Shams: Bobby Promoted to "Final Decision Maker of Basketball (still GM) " update pg. 27

[Son Goku 25]

What are the chances Giannis agent gets him on the Raptors? Is that allowed? Aside from having a small chance he comes here what else has he accomplished?

[ATLTimekeeper]

What are the chances Giannis agent gets him on the Raptors? Is that allowed? Aside from having a small chance he comes here what else has he accomplished?

Well, he wouldn't be representing Giannis if he was President of the Raptors. Of course it would be allowed. Saratsis doesn't have a significant roster. He's not a power player in the NBA. He has two really big clients in Giannis and Bam and just a few others. He did merge with Octagon and does a lot of work in Europe.

Personally I think he has a lot of credibility and he is sort of like Masai was as a straight shooter with his clients. If it was the choice between that and losing Bobby/Dan, etc. I'd rather keep the latter.

[Jerry Lucas]

What are the chances Giannis agent gets him on the Raptors? Is that allowed? Aside from having a small chance he comes here what else has he accomplished?

Well, he wouldn't be representing Giannis if he was President of the Raptors. Of course it would be allowed. Saratsis doesn't have a significant roster. He's not a power player in the NBA. He has two really big clients in Giannis and Bam and just a few others. He did merge with Octagon and does a lot of work in Europe.

Personally I think he has a lot of credibility and he is sort of like Masai was as a straight shooter with his clients. If it was the choice between that and losing Bobby/Dan, etc. I'd rather keep the latter.

I don't remember where I saw this, but IIRC Saratsis views Masai as a mentor figure, and they've known each other since at least 2013 (I think they worked together on the Raptors' chase for Bruno), possibly even longer than that.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Will Lou said he heard MLSE has one name in mind, but doesn't know who. Wolstat said he heard it will be an agent. Grange said the new guy will be tasked with evaluating if Scottie is the guy to build around. Pelley said some garbage about it being a basketball guy and a business guy, but I think he probably meant an agent.

CAA isn't going to suggest Saratsis, though.

I refer back to the Bruce Arthur interview with Masai, where he implied the entire team outside of Jak and Scottie were transitional and that his players weren't smart enough to make Scottie look good. My opinion is that Masai was just too married and protective of Scottie. It was a Bargnani-Colangelo situation, but obviously Scottie is a lot better than Bargnani was. Watching Scottie take technical free throws over Gradey was a red line for me as slipping into clown franchise territory. And while I don't blame Scottie at all for playing to the 65 game threshold with a busted hand, it's obvious he did not buy in to the tank for the sake of the team's future.

So, the argument for Saratsis is that

1) he's a no b.s. guy
2) the Raptors currently have a little b.s. with Scottie as the franchise player
3) an outsider is more likely able to make that call than people that were heavily involved in the decision-making process
4) he has global networks, which is where the league is obviously heading, talent-wise
5) he plays the loyalty/integrity cards with his clients and that attracts winning clients.

The argument against is that:

1) No experience running a team
2) Small roster, hasn't had to do much for his major clients but get them paid what anyone would have paid them
3) Likely pushes out at least Bobby, so more uncertainty and continuity.
4) What I perceive as b.s. with Scottie might not be accurate or at the very least resolved by Scottie just maturing and improving on the court in addition to the Raptors trying to win games.
5) Masai had such an impact on the city, trying to replace him with any outsider is likely cooking the newcomer. The media already has knives out. They couldn't even tolerate Keith Pelley delivering an obvious turd sandwich handed to him by Ed.

[Jerry Lucas]

Will Lou said he heard MLSE has one name in mind, but doesn't know who. Wolstat said he heard it will be an agent. Grange said the new guy will be tasked with evaluating if Scottie is the guy to build around. Pelley said some garbage about it being a basketball guy and a business guy, but I think he probably meant an agent.

CAA isn't going to suggest Saratsis, though.

Do you think the CAA approved current/former agent name in mind could be Bob Myers?

[ATLTimekeeper]

Will Lou said he heard MLSE has one name in mind, but doesn't know who. Wolstat said he heard it will be an agent. Grange said the new guy will be tasked with evaluating if Scottie is the guy to build around. Pelley said some garbage about it being a basketball guy and a business guy, but I think he probably meant an agent.

CAA isn't going to suggest Saratsis, though.

Do you think the CAA approved current/former agent name in mind could be Bob Myers?

Could be, but I also think Myers can punch his ticket to a bigger/better market. Just looking at how MLSE/Rogers has run their teams lately, I think they don't value prestige executives. I don't think they'll chase a name. The CAA thing I think is just to service an actual search, which is sort of just doing business.

[WuTang_CMB]

https://www.tsn.ca/video/how-different-will-raptors-be-without-masai%7E3166456

[Zeno]

Imagine the agent they have in mind is Rich Paul. Lol

[Johnny Bball]

Might make sense to get a fresh person as the GM

Tolzman seesm the far more than natural choice. The guy's fingerprints are all over everything.

[WuTang_CMB]

Report:
I can confirm bobby wants the gig

[WuTang_CMB]

Good read from 2019

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1436139/2019/12/11/searching-for-bobby-webster-the-untold-story-of-how-one-of-the-nbas-youngest-gms-helped-the-toronto-raptors-win-a-title/

[Young Moosehead]

Oh, I agree. I am by no means defending Shapiro’s reign running the Jays. I just believe (understandably given the championship) that too many are hanging on to Masai as if he was some miracle worker, when the reality is that the Raptors’ management/direction has been average since ‘21.
So has the Jays’, but the perception is that the Jays are hopeless bottom-dwellers, when as Tacoma brought up, the Jays have been the better team these last few seasons.

The Raos have been rebuilding the last 2 years...of course the Jays have been better.

Masai is a victim of his own success. Top 8 best Rap winning % are all owned by Masai.

That leaves 4...one was the covid year.

That leaves 3...1.5 we were rebuilding.

That leaves 1.5 seasons what were "bad".

Not bad results for 12 years worth of work.

Agreed… and part of him being a victim of his own success is the likelihood that he wanted a new contract to be based on the glory days, which is what Rogers likely balked at.

But again, my point is that the Jays — as a reflection of Rogers’ ownership — has been better than people seem to believe.
Since taking over, Shapiro endured a three year rebuild (‘17-‘19) and has been over .500 for four of the next five seasons. Barring a collapse this season, that should be five of six.

So these frequent posts asking how Shapiro can keep his job but Masai can’t, aren’t looking at the numbers.
The Blue Jays have the 8th best record in all of baseball since 2020. In the top seven are two division rivals, making their regular season success more impressive and their lack of postseason appearances more explainable.

I don’t think Masai should have been let go, but to suggest Shapiro should be, is overlooking the results.

Maybe, but no matter how you cook the stats Masai was better.

I mean 8th best record for 5 years is good, but the Raptors with Masai had the 3rd best regular season and post season records in the NBA for a decade in the 2010s. During a time dominated by LeBron and GSW.

[Tha Cynic]

Whoever was the mastermind in charge with what has been put in place for drafting and development since Nurse was fired, needs to keep a very prominent role and continue to keep making those decisions. That’s how this team won a championship before and that’s how they’ll be very good in the future - and needs to make smart trades like we used to.

If that’s Bobby, sign me up. But if this person gets in the way of that, we’re probably screwed.

[WuTang_CMB]

Doug

“What are they going to do?”

When they’re told that the MLSE caretakers seem intent to hire a new president, the reaction is mixed. And more questions:

Why? What can they get that they didn’t have? Is it an organization worth working for? Would you be able to do the job?

Rest assured, there is interest in the job and there is opinion of whether it’ll be a good one.

“Sounds like they’re going to go cheap,” one front office executive said.

“Why don’t they just give the job to (Raptors GM) Bobby Webster?,” more than a few people wondered.

The overriding feeling of NBA types is that the unknown is a huge factor. Ujiri’s departure caught the vast majority of the league unaware and, judging by what’s gone on here during the first few days of the Summer League, they are still processing the news.

[Dalek]

I am glad they are thinking about an agent for the role. Obviously Bob Myers would be a huge talent to bring to Toronto, but it feels too flashy and pricey a move especially after Masai - why spend a similar amount to bring in Myers?

I just think we need a good critical eye and a person who can have a clear vision for the team. I think one of the top agents currently is Austin Brown. I mentioned him before:

Austin Brown (contracts represents about $438,031,281)
Agency Name: CAA Sports

Notable Clients: Trae Young ($43,031,940), Zion Williamson ($36,725,670), OG Anunoby ($36,637,932), Donovan Mitchell ($35,410,310), Jordan Poole ($29,651,786), Nicolas Claxton ($27,556,817), Jaren Jackson Jr ($25,257,798), Kyle Kuzma ($23,522,727), Malcolm Brogdon ($22,500,000), Myles Turner ($19,928,500)

-played college ball
-was a lawyer
-was an investment banker
-became an agent with CAA

He's a great talker, understands both the business and sport aspects well.

Watch on YouTube

;t=122s&ab_channel=EvanstonRoundTable

Hawks had also looked at him recently:

Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported on Friday that the Hawks owner Tony Ressler was highly intrigued by the possibility of adding an “established” player agent to run Atlanta’s front office.

With that in mind, CAA’s Austin Brown has emerged as a candidate for a “top executive role” with the Hawks, sources tell Grant Afseth of RG.org.

Brown, the co-head of CAA’s basketball division, is one of the most powerful agents in the NBA. The Evanston, Illinois native played college basketball at DePauw in Indiana before becoming an investment banker with J.P Morgan and then attending law school, he said in an interview in 2022.

As Afseth writes, Brown’s client list includes Hawks guards Trae Young and Caris LeVert. He also represents Donovan Mitchell, Jaren Jackson Jr., OG Anunoby, and Myles Turner in addition to several other noteworthy current and former players, per RealGM.

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2025/05/hawks-interested-in-caas-austin-brown-for-front-office-job.html

[OakleyDokely]

Lets hire SGA's dad as President. His brother can be a coach.

[WuTang_CMB]

This player agent thing is stupid imo.

The goal is to find the right person who is a team builder, has experience in the front office on how to build teams and someone who understands our market / knows that drafting and developing is the core of our organization - something that masai put in a long time ago and has executed on it many times. Bobby has lived through this since day 1. No one better qualified unless sam presti is walking through which he isnt.

If that putz pelley doesnt elevate bobby and puts someone who isnt qualified and just a name, then this front office will be dismantled. Bobby will leave as he should or this person will choose his own people. Either scenario is likely

Just elevate bobby. I emailed keith in support. If u guys want his email dm me.

[pharring]

This player agent thing is stupid imo.

The goal is to find the right person who is a team builder, has experience in the front office on how to build teams and someone who understands our market / knows that drafting and developing is the core of our organization - something that masai put in a long time ago and has executed on it many times. Bobby has lived through this since day 1. No one better qualified unless sam presti is walking through which he isnt.

If that putz pelley doesnt elevate bobby and puts someone who isnt qualified and just a name, then this front office will be dismantled. Bobby will leave as he should or this person will choose his own people. Either scenario is likely

Just elevate bobby. I emailed keith in support. If u guys want his email dm me.

I'm also against a player agent coming in and cleaning house. We have a good thing going. We are not in need of a full FO reset.

That said, I'm not opposed to a figurehead President that can act as a "closer" for deals (contracts, FAs or trades). Bobby and Dan run the show. President smiles, shakes hands, and knows players personally. For that, I think you need a former player.

But my preference is Bobby as President with Dan either taking the GM chair or someone else close to Bobby coming in for GM with Dan keeping his current position.

[WuTang_CMB]

he NBA board of governors meets here Tuesday and there might be an empty seat at the table. Larry Tanenbaum will be in his usual spot as the chairman of the board and the Raptors governor but the alternate governor was Ujiri. He won’t be there, of course. Who replaces him as Toronto’s second representative isn’t a huge deal but a couple of league people I talked to here are wondering just who will assume the job …

The Raptors are on the road again later this summer, planning a team retreat to Spain, like they had last summer after the Paris Olympics. It was bonding, hangout, practice camp that seemed to foster all kinds of good chemistry last season …

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

No one has any idea of how the process of replacing Ujiri will unfold but it was amusing to look up at the seating section of the Cox Pavilion reserved for team executives and seeing Brampton’s Marc Eversley, the current general manager of the Chicago Bulls, sitting a few rows ahead of Dwane Casey, now a senior adviser in the front office of the Detroit Pistons. Both of them will be heavily linked to whatever process MLSE ends up putting in place to fill the president’s job …

The Raptors were quite happy to draft Collin Murray-Boyles ninth in last month’s draft and, after having a close-up look at someone touted as a possibility, they were even happier. Noa Essengue (mea culpa here) is like a twig and maybe he becomes an NBA player but that day is a few years away until he gets some bulk on his frame …

How good a team would you have if you sign these still unemployed ex-Raptors still looking for jobs: Delano Banton, Cory Joseph, Delon Wright, Precious Achiuwa and Chris Boucher? And how many of them will have roster spots on opening night?

[Dalek]

This player agent thing is stupid imo.

The goal is to find the right person who is a team builder, has experience in the front office on how to build teams and someone who understands our market / knows that drafting and developing is the core of our organization - something that masai put in a long time ago and has executed on it many times. Bobby has lived through this since day 1. No one better qualified unless sam presti is walking through which he isnt.

If that putz pelley doesnt elevate bobby and puts someone who isnt qualified and just a name, then this front office will be dismantled. Bobby will leave as he should or this person will choose his own people. Either scenario is likely

Just elevate bobby. I emailed keith in support. If u guys want his email dm me.

I think this process should give some outside opinion on the franchise that is needed. Even if they don't hire a former agent, they can at least provide a perspective of how the organization is perceived. We gave full control to Masai and let him build the organization the way he wanted. It worked for several years, but as a team that is near the first apron, and hasn't had a winning season in two years, it is time to get some perspective.

Does this team build around Scottie Barnes? Does this core even make sense?