Apart from the small matter of it being the day the longest-serving and most successful executive in franchise history was relieved of his duties with one year remaining on his contract, Friday unfolded as expected for the Toronto Raptors.
Their two most recent acquisitions, Collin Murray-Boyles and Alijah Martin, arrived as scheduled in Toronto after being selected ninth and 39th overall, respectively, in the NBA Draft, which was Masai Ujiri’s last official duty as Raptors president and vice-chairman.
But by the time the pair arrived at the OVO Athletic Center for physicals Friday morning, MLSE president Keith Pelley had announced the organization weas ‘parting ways’ with Ujiri and would begin the search for a new team president.
An anticipated media availability with the newcomers was scrapped, understandably.
Meanwhile, as Raptors fans and the rest of the NBA universe were digesting the news, the team’s rookies were getting a tour of their soon-to-be new city, visiting the CN Tower and having dinner with the coaching staff. The Raptors Las Vegas NBA Summer League schedule was released. The team’s first game is July 11.
Saturday and Sunday this weekend is a Summer League mini-camp here in Toronto. The front office is working to finalize its roster for Las Vegas and solidify the three roster spots they likely will have open, with the caveat that — barring a trade that loosens up some money — they will need to be minimum deals to keep from tipping over the luxury-tax threshold. Presuming one of them is targeted for Garrett Temple, who played an important role as veteran voice on a young team, there could be only two spots available.
Another name that might be out there is Ben Simmons, the oft-injured former No.1 pick who cobbled together some interesting box-score totals (9.2 assists, 7.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals per 36 minutes) in a limited role over 51 games split between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers.
The Raptors had a meeting for their basketball staff Friday afternoon led by general manager Bobby Webster, right around the time Pelley was giving his guarded explanation for why Ujiri was let go and announcing that Webster would be interviewed as a potential successor to Ujiri as president.
Meanwhile, Webster’s message to the troops — all of whom learned of the Ujiri news moments before it became public — was that seeing Ujiri go was a blow, and his contributions won’t soon be forgotten, but the NBA moves on and there was work to do.
But what direction all that work takes, and at whose behest, will be the question hanging over the franchise until the new president is hired — a process that could take weeks or months.
“I think the urgency is to find the right person,” Pelley said Friday. “If we are able to find the right person next week, fantastic. If that is next month, that’s OK, too, and if it’s in two months, that’s OK. That’s our No. 1 priority, finding the right person that can get us back to contending and winning championships.
“That’s a luxury that we have (because) we have Dan Tolzman as our director of player personnel, that we have Bobby Webster in the general manager’s role. That gives us the flexibility that we need,” Pelley said.
“We’re certainly not going to rush into anything just so that we have a president.”
So status quo works for now.
Webster and the coaching staff are under contract, with extensions that run through the end of the 2026-27 season, according to sources.
The Raptors’ draft picks — two high-energy, high-IQ, defensive-minded players — are consistent with the style of play that head coach Darko Rajakovic and his staff implemented with some success in the second half of the season. That neither are polished shooters is a vote of confidence in the development process the Raptors have in place.
The argument for continuity is that progress has been made; the culture nurtured by Rajakovic and his staff that was so evident last season has begun to take root and the development wins are coming.
In that scenario, the solution is simple: promote Webster to the president’s role, give the general-manager title to long-time assistant GM and director of player personnel Tolzman, and deepen the front office elsewhere as required.
The argument for change is that the executive group under Ujiri has been in place even as the team’s performance has declined since 2021-22, the Raptors’ last playoff appearance.
A fresh set of eyes could be useful to assess whether Scottie Barnes is properly suited for the role of franchise cornerstone that he was assigned by Ujiri almost from the moment he was drafted No. 4 in 2021, and how the other roster pieces fit.
It should be an attractive job, because there are only 30 opportunities on the planet to be the president of an NBA team — and at the moment, most of the positions are filled.
“I think (being) the president of an NBA franchise is always appealing,” Pelley said. “So, I don’t think that we will have any challenges whatsoever, finding a strong, prominent businessman with an in-depth background in basketball operations.”
But as one league source pointed out, a complication in the hiring process could be that the Raptors front office is intact. Some candidates might be comfortable with that; others might want to clean house and put their own imprint on the franchise immediately. Pelley sounds like his preference is for Webster to stay on in the general manager’s role.
“Well, I think the team president will be very involved in the basketball operations and will need to work very closely with Bobby,” Pelley said.
As for candidates? Names are already circulating informally in league circles, though the process here will involve Los Angeles-based CAA Executive Search — a firm Pelley has used before — to identify, vet and shortlist candidates. The search also likely will include some input from NBA commissioner Adam Silver, before Pelley would present options to the MLSE board, which will be majority controlled by Rogers Communications (which owns Sportsnet) when its deal to purchase Bell’s 37.5-per-cent share in MLSE closes, likely in early July.
Some names in the meantime (in no order):
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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