Following Steve Mills‘ ouster from the Knicks‘ basketball operations department, rumors linking New York to Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri have resurfaced. Ujiri has long been viewed as the Knicks’ dream candidate, and while that interest hasn’t gone anywhere in the past, Marc Stein of The New York Times suggests there’s a chance this time could be different.
According to Stein, two “long-time Ujiri watchers” whom he trusts have been saying since December that they think the Raptors’ president intends to maneuver his way to New York. Both of those sources even said Ujiri may try to bring along Toronto general manager Bobby Webster, per Stein. One source told Stein that Ujiri’s relationship with Raptors chairman Larry Tannenbaum is strong enough that the defending champions would likely approve the move if Ujiri wants it badly enough.
Still, Stein cautions that there are caveats. Even if Ujiri wants to make the move to New York, his contract runs through 2020/21, so the Knicks and Raptors would have to agree on draft compensation. Toronto’s asking price would be even more significant if Ujiri wants to bring Webster along, since the young GM looks like Ujiri’s obvious replacement in the Raptors’ front office.
Stein also points out that there’s a belief around the NBA that commissioner Adam Silver and the league office want Ujiri running the Knicks. If team owner James Dolan is sensitive to the idea that the franchise needs Ujiri – who fleeced the Knicks in a pair of trades with Denver and Toronto – as its savior, he may be turned off by the league pushing the idea. For what it’s worth, NBA spokesman Mike Bass told Stein (Twitter link) that the notion of the league pushing Ujiri to “rescue” the Knicks is “100% false.”
In his own look at the Ujiri situation, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca writes that even though the Raptors’ president is under contract through 2021, his future will likely be determined in the coming months.
“If something is going to happen with Masai and the Knicks it will happen quick, probably a few days after (this) season is over,” a source told Grange.
Interestingly, Grange suggests that Ujiri’s contract may include an out for the coming summer, though he cautions that it’s not clear whether that’s a formal out or “more of a gentleman’s agreement.” Even if Ujiri can’t formally become a “free agent,” the Raptors are unlikely to force him to stay if he wants to run the Knicks, Grange notes.
While Stein and Grange both lay out the case for a Knicks/Ujiri marriage being plausible, they also both believe it’s possible Dolan has already gotten over his apparent infatuation with the Raptors’ president. We heard on Tuesday that New York may be targeting an NBA agent to run its front office, like the Warriors (Bob Myers) and Lakers (Rob Pelinka) have done. Grange’s source seemed to think Dolan might be more intrigued by that path.
Veteran agent Austin Brown and Kevin Durant‘s manager Rich Kleiman were among the possible candidates mentioned on Tuesday. Sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link) that Roger Montgomery is another agent receiving internal consideration from the Knicks for their front office position.
If Ujiri really wants the Knicks job, he’s not half as smart as I thought he was.
Really? More money than he could count. If he succeeds, he’s the all-time king. If he fails, ah, whatever, it’s just the Knicks being the Knicks, it’s probably Dolan’s fault and some other team gladly hires him.
You make a good point. But here’s the thing: Failure is certain. And with failure comes hatred from millions of fans, critical stories planted in NY media that will follow you for the rest of your career, and baggage that may force you to keep a low profile wherever you work next.
I get that money is money, but I’m not sure that Dolan is going to pay enough to make it so Ujiri never wants to work again.
Lol with him and a capable GM, please explain how failure is certain? No reason to think he can’t revamped this roster and have much success in the future. Have you seen what he did in Toronto? Do you even watch the NBA or just post hate comments, all while being clueless?
Perfect. Not really hard to understand, i guess… But seems really hard
I was going to say the same thing lol. It’s the Catch-22 with this organization: anyone that actually wants to work under Dolan probably isn’t a good candidate to begin with, particularly in a case like this where someone would be coming over from a very good organization.
I should add that I don’t believe this rumor for a second fwiw.
I don’t see Dolan as a guy that would allow a scenario where it looks as someone else is running HIS franchise again, after the Phil Jackson debacle. Maybe the “agent thing” those few teams are doing now is the current path towards success. If so, Cleveland-based agent Mark Termini would be a solid choice to get the Knicks back on right track.
Any chance the Raptors can get RJ as compensation?
LOL No
If the reports are accurate, 2 first round picks is the going rate for a lower tier president. And if they take Bobby Webster too, I tend to think it’s not that unreasonable.
You can have the two Mavs picks :)
Dolan has been trying to hand off control for years now and isn’t afraid to pay.
The entire NBA is better and everyone makes more money if the Knicks can be stabilized. You have to be careful not to go over the line in helping them but every team and player should be trying to help assure a competent executive goes to NY.
Ujiri would take the job because Dolan can pay whatever it takes to convince him. That’s how jobs work.
If the compensation to Toronto is too high waiting until his contract ends is viable but maybe instead of a lot of rebuilding assets a combination of long term assets and help with their playoff run this year does the job. They can also leave Webster in Toronto.
They could rent Morris for the rest of the year, maybe add Payton and the protected pick from dallas for Ujiri and Gasol or whatever expiring contract they prefer.
It’s crucial to the health of the NBA that the Knicks are successful.
Signed,
The Knicks
The Knicks have been terrible for 20 years and the NBA is doing just fine.
Do u even watch anymore? There’s less interest in the NBA in recent years than ever before. The league now isn’t half what it was in the 80s and 90s. The amount of whistles blown and flopping, along with star players almost never being a part of all star weekend, resting regularly, and preferring to team up to make winning a title as easy as possible instead of wanting to play and beat the best, has made many games throughout the season unwatchable and much less interesting. Not just my opinion either. Look that up. NBA sucks compared to the past.
No one cares about whether you like today’s game or not. The fact is that all three of the major sports in the U.S. have done pretty well in recent years, even with controversies and bad officiating (I know nothing about hockey, hence only three).
Whether that will continue, who knows? But for now there is little concern.
there was literally an article from Dec when Adam Silver was commenting on the League’s constant declining ratings.
They are not doing fine
If there were actual trade rumors worth getting behind, there wouldn’t be the sixteenth rehash of Masai to NY rumors
I thought Masai said publicly that he’s not going anywhere? Not sure why this rumour keeps coming back.
Because it’s New York. You’ll hear about this for the next 30 years until he takes the job.
The same way Paul George said he was staying in OKC? And the list goes on and on. 1 Get money 2 Go where you want to be
Masai is a guy of integrity. I believe that he will run out his Raptors deal. The Raptors would be crazy to let him go. He is an elite executive. There are not many elite execs in the league.
Ujiri is a first rate chief executive, but it’s not like he’s the only one of those. As with players, chasing performance almost never works, and looking for a “savior” truly never works. Make (legal) informal contact, and be ready to pursue him along with other top executives if it’s a fit when his (their) contracts are up. FWIW, Ujiri works for a very rich group, so his decision (like that of any successful executive) won’t be a principally a monetary decision. He has ties to Toronto beyond basketball, and prior to his current stint there with the team.
BUT, he didn’t want an extension after winning the trophy for a reason. Explore that when the time comes. But until then, there’s a lot to do.
In the interim, clean up the structure of the FO and dualing fiefdoms. Look at basketball operating models that work for corporate owned teams. Permanent and transitional. A more streamlined structure will even permit some top down hiring of FO talent before a final leader is put in place. It will also make the job more attractive.
Sure the Knicks can poach our president instead of going out and getting their own because they are too inept to do so, but your ineptness will cost you. Raptors should be asking for 2 unprotected firsts AND RJ Barrett as compensation for letting Masai leave, and I wouldn’t accept a penny less.
Which, ironically, makes the Knicks situation a lot less attractive for Masai. I don’t see him leaving Toronto before his deal is up
Haha, good luck with that. We’LL just take him off your hands for free in 15 months!
Throw a boat-load of money at Rich Paul and then ban yourself from MSG and all phones and internet access points, James Dolan. Problem solved.
I don’t know if anyone can succeed under dolan. So it wouldnt be a good long term decision. Dolan appears from videos ive seen clinically ill.
YouTube videos lol