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  • Raptors new front office taking shape

    As we all know................

    CEO MLSE: Tim Leiweke

    President AND GM: Masai Ujiri

    Assistant GM: Jeff Weltman

    VP, Basketball Management and Strategy: Bobby Webster

    Director of scouting: Dan Tolzman





    Raptors Name Webster VP, Basketball Management & Strategy

    By admin, Posted on June 19, 2013

    The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have named Bobby Webster as the club’s Vice President, Basketball Management & Strategy. Webster joins the Raptors after working for the NBA league office in New York for the past seven seasons, most recently in the role of Associate Director, Salary Cap Management.

    “I am delighted to have Bobby join our basketball operations team,” said Masai Ujiri, Raptors President and General Manager, Basketball Operations. “His skill set will be valuable in a number of areas, and his experience and knowledge of the CBA and its complexities from a League level will be a great asset to the organization.”

    Webster brings with him a vast working knowledge of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). He was part of the NBA league office team that worked with the NBA Labor Relations Committee to negotiate the most recent CBA with the National Basketball Players Association.

    While at the NBA, Webster advised front office personnel from all 30 teams on CBA matters related to salary cap and luxury tax planning, player contract negotiations and trade proposals. He also played a lead role in the NBA league office’s player contract analytics efforts.

    In his role with the Raptors, Webster will provide his CBA expertise and take on expanded duties that include scouting, player personnel and roster management.


    http://blog.raptors.com/press-releas...ment-strategy/
    Big time hire it would appear! And good-bye Marc Eversley?






    He can play horse:

    Last edited by mcHAPPY; Wed Jun 19, 2013, 04:30 PM.

  • #2
    wow he's really young
    @sweatpantsjer

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    • #3
      Add another to the team:

















      Last edited by Shantz; Wed Jun 19, 2013, 12:49 PM.
      http://twitter.com/m_shantz

      Comment


      • #4
        So Denver Lost GM of the Year, Coach of the Year, Assistant GM, and Coordinator of scouting, Iggy opts out, all before the offseason really begins ? If i was a denver fan (and i used to be when i lived abroad a few years) i'd be scared that fall will be much faster than their rise to 57 win. And we dont even know if Masai is done stealing their scouts.

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        • #5
          Well, all looks good. Appers Ujiri has settled in and things will now move more quickly. Seriously, I have no idea who any of these guys are, so I won't pretend to, but it does appear to be an entirely brand new group taking over the front office. And that's terrific news.

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          • #6
            I'm surprised there still hasn't been a formal announcement made about Gherardini, unless they still like him as an Asst. GM to coordinate their European scouting/recruiting. Even so, I figured they would have made a formal statement whether he's staying or leaving.

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            • #7
              No idea who these guys are but its good that Ujiri is assembling his people fast. Now can we move on to the Elephant in the room and ship Bargnani out????

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              • #8
                The NBA guy sounds like a huge pickup. Working for the league in that capacity for 7 years is no small matter.

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                • #9
                  I hope we become the new Spurs.

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                  • #10
                    the more i read about them the more i love the hires, seems like we might just have a strong front office.
                    @sweatpantsjer

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                    • #11
                      I can't think of anyone better to find loop holes in the CBA than someone whom helped to create it. It's the best scenario for a team in our current cap situation. Good hire.

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                      • #12
                        Sounds like Bobby Webster is a book smart guy looking to get exposure to other areas of basketball management that he cannot get in the head office. What an opportunity for him.

                        It's great for the Raptors to have a real CBA expert in house.

                        Both parties gain a lot so it should be a good relationship.

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                        • #13
                          Lets also hope he has something to say about [not] overpaying players.

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                          • #14
                            phez wrote: View Post
                            Lets also hope he has something to say about [not] overpaying players.
                            If I could like this multiple times, I would.

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                            • #15
                              http://blog.raptors.com/a-few-minute...m-masai-ujiri/

                              Jay Satur: How would you characterize you’re first few weeks back in Toronto?

                              Masai Ujiri: For me it’s exciting. When you’re working, you can’t complain. It’s been hectic, but it’s been exciting. It’s changed — obviously teams vary in the NBA — but I’m here. I’ve gone back and forth (between Denver) a little bit during this transition period with the Nuggets. There’s been combines you have to go to and all that stuff you have to try and fit in while also coming here and establishing the office and taking care of a lot of stuff that needs to be done. So it’s been a whirlwind but it’s been fun. I’m excited.

                              JS: You’re starting to make some changes to your front office. Are you close to finalizing who you want to bring in to round out your staff?

                              MU: There are just some places we had to make changes. That’s what happens in sports. You come in to an organization and you’re going to bring the guys that you feel you’re going to go forward with. It’s unfortunate this stuff is going to happen. It’s hard for me because I worked here, I worked with a few of these people. But the truth of the matter is that going forward, some change is needed. We had to do this.

                              JS: As of right now, you have no picks in this year’s draft and you’re still assembling your front office staff. How difficult does that make it to prepare for next week?

                              MU: For me, it’s not difficult at all because you approach the draft like you are drafting. Even though we don’t have a draft pick, we have to be prepared with all our information, all our rankings and every little detail that you need on players in the draft. I think we have to be very prepared going in because you never know what’s going to happen on draft day. You could get a couple of calls that would shock you, so you have to be prepared for any circumstance.

                              JS: You’ve also made sweeping changes to your scouting staff. Coming from a scouting background yourself, what needs to change in terms of how this franchise evaluates and scouts at the professional, collegiate and international levels?

                              MU: One of the things I do is that I don’t restrict people to regional scouting and so it cuts my staff down. Some teams do it where they’d hire regional guys and guys in different areas and I’m a little bit different. I want whoever I have seeing everything. So when we go into a room and we have a discussion, everyone is very honest and has a strong opinion because you’ve seen the player or seen the prospect.

                              So the staff is going to shrink a little bit in those situations… It’s unfortunate that there has to be changes and fewer opportunities in terms of scouting positions, but a smaller staff is how I want to go.

                              JS: Any updates on the status of head coach Dwane Casey or potential changes to his staff?

                              MU: Things are on the move and we’re still going through the process. We’ll figure it out and I know that’s a wide-ranging answer. Things have gone well with Coach, we’ve had tons and tons of meetings, we have dinner tonight [Tuesday] with Rudy Gay, so we’re moving the right way. As those decisions [with assistants] need to be made, we will make them the best way we feel is heading in the right direction for the organization.

                              JS: You’ve mentioned your desire for the Raptors to establish an identity. What needs to change with the existing group here and what do you want to potentially bring into the mix to help create that identity?


                              MU: We want to play hard and give effort. I think it starts with a high-energy team. We do have some talent and we are continue to build off of that, whichever way it is. Whether you’re bringing in pieces to add there or you’re getting more younger players, it doesn’t matter. Nobody is going to take away that heart, that passion, the hard work, the intensity with which we play the game. We want to be solid in every single area. There has to be tons of communication and that comes from the front office, to coaching, to players. It’s all of us building that togetherness going forward so when we go to war, we all have each others back.

                              JS: Finally, we’ve heard about the role Bryan Colangelo has played in your development, but I ‘ve heard senior adviser Wayne Embry is someone who’s presence you value. How has he helped you?

                              MU: He’s been awesome. He keeps you grounded. He gives you honest advice. Some people want to just feed you what you want to hear, Wayne is not like that. He’ll tell you how it is.

                              Just the wealth of experience you get from him and when you bounce something off of him, the response you get and also that other perspective that you wouldn’t even think of is what he gives you. We’re very appreciative to have him with us.

                              Quite honestly, even when I was in Denver he was a really good sounding board for me. Even for some things outside of basketball and I’m appreciative of that.

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