The Toronto Raptors announced they have extended the contract of general manager Masai Ujiri and promoted him to the President of the club. The team also promoted Jeff Weltman to general manager and Bobby Webster to assistant general manager.
Ujiri has earned a reputation as one of the league’s best basketball minds. He has been instrumental in the Raptors’ rise through the Eastern Conference. Previously, Ujiri managed the Denver Nuggets where he also had considerable success.
Despite the promotion, Ujiri will still be in charge of basketball operations. He has been in that role for the past three seasons, during which the Raptors are a combined 153-93. The team’s success under Ujiri culminated in its first ever conference finals appearance last year.
Ujiri had the following to say, via the Raptors:
“I am grateful to the Board and Mr. Tanenbaum for the opportunity to continue our progress to build the Raptors into one of the top franchises in the NBA,” said Ujiri. “I’m also excited that Jeff and Bobby are being rewarded for their hard work and valuable contributions to our program. My family thanks the NBA, Raptors players and coaches, staff, Raptors fans, the city of Toronto and Canada for this opportunity. Toronto is home for us.”
The move will not change much for the Raptors as they are moving ahead with the same management that they have had for three years. The only difference is that Masai Ujiri will now be a part of the foreseeable future as well.
