tolzman assistant GM/vp player personnel, analytics guru Keith Boyarsky is VP hoops strategy
Knicks interested in Masai Ujiri
Adrian Wojnarowski: Knicks owner James Dolan is targeting Toronto’s Masai Ujiri to replace Phil Jackson as N.Y.’s President, league sources tell @TheVertical.
Josh Lewenberg: Raptors are expected to announce Bobby Webster (formerly asst GM) as new GM this week. Will replace Jeff Weltman under President Masai Ujiri
Josh Lewenberg: Raptors are expected to announce Bobby Webster (formerly asst GM) as new GM this week. Will replace Jeff Weltman under President Masai Ujiri
The Toronto Raptors have begun their search to replace general manager Jeff Weltman, who left to run the Orlando Magic. “We will look in-house first, then figure it out from there,” Raptors president Masai Ujiri told Amico Hoops.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Sources: Orlando will send Toronto a 2018 second-round draft pick as compensation for hiring away new president Jeff Weltman.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Sources: As compensation for Weltman hire, Orlando will send Toronto the least favorable of the two second-round picks it controls in 2018.
Toronto president Masai Ujiri is working to replace Weltman as Raptors general manager, with assistant GM Bobby Webster a strong candidate to be promoted into the vacancy, league sources said.
The Orlando Magic have hired Toronto Raptors general manager Jeff Weltman as the franchise’s president of basketball operations, league sources told The Vertical. Weltman met with Orlando CEO Alex Martins and ownership on Monday, finalizing a five-year deal, league sources said.
Orlando officials had been intrigued with Cleveland GM David Griffin, but moved steadily toward Weltman as they became further engaged with his candidacy in recent weeks, league sources said. Weltman has been deeply involved in every aspect of the Raptors’ front office under president Masai Ujiri as Toronto became a perennial Eastern Conference contender.
Ryan Wolstat: Teams have also been chasing Bobby Webster for some time. This could open door to Raptors elevating him to GM spot (Masai still in charge)
Adrian Wojnarowski: Toronto GM Jeff Weltman has agreed to a deal to become the Orlando Magic’s President of Basketball Operations, sources tell @The Vertical.
Sources told ESPN.com that the Magic have interest in Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond, Toronto Raptors general manager Jeff Weltman and former Minnesota Timberwolves president and Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale.
And when I told Don Nelson – my roommate in Boston – that he was going to take over, he said “I’m not ready to coach.” I told him, “Nellie, you’re the coach. So let’s go for it.” He grew with the team and became obviously a Hall of Fame coach. That’s the reward, when you make decisions like that and they turn out well. That’s the pleasure I get now in an advisory capacity with Toronto. I tell the team when I speak to them before the season, my greatest joy is seeing others succeed.
Raptors president Masai Ujiri joined Prime Time Sports on Thursday and revealed that opposing teams have been making inquiries regarding possible deals. “We were busy last week,” Ujiri told Bob McCown and Damien Cox. “There were tons of calls because of the Kyle Korver trade and everybody thought there was another domino coming. There are plenty of calls. That’s the way the NBA works and then all of a sudden it goes quiet.”
With Toronto already boasting one of the best records in the league, Ujiri stressed he and his staff would not settle for a bad deal. If the right trade doesn’t present itself, the Raptors will not force anything just for the sake of making a move. “We find ourselves in a special place, which is second in the East,” Ujiri said. “There is a window with Kyle Lowry, DeMar [DeRozan] and DeMarre [Carroll] with those kind of guys in their prime and we will take advantage. But we’re not making bad deals. It doesn’t help business, it doesn’t help your future. Trust me, if a deal is not made just know there was nothing on the table for us that would really enhance our team.”
Masai Ujiri gets contract extension
The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have signed President Masai Ujiri to a multi-year contract extension and promoted Jeff Weltman to general manager and Bobby Webster to assistant general manager/vice-president basketball strategy. Ujiri will continue to oversee basketball operations as president of the club. “I am grateful to the Board and Mr. Tanenbaum for the opportunity to continue our progress to build the Raptors into one of the top franchises in the NBA,” said Ujiri. “I’m also excited that Jeff and Bobby are being rewarded for their hard work and valuable contributions to our program. My family thanks the NBA, Raptors players and coaches, staff, Raptors fans, the city of Toronto and Canada for this opportunity. Toronto is home for us.”
Extension coming for Masai Ujiri?
The Toronto Raptors and team president Masai Ujiri are in advanced negotiations on a contract extension, according to league sources.
Sources said that the Raptors and Ujiri are nearing agreement on a lucrative new deal that will keep the 46-year-old in Canada for the foreseeable future, even though he still has nearly two years left on the original five-year, $15 million pact he signed with Toronto in May 2013.
Josh Lewenberg: Casey/Masai asked for an update on the staff Masai: “His staff or my staff?” Casey: “They’re trying to steal people from his staff too”
There’s no guarantees many of his assistants will return with him. Andy Greer, Rex Kalamian and Nick Nurse have all had their names in the rumour mill. Exec Bobby Webster is in demand as well.
May 20, 2018 | 6:58 pm EDT Update
If Luka Doncic isn’t taken No. 1 overall then there’s a chance he’ll fall a few picks. According to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, the Kings and Hawks, owners of the No. 2 and 3 overall picks respectively, are expected to target American frontcourt players.
In the official press conference after winning the EuroLeague title and the MVP award with Real Madrid, Doncic was asked if he is about to continue the legacy of ex-Yugoslavian players in the NBA. “I will decide soon, but now I am focused on celebrating”, he said with a smile, avoiding the question. “When the time comes about the NBA I will decide”.
As the Jazz roster languishes in the very beginning of construction for next season, Sefolosha probably holds the most wide-ranging of situations. Depending on moves made over the summer, one can make a reasonable argument for him being Utah’s starting power forward when training camp starts. There’s a reasonable scenario where Sefolosha isn’t brought back at all.
“There’s definitely a little uncertainty,” Sefolosha said. “Nothing is written in stone. Obviously, the injury (Sefolosha missed the second half of the season after knee surgery following an MCL injury) is something that I couldn’t control. But I would love to come back and have a full season. Utah is a fit for me.”
Sources tell The Tribune that the Jazz value Sefolosha’s locker room presence and leadership off the floor. Indeed, Sefolosha was able to make an instant impact on the likes of Donovan Mitchell and Royce O’Neale.
