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Report: Raptors Have 'Mounting Confidence' Masai Ujiri Will Sign New Contract
May 18, 2021
With their season officially over, the Toronto Raptors' major focus this offseason will shift to Masai Ujiri's contract.
Per Michael Grange of Sportsnet, the Raptors have "mounting confidence" they are going to re-sign their president of basketball operations.
One source close to Raptors ownership group Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment told Grange estimated there's a "95 percent" chance that Ujiri stays.
Ujiri's deal with the Raptors expires at the end of the playoffs. The 50-year-old said throughout the 2020-21 season that he would discuss a new deal during the offseason.
"We'll visit this at the end of the season at some point," Ujiri told reporters in March. "We'll be fine. [The] Raptors will be fine."
One player agent who recently met with Ujiri told Grange that they had a recent discussion "about winning and winning another title with the Raptors."
There have been multiple teams in the past that attempted to get Ujiri to leave Toronto.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in the wake of the Raptors beating the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals that the Washington Wizards were preparing to offer Ujiri a deal "that could approach $10 million annually and deliver him the opportunity for ownership equity" to run their basketball operations.
Wojnarowski reported in February 2020 that the New York Knicks were targeting Ujiri to run their front office. Leon Rose was eventually hired as team president the following month.
Ujiri has worked in Toronto's front office since May 2013. He was named NBA Executive of the Year in 2012-13 as general manager and executive vice president of the Denver Nuggets.
The Raptors made the playoffs in each of Ujiri's first seven seasons, including winning the 2019 NBA title. Their 27-45 mark this season marked their first losing season since 2012-13.