Rival team is trying to hire Masai Ujiri away from Toronto Raptors: report

A rival team is targeting the Toronto Raptors, potentially luring away one of the faces of their organization.

No, nobody’s trying to trade for Scottie Barnes, but the Atlanta Hawks “have interest in trying to hire” longtime Toronto president Masai Ujiri, as per NBA Insider Marc Stein.

Stein followed with, “Not immediately clear, league sources say, what sort of shot Atlanta has at prizing Ujiri away from the league’s lone Canadian franchise.”

The Hawks finished this year with a 40-42 record, eighth in the Eastern Conference. They fired general manager and former Raptors player Landry Fields at the end of the season.

Ujiri’s deal, which was extended in 2021, expires in 2026, as per Sportsnet. He was the architect behind the roster that won the 2019 NBA title, but the franchise has won just a single playoff series since.

The Raptors are coming off a 30-win season where they finished 11th in the Eastern Conference. They are slated to pick ninth in next month’s NBA Draft.

Despite the team’s lack of recent success, Ujiri has spoken highly of what’s officially been dubbed a rebuild by the franchise.

“A-plus, A-plus,” Ujiri said of the team’s culture this past season at his end-of-year media availability last month.. “When you look at these guys and see what they’ve done… we have that focus, of playing together and playing the right way, and attacking the game. It’s really built our culture.”

Ujiri, who was born in the United Kingdom but grew up primarily in Nigeria, also spoke about living in Canada and its unique place in the NBA market.

“We are not going to hide under the table because a player doesn’t want to come here, or what anybody’s perception of this market is, we’re the only team that’s outside the United States in the NBA, and I believe it’s a unique opportunity, and it’s going to be an incredibly unique opportunity in the years to come,” Ujiri said to a question asked by Offside.

You might also like:
• Toronto Raptors hold meetings with top NBA Draft prospects