What does Masai Ujiri want from the Raptors? It’s not a ‘blank cheque’ – The Athletic
His most pointed words, and his most passionate tone, were reserved for Raptors ownership. Every so often, he would make sure to thank Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment’s board of directors, not to mention the chairman of the NBA’s board of governors. However, he knows some things have changed within MLSE, a Frankenstein’s monster of an ownership group. Mirko Bibic took over as president and chief executive officer of Bell from George Cope, a longtime supporter of basketball. Melinda Rogers-Hixon, the deputy chairman of Rogers, also joined the board of directors late in 2019. Former company CEO Tim Leiweke is long gone, replaced by the anonymous Michael Friisdahl. That move didn’t seem to change how much support MLSE has given the Raptors, but with Ujiri’s contract expiring after this season, it seemed like a good time to remind the powers that be exactly who he is, and what he wants to do.
“Everybody says, ‘blank cheque, blank cheque,’ but I’m not as much focused on a blank cheque. A lot of the things that we’ve done here, we have to move forward as a franchise to compete with the best in the NBA,” Ujiri said when I asked him what his priorities would be when he sat down with ownership to discuss their relationship. “This is all about winning a championship again.
“Let me tell you something guys: Everybody has forgotten what … happened two years ago. OK, yes, we won, but nobody cares anymore, OK? We want to win another one. That’s what you want to do. Yeah, you want to prepare yourself to win another one. Not play in the Play-In game, not play in the playoffs, you want to win a championship. … So a lot of the things that we did, whether it’s building a practice facility, whether it’s getting everybody to see us hosting an All-Star Game like we did or getting a G League team or getting an incredible staff that has allowed me to hire here from the front office to coaches to medical — we have Drake, an ambassador who has been incredible for us and lifted us.
“I want to know, so, what’s the next lift? What’s the next five years? What’s the next 10 years?”
Ujiri invoked Drake, so I’ll stay on the same page. No new friends? Hell, it looks like Ujiri is questioning some of his old friends, too.
With apologies to Kyle Lowry, Ujiri is the biggest free agent the Raptors have this offseason. While Lowry is the greatest player in franchise history, there are legitimate questions whether both parties would be better served by parting ways, as their time frames might not align. As Ujiri said aloud on Wednesday, it might be prudent to put even more in the hands of the Raptors’ younger players, which is not mutually exclusive from Lowry returning but does not require it, either.
If Lowry is the on-court representation of who the Raptors are, Ujiri is the off-court stand-in for their identity both within the league and the city’s sporting landscape, and he knows it. Hence, all of the feet held to the fire, despite the lack of an immediate fallback plan. He’s Masai Ujiri — something will come up.
This job isn’t worth it, Ujiri seemed to be saying, if MLSE is less committed to building a championship team than he is. That, in a way, is more savvy public negotiating from Ujiri: If the two sides fail to agree, not only does one of the most beloved figures in franchise history leave town, but ownership gets painted as being something less than all-in.
“Yes, I’m going to have asks,” Ujiri said. “And I’m going to have a lot of things that I think we need to put forward here. … And I think ownership is open to hear this.”
NBA: Masai Ujiri outlines his goals for next contract – Yahoo!
Ujiri returned to Toronto for his season-ending press conference, and will presumably hold meetings in the coming weeks before the NBA Draft at the end of July. He spoke honestly about the season, which saw the Raptors rocked by relocation and a breakout of COVID-19. Ujiri also reflected on his own part in the downfall of the team this season, particularly with his roster decisions at the center position. But the main focus kept circling back to his future status.
To that point, Ujiri was clear. What he wants in his meetings with ownership will be to see their ambitions reflect those of his own and his team. Ujiri is as highly-rated as any executive can be, and teams like Washington and New York have made hard bids for him in the past few years. The clear message from Ujiri is that if the Raptors want to continue the relationship, it will have to be through winning.
“Everybody’s like ‘why don’t you get in the play-in’ — play-in for what? We want to win a championship here, and we have to put ourselves in position. So a lot of things that we did, whether that’s build a practice facility, whether it’s to get everybody to see us hosting an All-Star game, or getting a G-League team, I have an incredible staff that they allowed me to hire here from front office, to coaches, to medical. We have Drake, our ambassador who has been incredible to us, has lifted us,” Ujiri said.
“Yeah, so what’s the next lift? What’s the next five years? What’s the next ten years? What are we doing to put ourselves in conversation with all the great teams, and all the winners? That’s what we want to do, and that’s the conversation I’m going to have (with ownership.) Yes, I’m going to have asks, I’m going to have a lot of things that I think we need to put forward here to address these things, and I think ownership is open to hear this.”
If Masai Ujiri’s future hinges on ownership’s commitment to winning, he’ll be back – TSN.ca
Finally, and most importantly in terms of deciphering where his head is at going into his highly anticipated contract negotiations, Ujiri challenged the Raptors’ ownership group, Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment.
Ujiri’s uncertain future with the club has been the dark cloud hanging over the franchise all season. With respect to , Nick Nurse, and , the 50-year-old executive is the most important person in the organization; arguably the most important person in its history, and he’s about to become a very high-profile free agent.
He had told MLSE that the plan was to let his current deal run its course before sitting down to craft a new one. First, he wanted to oversee the team’s relocation to Tampa last fall, secure new deals for his staff – many of whom were also on expiring contracts – and play out the rest of the season.
With those boxes checked and Ujiri back in Toronto, formal negotiations will begin before the end of the month. Unofficially, they’ve already begun.
Up to this point, Ujiri has kept his cards close to the vest. Even the most plugged-in people around the league haven’t been able to gauge how this will play out. Many of his own colleagues, folks who work alongside him within the organization, still aren’t quite sure which way Ujiri is leaning.
The question has been: What does Ujiri want? Fiercely competitive by nature, he’s always looking for that next challenge and working towards that next goal. But is that next challenge in Toronto or someplace else? Is it inside or outside of basketball?
If you were listening closely, he answered that question on Wednesday. He wants to compete for and win more championships, and he wants to do it with the Raptors, which is music to the ears of MLSE and the team’s fan base. He also laid out his terms, albeit vaguely. His next contract won’t come down to money; he knows he’ll get plenty of it. The deal will hinge on ownership’s commitment to doing what it takes to chase those titles.
“Everybody says, ‘blank cheque, blank cheque,’ but I’m not as much focused on a blank cheque,” Ujiri said. “We have to move forward as a franchise to compete with the best in the NBA. This is all about winning a championship again. Let me tell you something guys, everybody has forgotten what happened two years ago. Okay, yes, we won, but nobody cares anymore. We want to win another one. That’s what you want to do. Not play in the play-in game, not play in the playoffs, you want to win a championship. Everybody’s like, ‘Why don’t you get into the play-in?’ Play-in for what? We want to win a championship here.
“What are we doing to put ourselves in the conversation with all the great teams and all the winners? That’s what we want to do and that’s the conversation that I’m going to have with [ownership]. And, yes, I’m going to have asks and I’m going to have a lot of things that I think we need to put forward here to address these things and I think ownership is open to hear this. So, in terms of that conversation, that’s going to be had.”
Ujiri’s future is not nearly as simple as a financial negotiation because so many of his needs are intertwined. The 50-year-old is passionate about his Giants of Africa foundation, he has societal concerns that trump mere sports, and he is driven by an incomprehensible competitive nature.
Whether he can get it all from MLSE, or get enough of each to fuel his various passions, is likely to be the final factor in whether he re-ups with the team he has led since May 2013.
“I have a lot of interests in this world but I’m not naive not to understand that sports is an incredible platform, my position is an incredible platform to talk about a lot of the things that I want to do, a lot of the things that I’m interested in, and we’ll go from there,” he said. “So there are a lot of options that I have to consider … there are a lot of things that we are really going to talk about here moving forward and how we make this organization even bigger.”
The money on a new deal, while important because it is the tangible way to offer rewards, is not a deal-breaker. No matter what he does or where he does it, Ujiri will accumulate unimaginable wealth. It’s the “more” that intrigues him.
“Everybody says, ‘blank cheque, blank cheque,’ but I’m not as much focused on a blank cheque,” he said. “A lot of the things that we’ve done here, we have to move forward as a franchise to compete with the best in the NBA. This is all about winning a championship again.
“Let me tell you something, guys, everybody has forgotten what has happened two years ago. OK, yes, we won, but nobody cares anymore, OK? We want to win another one.”
It is why Ujiri was basically fine with the Raptors punting on the second half of the disjointed 2020-21 season that just ended with them missing the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. Finding out what they had, what they may need, what level of mental toughness unproven players possess, was more important than chasing the bottom of the post-season ladder.
“Everybody’s like, ‘Why don’t you get into the play-in?’ Play-in for what?” he said. “We want to win a championship here and we have to put ourselves in position.”
There is no firm timeline, Ujiri said, but there isn’t a lot of time to waste before decisions have to be made. Ujiri is heading off to Africa “in a couple of days” to watch Basketball Africa League games and catch up with friends and family; the NBA draft lottery is in just over a month, and the draft and free agency come a month after that.
You don’t just let men of that ability walk away if you can at all help it, and by all accounts, Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of MLSE, the parent company of the Raptors, is very much of that opinion.
In a wide-ranging 45-minute season debrief with the media, Ujiri touched on all subjects related to the team from the just-completed disappointment of a season, to the potential re-signing of Kyle Lowry, to taking the blame himself for signing a centre who wasn’t necessarily the kind of centre his team needed.
In terms of the Raptors’ future, though, none of it mattered but what he said about his own potential future here with the team he turned into NBA champions.
Ujiri didn’t come out and say exactly what his terms of return were, only that he does have some asks and unlike nearly every other negotiation in the NBA, these won’t necessarily concern money… at least not money directly into his pocket.
“Everybody says, ‘blank cheque, blank cheque,’ but I’m not as much focused on a blank cheque,” Ujiri said of what he’ll be looking for from the team to re-sign. “A lot of the things that we’ve done here, we have to move forward as a franchise to compete with the best in the NBA. This is all about winning a championship again.”
And it was at this point in the interview that the passionate Ujiri, the one who has sometimes dragged this franchise into believing in itself kicking and screaming, came out. If any point in the exchange with various media types yesterday felt like Ujiri was telling everyone he wasn’t going anywhere, this was it.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
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“Let me tell you something guys,” Ujiri started as he wound himself up. “Everybody has forgotten what has happened two years ago. OK, yes, we won (an NBA championship), but nobody cares anymore, OK? We want to win another one. That’s what you want to do. Yeah, you want to prepare yourself to win another one. Not play in the play-in game, not play in the playoffs, you want to win a championship. Everybody’s like, ‘Why don’t you get into the play-in?’ Play-in for what? We want to win a championship here and we have to put ourselves in position.“… What are we doing to put ourselves in conversation with all the great teams and all the winners?” Ujiri asked. “That’s what we want to do and that’s the conversation that I’m going to have with (ownership/the board). And, yes, I’m going to have asks and I’m going to have a lot of things that I think we need to put forward here to address these things and I think ownership is open to hear this. So, in terms of that conversation, that’s going to be had.”
