Report: Masai Ujiri Will Begin Contract Talks Next Week

The Toronto Raptors will reportedly begin contract extension talks with Masai Ujiri next week following the end of the 2020-21 NBA season

Aaron Rose | May 11, 2021

Gerry Angus-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Raptors could be heading for an offseason full of change.

Not only is Kyle Lowry heading for unrestricted free agency this summer, but Raptors president Masai Ujiri is wrapping up the final year of his contract and his future within the organization continues to remain uncertain.

Ujiri has been tight-lipped about his plans going forward. Prior to the season, he said he wanted to take care of the rest of his staff including head coach Nick Nurse and general manager Bobby Webster. More recently in March, Ujiri said he would deal with his contract status after the season.

Now, with the season's end just around the corner, Ujiri and Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment chairman Larry Tannenbaum are reportedly planning to meet next week to discuss Ujiri's contract situation, according to Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun.

SIMMONS: Tanenbaum says contract talks with Masai will begin next week https://t.co/CYG9inY253 Via @simmonssteve #WeTheNorth #RTZ pic.twitter.com/yoJ4p13Ejb
— Toronto Sun (@TheTorontoSun) May 10, 2021

"Masai and I agreed months ago that we would sit down after the season has concluded to address his contract," Tannenbaum wrote in an e-mail to the Sun.

If Ujiri does decide to leave, he's expected to have plenty of options both within the basketball world and outside the sport, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported.

"What's going to be interesting to watch with Ujiri's future is he's positioned himself not just as an NBA executive, but I think as a global sports executive," Wojnarowski told Maria Taylor. "I think the options that may be available to him are going to be beyond the NBA, maybe even beyond North America."

In late March, the New York Times' Marc Stein reported he'd heard it would take an "overwhelming offer in a highly desirable market" to pry Ujiri out of Toronto.

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