The Raptors hired Masai Ujiri as their new general manager. Ujiri lands a five-year, $15 million deal—reportedly far more than the Nuggets were willing to offer the Executive of the Year. He’ll have to work some magic with a Toronto roster that hasn’t made the Playoffs in five years. Per Yahoo!:
Denver Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri has accepted a five-year, $15 million contract to run the basketball operations of the Toronto Raptors, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
The NBA’s Executive of the Year this season, Ujiri is considered one of the most accomplished young executives in sports and has been coveted by several organizations over the past two years. Denver offered Ujiri a contract extension, and the decision to leave the Nuggets was especially difficult given his strong relationship with team president Josh Kroenke. As much as anything, that led to the Ujiri’s delay in deciding whether to take the job with Toronto.
Ujiri, 42, had been considering the Toronto offer for a week and finally informed the teams of his decision on Friday. His contract with the Nuggets – whom he rebuilt into a Western Conference contender in the post-Carmelo Anthony era – expired on June 30.
