Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri is reportedly not happy with one of his top players and the general outlook for the franchise as a rival organization is rumored to have interest in his services.
Masai Ujiri has been one of the most well-respected NBA executives over the last decade. And it is understandable why since he has been one of the driving forces behind the Toronto Raptors having a winning record in all but one season over the last 10 years. Not to mention, he helped push them over the top by landing Kawhi Leonard to be the final piece of a championship team in 2018-2019.
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However, things are very different now for the Toronto Raptors. This season they barely finished with a .500 record and lost at home in their lone game in the NBA Play-In tournament. It led head coach Nick Nurse to take his leave after this season and many around the league expect a lot of change to their roster in the offseason. But it may not be the sort of change Ujiri hoped for.
Star guard Fred VanVleet is expected to opt out of the final year of his deal, and there are some around the league who don’t see the same value that he does in potential trades for other stars like Pascal Siakim and OG Anunoby. That difficult position to try and maneuver back to success reportedly has the Toronto Raptors President quite frustrated.
Toronto Raptors President rumored to be a target of Washington Wizards
On Tuesday, Heavy.com NBA insider Steve Bulpett spoke with various executives around the league, and one, in particular, expressed the obvious exasperation Ujiri has shown in dealings with the anonymous executive in recent months.
“Masai is really, really frustrated. He’s frustrated with VanVleet also because he hasn’t shown him any indication that he wants to stay. So I think he’s really down about that situation. Maybe it’s because everything’s still so fresh, but there’s a lot they have to get done there. It didn’t surprise anyone that Nick moved on.”
– Anonymous NBA executive
What makes the situation even more interesting, is the same executive claimed they have heard the Washington Wizards are interested in pursuing the Toronto Raptors President after firing their general manager, Tommy Shepherd last month.
Another executive chimed in on the organization’s difficult position by saying, “I just don’t know if they’re going to get much in return for” Siakim and Anunoby in trades this summer. This will be an interesting situation to watch in the coming months.