By Chris Bengel
The Toronto Raptors are fresh off of winning their first NBA title in franchise history after defeating the Golden State Warriors. However, with that type of success, a team’s assets are coveted by the rest of the league.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Washington Wizards are “preparing” a massive $10 million per year offer for Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and are expected to seek permission from Toronto to speak with him about their vacancy in the coming days.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Washington Wizards are “preparing” a massive $10 million per year offer for Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and are expected to seek permission from Toronto to speak with him about their vacancy in the coming days.
The Washington Wizards are preparing to offer Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri a deal that could approach $10 million annually and deliver him the opportunity for ownership equity, league sources tell ESPN.
Wizards owner Ted Leonsis is expected to reach out to Toronto ownership soon to request formal permission to meet with Ujiri and offer a staggering financial package that would include running the Wizards’ basketball operations and, perhaps, taking on a larger leadership role in the Monumental Sports and Entertainment company that oversees the Wizards and NHL’s Capitals, league sources said.
Ujiri is fresh off of building a championship blueprint after acquiring All-Star forward and NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs last summer. At the time, the move was looked at as a huge gamble considering that Leonard is set to be an unrestricted free agent this coming offseason.
With a 114-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 6, Ujiri’s Raptors just won the NBA Finals for the first time in the franchise’s 24-season history.
Ujiri orchestrated a trade that led to the Raptors’ NBA Finals victory, sending leading scorer DeMar DeRozan and center Jakob Poeltl to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.
DeRozan is a beloved figure in Toronto who co-led the Raps to a No. 1 seed in the 2018 NBA playoffs with Kyle Lowry. Making the move was an astonishing decision.
However, it worked out for Toronto as Leonard led the Raptors to their NBA Finals win. The forward dominated in the playoffs and especially in the NBA Finals, during which he won his second MVP after averaging 28.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.0 steals in the championship round.
Ujiri, who was named the 2012-13 NBA Executive of the Year when he was running the Denver Nuggets‘ operations, is arguably the game’s greatest executive in the present day. Therefore, it’s no surprise the Wizards, who haven’t won 50 or more games in the regular season since 1978-79, want him to lead the team.
Rebuilding Washington would be a tough task. The team is coming off a 32-50 season, and hope isn’t on the horizon with All-Star point guard John Wall set to miss at least half of next season after suffering a ruptured Achilles.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsMLSE owner Larry Tanenbaum when asked about @wojespn report that Wizards owner @TedLeonsis is attempting to recruit Masai Ujiri with a $10-million a year offer and an ownership stake: pic.twitter.com/vQPzhtYHDH
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) June 14, 2019
At this point, the Wizards’ best bet is to break it all down and do a full rebuild. Ujiri could be the man to oversee it.
But if not, Wojnarowski mentioned a few other candidates. Of note, the team has interviewed Oklahoma City Thunder executive Troy Weaver and ex-Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry.
You must log in to post a comment.