Report: Only 'Overwhelming' Offer Could Lure Masai Ujiri out of Toronto

As Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri heads into the final months of his contract it's believed only an 'overwhelming' offer could pry him away from Toronto

All Raptors Staff | Mar 31, 2021

Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri has been tight-lipped out his future with the organization.

Any time he's been asked about his contract which comes to an end this summer he politely says he'll discuss it with the organization at a later date.

"We'll visit this at the end of the season at some point," he said last Thursday.

Well, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times, it will take a lot to pry Ujiri loose from Toronto.

"It is widely presumed in league circles that only an overwhelming offer in a highly desirable market could lure him away from the influence and affection he has amassed in Toronto," Stein reported Tuesday.

That should be a relatively relieving report for Raptors fans who have feared Toronto could lose its president this summer, however it likely won't mark the end of those concerns.

Stein is also reporting that people around the league have wondered if Ujiri would be willing to eventually leave Toronto for Seattle if an expansion team were ever to return to the city. The group currently heading the expansion efforts is lead by former MLSE executive Tim Leiweke, who hired Ujiri to be the Raptors general manager in 2013.

While there is a clear connection there and the prospect of building an organization from the ground up could interest Ujiri, the league is yet to award Seattle with a franchise so the possibility of him leaving to take over their franchise seems like a concern better left for later days.

Further Reading