[Shams] Masai Ujiri is out as Vice Chairman and President of the Toronto Raptors

[disoblige]

Money wasn’t the main issue. Rogers just never liked him.

We were 2 years removed from a championship and there was already heavy lobbying by Ed Rogers to not offer him a new contract in 2021.

He disliked Masai being bigger than MLSE when it came to the Raptors. He disliked Masai’s off the court political ties. As soon as Ed Rogers got his power of majority ownership last month, Masai immediately knew his days was numbered. Hence him asking if he could stay for the draft cycle at the start of the month.

Both things can be true, Masai did a horrible job over the last 3 years but at the same time Ed Rogers was never going to extend him after this current contract ran out. Whether he did an amazing job or not.

It is most likely BOTH. I read a long article about it 3-4 years ago. I remember Rogers even stated Ujiri was overpaid.

October 25, 2021- The sources said some time after the meeting, Rogers called Ujiri and told him he wasn’t worth the money he was being paid. The NBA source said the call left Ujiri feeling so angry and disrespected by Rogers that he considered taking a year off as president of the Raptors

https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/report-raptors-co-owner-called-masai-ujiri-badmouthed-him-during-contract-negotiation

[HumbleRen]

Money wasn’t the main issue. Rogers just never liked him.

We were 2 years removed from a championship and there was already heavy lobbying by Ed Rogers to not offer him a new contract in 2021.

He disliked Masai being bigger than MLSE when it came to the Raptors. He disliked Masai’s off the court political ties. As soon as Ed Rogers got his power of majority ownership last month, Masai immediately knew his days was numbered. Hence him asking if he could stay for the draft cycle at the start of the month.

Both things can be true, Masai did a horrible job over the last 3 years but at the same time Ed Rogers was never going to extend him after this current contract ran out. Whether he did an amazing job or not.

It is most likely BOTH. I read a long article about it 3-4 years ago. I remember he even stated he was overpaid.

The sources said some time after the meeting, Rogers called Ujiri and told him he wasn’t worth the money he was being paid. The NBA source said the call left Ujiri feeling so angry and disrespected by Rogers that he considered taking a year off as president of the Raptors

https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/report-raptors-co-owner-called-masai-ujiri-badmouthed-him-during-contract-negotiation

Meh, it’s an excuse in my opinion.

Boucher gets paid 15M to sit on the bench. Masai helped the Raptors become a global team while overseeing a nearly 5X the revenue increase since he got the job. It’s not about the money. He just doesn’t like him as a human being. Masai got along with Larry T, Bell and Theresa. Not Rogers.
Once they started selling their stocks and Rogers started to get majority power, it was only a matter of when not if Masai will get fired.

[Dennis 37]

Before this thread is locked. I would like to confess, I didn't really want Masai fired.

I wanted Masai to be demoted to the GM role to handle the grind of all Raptors transactions like back 2013-2019. The demotion would act as a public admission of him not doing his job 2021-2024, and would ensure Masai can bring back his magic touch doing the GM job. I wanted Dan Tolzman be given more responsibilities. Finally, I wanted Bobby to be demoted to head of marketing.

Well, if Bobby becomes president and Dan moves to GM, Dan would have more responsibilities.

[SpezNc]

Before this thread is locked. I would like to confess, I didn't really want Masai fired.

I wanted Masai to be demoted to the GM role to handle the grind of all Raptors transactions like back 2013-2019. The demotion would act as a public admission of him not doing his job 2021-2024, and would ensure Masai can bring back his magic touch doing the GM job. I wanted Dan Tolzman be given more responsibilities. Finally, I wanted Bobby to be demoted to head of marketing.

Well, if Bobby becomes president and Dan moves to GM, Dan would have more responsibilities.

Listening to Dan Tolzman was a pleasant surprise IMO. I really don’t mind a Bobby-Dan duo. I am guessing that Bobby/Dan are currently under evaluation over the next month to see if they deserve a promotion

[disoblige]

Money wasn’t the main issue. Rogers just never liked him.

We were 2 years removed from a championship and there was already heavy lobbying by Ed Rogers to not offer him a new contract in 2021.

He disliked Masai being bigger than MLSE when it came to the Raptors. He disliked Masai’s off the court political ties. As soon as Ed Rogers got his power of majority ownership last month, Masai immediately knew his days was numbered. Hence him asking if he could stay for the draft cycle at the start of the month.

Both things can be true, Masai did a horrible job over the last 3 years but at the same time Ed Rogers was never going to extend him after this current contract ran out. Whether he did an amazing job or not.

It is most likely BOTH. I read a long article about it 3-4 years ago. I remember he even stated he was overpaid.

The sources said some time after the meeting, Rogers called Ujiri and told him he wasn’t worth the money he was being paid. The NBA source said the call left Ujiri feeling so angry and disrespected by Rogers that he considered taking a year off as president of the Raptors

https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/report-raptors-co-owner-called-masai-ujiri-badmouthed-him-during-contract-negotiation

Meh, it’s an excuse in my opinion.

Boucher gets paid 15M to sit on the bench. Masai helped the Raptors become a global team while overseeing a nearly 5X the revenue increase since he got the job. It’s not about the money. He just doesn’t like him as a human being. Masai got along with Larry T, Bell and Theresa. Not Rogers.
Once they started selling their stocks and Rogers started to get majority power, it was only a matter of when not if Masai will get fired.

October 25, 2021-
Edward Rogers said Sunday that he has the “utmost respect for Masai Ujiri,” citing his leadership, track record in scouting and building a roster, and his global citizenship.

“Above all, I respect the man,” Rogers said. “Masai built an NBA Champion and I have every confidence in him and his team to do so again.”

Tanenbaum and Bell were ready to lock Ujiri down, but, according to two sources close to the MLSE board, Edward Rogers was the holdout.

He told his partners he felt the compensation was too high, and, according to the MLSE sources and a source close to the NBA, Rogers was convinced the Raptors could be managed without Ujiri’s help by existing general manager Bobby Webster.

https://web.archive.org/web/20231007095026/https://www.thestar.com/business/edward-rogers-fought-plans-to-keep-raptors-masai-ujiri-but-was-thwarted-by-mlse-head/article_2abb5319-c18e-583b-9924-7da418c9680a.html

[WuTang_OG]

Per Grange:

Link : https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article/whats-next-for-raptors-after-major-shakeup/

A preliminary very informal list below. I don’t know but most names below feel unlikely.

“Some names in the meantime (in no order):

Bob Myers

The gold standard for front-office talent in the NBA and rumoured to be wanting to get back into a front-office position after doing television work for ESPN following a glittering run at the helm of the Golden State Warriors. Myers would fall in the ‘never-hurts-to-ask’ category, but would be an exceptionally expensive hire.

Alex Saratsis

A long-time agent with European ties whose clients include Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo and Ochai Agbaji, among others. He was a candidate for the president’s role with the Atlanta Hawks and would continue a mini-trend where former agents transition to executive positions (Leon Rose with the New York Knicks; Rob Pelinka with the Los Angeles Lakers; Myers, formerly with Golden State; Justin Zanik with the Utah Jazz; Arn Tellem with the Detroit Pistons).

Marc Eversley

The Chicago Bulls general manger boke into the NBA working for the Raptors under Bryan Colangelo during the latter’s tenure as president and general manager, had an assistant general manager role in Washington and later worked for Colangelo in Philadelphia. He has close ties with the existing Raptors front office and is on the board for Canada Basketball. The Brampton, Ont.-raised former Nike executive has been with the Bulls since 2020, has nearly two decades of front-office experience and was instrumental in the Raptors drafting DeMar DeRozan in 2009.

Matt Lloyd

A highly-regarded general manager with the Minnesota Timberwolves, previously with the Orlando Magic and Bulls. He has a reputation as very smart, industrious and personable, and his ighly trusted by T-Wolves president Tim Connelly, who himself is a highly respected executive and was Ujiri’s successor in Denver.

Dwane Casey

One of the most successful head coaches in Raptors history and an NBA veteran with 40 years of experience who transitioned to a front-office role with the Pistons. Few would know the Raptors landscape better.

Chad Buchanan

The general manager with Indiana Pacers who has used his background in scouting to identify players from the college and professional ranks that fit with the Pacers system on their way to their NBA Finals appearance this year.

There will be more names that surface and the successful candidate could come out of the blue. In the meantime, the Raptors will continue — business as usual — even in the absence of Ujiri, except that things are different now.

“

All shyt

[HiJiNX]

My issue is that you can't fire him based off of performance. Look at his overall stay with the Raptors and tell me honestly who has done a better job factoring all the variables one gotta face being in this position leading a Canadian basketball team.

If it was about his pay or they don't like that he's also focused on making an international legacy (GOA) which btw can also be beneficial to the entire league and our team- then say that. Instead, they did everything third class without any dignity or respect and on top of that have lost the trust of most fans.

Exactly. Colossal organizational blunder. Everyone in the league immediately sees this ownership group as a joke. The trickle down effect will be that nobody with experience and a good track record will want to work here, unless they’re paid very handsomely, which is ironic. Players will be even more reticent to come here. Agents will tell them to stay away from an org that treats its best employees dishonestly and lacks loyalty. And do we think a league full of mostly African American men are going to want to willfully work for conservative white men who look like they’d never befriend anybody Black outside of a work context?

Horrible horrible move. These guys just threw the Raptors organizational credibility, which was strong and took so long to build, directly into the toilet. And then **** on it, flushed, and left the bathroom without washing their hands.

[Potential]

Can we get a guy who has extremely high basketball IQ? What about LeBron or Steve Nash

[Nature]

If we bring Casey back to replace Masai I'm quitting on this entire franchise.

[anotherhomer]

My issue is that you can't fire him based off of performance. Look at his overall stay with the Raptors and tell me honestly who has done a better job factoring all the variables one gotta face being in this position leading a Canadian basketball team.

If it was about his pay or they don't like that he's also focused on making an international legacy (GOA) which btw can also be beneficial to the entire league and our team- then say that. Instead, they did everything third class without any dignity or respect and on top of that have lost the trust of most fans.

Exactly. Colossal organizational blunder. Everyone in the league immediately sees this ownership group as a joke. The trickle down effect will be that nobody with experience and a good track record will want to work here, unless they’re paid very handsomely, which is ironic. Players will be even more reticent to come here. Agents will tell them to stay away from an org that treats its best employees dishonestly and lacks loyalty. And do we think a league full of mostly African American men are going to want to willfully work for conservative white men who look like they’d never befriend anybody Black outside of a work context?

Horrible horrible move. These guys just threw the Raptors organizational credibility, which was strong and took so long to build, directly into the toilet. And then **** on it, flushed, and left the bathroom without washing their hands.

it's not a surprise....we all knew the day Ujiri left and Ed Rogers took over, things would go downhill

[HiJiNX]

My issue is that you can't fire him based off of performance. Look at his overall stay with the Raptors and tell me honestly who has done a better job factoring all the variables one gotta face being in this position leading a Canadian basketball team.

If it was about his pay or they don't like that he's also focused on making an international legacy (GOA) which btw can also be beneficial to the entire league and our team- then say that. Instead, they did everything third class without any dignity or respect and on top of that have lost the trust of most fans.

Exactly. Colossal organizational blunder. Everyone in the league immediately sees this ownership group as a joke. The trickle down effect will be that nobody with experience and a good track record will want to work here, unless they’re paid very handsomely, which is ironic. Players will be even more reticent to come here. Agents will tell them to stay away from an org that treats its best employees dishonestly and lacks loyalty. And do we think a league full of mostly African American men are going to want to willfully work for conservative white men who look like they’d never befriend anybody Black outside of a work context?

Horrible horrible move. These guys just threw the Raptors organizational credibility, which was strong and took so long to build, directly into the toilet. And then **** on it, flushed, and left the bathroom without washing their hands.

it's not a surprise....we all knew the day Ujiri left and Ed Rogers took over, things would go downhill

Yup. And when they hired Pelley I feared it would end this way. Just an absolutely foolish decision. These guys are ruining every franchise they get close to.

[HiJiNX]

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