Denver Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri announced Friday that he will be leaving the organization to join his original franchise that brought him up, the Toronto Raptors, sources confirm. This comes as a huge shock as Ujiri is not only the NBA’s executive of the year, but arguably the brightest GM in the league when it comes to rebuilding a winning team.
Ujiri’s deal is expected to include four guaranteed years, and is worth approximately $15 million combined if the option for a fifth year is exercised by the team. He was making approximately $500,000 annually with the Nuggets, and in some believe a feeble attempt to convince him to stay they offered a raise to $1.2 million annually. It is hard to believe that they can be willing to pay a player like Timofey Mozgov, who averaged less than three points per game this year, a $3 million a year deal but not the team’s most important asset in Ujiri.
The parting ways was tough for Masai as he has a great rapport with Denver, and is good friends with Nuggets CEO Josh Kroenke. He takes over a Toronto team that went 34-48 last season, but landed Rudy Gay mid-season and have players like DeMar DeRozen & Kyle Lowry rostered. Meanwhile possible replacement GM candidates for Denver include the Wizards’ Tommy Sheppard & Bucks’ Jeff Weltman.