Masai Ujiri live: MLSE president Keith Pelley says it was time for change as Raptors fans voice their displeasure

Hamilton Spectator

18 hours ago

Raptors
president and vice-chair
Masai Ujiri
is departing in a stunning move for the franchise a day after the draft.
Follow our live blog as this story develops.
All caps, expletive-laden posts flooded the r/torontoraptors Reddit page, with fans calling the move 'a joke' and a 'disaster.'
Other users expressed heartbreak and incredulity that the Raptors would part ways with the boss who pulled off the trade for Kawhi Leonard that helped bring a title to Toronto.
'I just fell to my knees at Tim Hortons,' one fan said of the news in a post on X.
Read more from Elissa Mendes here
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment announced in a statement Friday that the company has parted ways with Toronto Raptors president and vice-chairman Masai Ujiri.
'During his 13 seasons with the Raptors, Masai has helped transform the organization on the court and has been an inspirational leader off it,' said MLSE President & CEO Keith Pelley.
'He brought an NBA Championship to Toronto and urged us to believe in this city, and ourselves. We are grateful for all he has done and wish him and his family the very best. As we plan for the franchise's future, and its return to the NBA Playoffs, a search for the successor as president of the Raptors, led by CAA Executive Search, will begin immediately.'
Ujiri has led the Raptors since returning to Toronto in 2013 and led the franchise to its only NBA championship in 2019.
There is no immediate reason for the abrupt departure. Ujiri was as involved as usual in the team's off-season and pre-draft preparations.
He had one year left on a contract worth about $15 million per season.
Read more from Doug Smith here
Edward Rogers actively fought plans to keep Masai Ujiri as head of the Toronto Raptors this summer — saying that he was not worth the amount offered — and then tried to extract an extraordinary benefit for his own company, the Star has learned.
To the relief of fans, the ploy by Rogers was unsuccessful, and the Raptors announced on Aug. 5 that Ujiri was staying on in Toronto as vice chairman and president of basketball operations.
However, new details have emerged suggesting that behind the scenes Edward Rogers tried to sabotage a high-performing executive with whom he had grown disenchanted — and ultimately failed in his bid because he appeared not to fully understand the governance structure of the NBA franchise.
Read more here from Doug Smith and former Star reporter Christine Dobby
Ujiri was no stranger to Toronto when he took a reported five-year, $15-million deal to become general manager of the franchise.
He had spent three seasons in Toronto as an assistant general manager and director of global scouting before joining the Denver Nuggets front office in 2010 as general manager and vice president of basketball operations. There, he pulled off the blockbuster 2011 Carmelo Anthony trade with the New York Knicks and won NBA Executive of the Year in 2013.
Here's a look back at his time with the Raptors.
MLSE president & CEO Keith Pelley speaks to the media after Leafs president Brendan Shanahan was ousted in May.
Keith Pelley, the president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, will address the media at 1 p.m. ET.
The Star will carry the press conference live in this blog.
Since Pelley took the role with MLSE in January 2024, the organization has parted ways with Toronto FC and Argonauts president Bill Manning and, more recently, Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan.
Now, he'll be asked questions about the departure of the longtime Raptors president.
This press conference is not being well received in the YouTube chat, which, with about 2,600 live viewers on the Raptors stream, has been left open.
Tomato, poop and clown emojis are crowd favourites.
'Boycott Rogers Now' seems to be a rallying cry, while dozens of viewers are booing in the chat.
Pelley said him and Ujiri have been talking for the last two to three months about the future of the Raptors and have had a 'number of conversations over that time.' Pelley told Ujiri at the beginning of June that the team would be moving on from him.
The decision was made by Pelley and the MLSE board, not Rogers chairman Edward Rogers, Pelley said.
The search for a new candidate is beginning immediately with the assistance of the CAA agency, Pelley said.
Bobby Webster, currently GM of the team, will 'definitely be a candidate.'
MLSE is looking for a 'prominent, successful business leader,' Pelley said, adding that he has no doubt the team will be able to find a capable replacement.
'We will find somebody that unequivocally will have the passion to bring another NBA championship to this city, and that is our goal,' Pelley said.
In his opening remarks of a press conference, MLSE CEO Keith Pelley said now was the time to make a change, with a roster in place and front office committed to for years to come.
'Today is not an easy day,' Pelley said. 'Change is never easy.'
He credited Ujiri with having a 'monumental impact on the Raptors' and said his legacy will be 'indelibly etched on our city in perpetuity.'
so, why now? Pelley said he spoke with Ujiri more than a month ago, and Ujiri asked that a change not happen until after the NBA draft, which concluded on Thursday night.
Pressed on why exactly MLSE felt the need to move on from Ujiri, Pelley didn't answer the question.
'The fact that he led the draft shows Masai's integrity and our trust, and the belief that he always and will always have the best interests at heart for the Raptors,' Pelley said. 'There are many factors that came into this decision and the timing was right to make a change.'
The press conference with Keith Pelley, CEO of MLSE, has wrapped. Here are the big takeaways: