Raptors fire president Masai Ujiri

Raptors fire president Masai Ujiri

The Toronto Raptors have fired president Masai Ujiri after 13 seasons, the team announced Friday.

“During his 13 seasons with the Raptors, Masai has helped transform the organization on the court and has been an inspirational leader off it,” MLSE president & CEO Keith Pelley said via release. “He brought an NBA Championship to Toronto and urged us to believe in this city, and ourselves. We are grateful for all he has done and wish him and his family the very best.

“We are confident that the Raptors organization, under the guidance of Bobby and his team, is in a great place. They have a plan in place for next season and beyond as the team continues its rebuild, and we have confidence in their ability to execute and ultimately, to excel.”

MLSE parts ways with Raptors President and Vice Chairman Masai Ujiri pic.twitter.com/H43RI8qv5H

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) June 27, 2025

Keep in mind that we are 75 days removed from the end of the regular season, one day removed from the 2025 NBA Draft and three days away from free agency. The timing of this feels absurd.

That said, the Raptors plan on keeping the rest of the front office in tact, including general manager Bobby Webster. All of that may change upon the hiring of the new president.

There’s no question that Ujiri was one of the best general managers in the sport, once upon a time, after making multiple consequential decisions (drafing Pascal Siakam, signing Fred VanVleet, trading for Norman Powell, Kawhi Leonard and Marc Gasol) that directly led to the 2018-19 championship. That team was perfectly constructed.

The Joe Dumars era in New Orleans is not off to a hot start

However, what followed was confusing, ultimately clogging the team’s cap sheet with Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett. There were moves in between that were very questionable (drafting Malachi Flynn in the first round, losing Fred VanVleet for nothing, getting nothing back in the Kyle Lowry S&T, etc.), though Ujiri still had some success around the margins, particularly with the 2024 NBA Draft (as of right now).

Who knows whether this was basketball-related or not with the Rogers ownership group. Regardless, the timing of it is terrible and reprehensible.

***

Click Here for more NBA Content

Subscribe to Vendetta’s Twitch

Subscribe to Vendetta’s YouTube

Check out the Vendetta Shop

Check out Vendetta Fantasy Contests