The Toronto Raptors are pursuing Denver Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri to run their basketball operations, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
Raptors pursuing Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri, according to report
Nuggets general manager and 2013 NBA Executive of the Year Masai Ujiri is a candidate to return north.
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Current Raptors president Bryan Colangelo could still have his option picked up for next season, but new Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke is pushing hard for an elite executive to help turn around the Raptors. Ujiri, the 2013 NBA Executive of the Year, has reportedly been tabbed as the top choice.
Ujiri’s contract with the Nuggets expires this summer, but he has been in talks with CEO Josh Kroenke about an extension. However, Leiweke has expressed a willingness to put forth a “serious financial and organizational commitment” to a candidate like Ujiri.
Ujiri has history in Toronto, as he worked there for three years under Colangelo and two as an assistant GM. Ujiri was hired by the Nuggets in 2010, and in his first season, he was able to pull off a Carmelo Anthony trade that netted Denver a lot of value in return. Ujiri has also executed several other major deals that have helped turn the Nuggets into one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
Ujiri is the first African-born GM in North American sports and has become one of the most well-respected executives in the country.
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