2013 NBA Executive of the Year Out as Raptors President

This morning, it was reported that Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors’ ownership group, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, agreed to part ways. Ujiri joined the Raptors as Executive Vice President and General Manager in 2013. Before joining the Raptors, Ujiri spent three seasons with the Denver Nuggets as their GM, becoming the first African GM in the history of the four major North American sports leagues. It was in the Mile High City that Ujiri was named NBA Executive of the Year in his final season with the team.

In his time in Toronto, the Raptors went 545-419 while reaching the playoffs eight times in his 12 seasons with the team. This includes five straight 50-win seasons from 2015-16 through 2019-20. While Ujiri made a plethora of moves throughout his tenure in Toronto, his most famous decision was to send DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard, who was heading into the final year of his contract. This move marked a huge decision for the franchise as DeRozan and Kyle Lowry had been perennial all-stars the last several years and served as one of the NBA’s premier duos. With Leonard’s future uncertain, the Raptors had potentially one year to capture a title, and they made it count by taking down the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals, a series in which Leonard would be named Finals MVP. Of course, Kawhi would leave Toronto the next offseason for the Los Angeles Clippers, but this decision by Ujiri to trade DeMar for Kawhi would go down as one of the biggest risk-to-reward situations in NBA history.

Since Kawhi decided to leave, the Raptors have struggled to stay relevant, only making the playoffs one time in the last five years. This lack of production on the court also brought more eyes to Ujiri’s questionable decisions off the court, such as his decision to trade OG Anunoby for a small package, let Fred VanVleet walk for practically nothing, and, more famously, to trade Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers. However, while his last few years haven’t fared as well, Ujiri will still be a hot commodity on the market and could easily be hired by a plethora of teams looking to make an immediate impact in the front office. For Ujiri, his time with the Raptors may be over, but his NBA career is far from done.