By Jordan Long
The Toronto Raptors season ended in game 7 of the 2nd-round losing to the Boston Celtics. Despite the loss, the Raptors gave Head Coach Nick Nurse an extension. The terms of the deal weren’t announced. The man who gave him the new agreement is Masai Ujiri who is the President of Basketball Operations for the Raptors. His contract is going to expire next year but the organization has yet to talk to him about adding more years to it. He has proven he deserves to stay in Toronto for years to come.
Ujiri came to Toronto on May 31st, 2013 after spending the previous 3 seasons as the Denver Nuggets General Manager. During his time with the Raptors, he turned the franchise into a consistent playoff team. They have yet to miss the postseason with him in the front office. Toronto was knocked out of the postseason in the 1st-round in 2014 and 2015. In 2016 they came so close to going all the way to the Finals but lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In 2019, Ujiri built a team that he felt could make a run to the Finals. They finished the year at 58-24, 2nd in the Eastern Conference. They beat Orlando in 5 games and knocked off Philadelphia in 7 games to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the 1st time since 2016.
The Raptors were hoping to advance to the Finals but the Milwaukee Bucks stood in their way. The Bucks were the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks even went up 2-0 in the best of 7 series. It looked liked the dream was going to be over but the Raptors won the next 4 games and made it to the NBA Finals for the 1st time in franchise history. They faced Golden State and defeated them in 6 games to win the NBA Championship.
This year the Raptors were hoping to have a repeat performance. They lost Kawhi Leonard who decided to sign with the L.A. Clippers in free agency. Leonard was a big part of their offense and defense. Toronto managed to go 53-19. Their year came to a close in game 6 of the 2nd-round.
Ujiri’s contract has one more year left. He is not worried about his job security at this point. According to ESPN, Ujiri said, “No, I haven’t had discussions, and honestly, coming out of this, things are a little raw. I’m going to reflect a little bit, and we will address it when it’s time to address it.”
The Raptors may take their time before agreeing to a new contract with Ujiri even though he deserves it. Toronto needs to first figure out what they want to do with free agents Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka, and Marc Gasol. The two they are probably going to keep are Ibaka and Gasol. They may let VanVleet test free agency. Once free agency is over then talk to Ujiri about a new contract. Ujiri should be in the Raptors’ front office for years to come.
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