Masai Ujiri Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Rumors: DeRozan, Casey, Lowry, Fizdale, Bird

July 27th, 2018 at 7:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The former Raptors’ leading scorer and head coach are mad at team president Masai Ujiri, Josh Lewenberg of TSN reports. DeRozan publicly criticized Ujiri on social media after being traded to the Spurs in the Kawhi Leonard blockbuster, feeling that Ujiri misled him during a summer-league conversation. DeRozan said during USA Basketball minicamp that he’s not interested in reconciling with Ujiri. “No reason to have a relationship,” he said. “I’m done. I’m done. It’s just done for me, from my end.” Dwane Casey, now the Pistons’ head coach after getting fired by the Raptors after the season, also has lingering issues with Ujiri, according to Lewenberg. They haven’t spoken since the firing and Casey still feels plenty of resentment toward Ujiri, Lewenberg adds.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

DeRozan’s former backcourt partner, Kyle Lowry, doesn’t sound thrilled about the trade, according to Lewenberg. Lowry claims he has no relationship with Leonard and has yet to speak with him. Lowry was evasive when asked specifically about the trade. (Twitter links).
New Knicks coach David Fizdale met with star player Kristaps Porzingis in Latvia and appears to be building a strong relationship with the rehabbing power forward, Ian Begley of ESPN writes. Fizdale said he’s trying to keep Porzingis in the loop as he works his way back from knee surgery. “We’ve talked about his rehab. We’ve talked about how we want to play, our style of play,” Fizdale told Begley. “Talked a lot about the culture that we’re building. We want to make sure that he comes back strong and healthy and we don’t want to rush it. … I’ve tried to make sure that he’s – we’ve been in communication on every decision that we’ve made.”
The Celtics’ signing of Jabari Bird is an example of how two-way contracts should work, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. Bird played for Boston on a two-way contract last season after getting drafted in the second round. The 6’6” swingman showed enough development to earn a spot on the 15-man roster, getting signed to a two-year contract this week.

DeMar DeRozan Discusses Trade, Ujiri, Raptors

July 25th, 2018 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

Outside of some cryptic – and not-so-cryptic – social media posts, DeMar DeRozan had been relatively quiet over the last week since word broke that he’d be traded from the Raptors to the Spurs. However, various reports, along with those social media posts, suggested that DeRozan wasn’t thrilled with the deal, which caught him by surprise.

ESPN’s Chris Haynes caught up with the longtime Toronto star to discuss the deal and to address the perception that DeRozan had been told he wouldn’t be traded. The conversation is a good one, and is worth checking out in full for a number of interesting stories and comments from DeRozan, who talked about his place in Raptors history, his expectations for playing under Gregg Popovich, and how friends like Kyle Lowry and Drake reacted to the deal.

Here are a few of the other highlights from DeRozan’s conversation with Haynes:

On Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri saying of the previous iteration of the Raptors, “We kept giving them a chance and giving them a chance. At some point, we have to do something different”:

“I mean, when you say ‘them,’ that’s kind of frustrating. Like, who is ‘them’? You put the blame on just me and (Dwane) Casey? Because obviously we are the only two who had to suffer from the loss that we had in the Cleveland series.

“But it’s only one team that we lost to in the postseason — and that team went to the Finals every single year. With an opportunity approaching itself, my mindset and the rest of my teammates’ mindset was the only guy who was in the way of making that happen (LeBron James) leaves. Now we got a great opportunity to do something that we haven’t been able to do.

“At the end of the day, I gave everything I had to that team. And it showed, it showed in the progress we made as a team and me as an individual. So when you put that out there saying ‘gave them chances’ and ‘I have to do something’… It’s B.S. to me.”

On how he felt he was treated by Ujiri and the organization:

“I felt like I wasn’t treated with what I sacrificed for nine years, with the respect that I thought I deserved. By just giving me the say so of letting me know something’s going on or it’s a chance. That’s all I wanted. That’s all I wanted. I’m not saying, ‘You don’t have to trade me’ or … just let me know something is going on because I sacrificed everything. Just let me know. That’s all I asked. Everybody know I’m the most low-maintenance person in the world. Just let me know, so I can prepare myself for whatever my next chapter is, and I didn’t get that.”

On whether DeRozan had asked the team if he’d be traded:

“I asked, ‘Was I going to be traded? Was there anything going on, if it was a chance I’d be traded?’ And on multiple occasions it was, ‘No, it was nothing.’ If it is, then let the agent know or me know.”

On talking to Spurs forward Rudy Gay shortly after finding out about the trade:

“I was upset. And I called him, like, ‘Man, dude’s just traded me.’ Rudy was like ‘What? To who?’ And I was like ‘To y’all.’ He started laughing. He said ‘Look, I don’t mean to lie, but I got my boy back. You gon’ be aight, man. don’t worry about it.’ I was like, ‘Man, I shouldn’t have called you. I should have waited until it came out and you called me.’ It was cool to be able to call somebody that’s close in my life that’s on the Spurs too. So he made it easy.”

Ujiri: There Was No Trade Talk With DeRozan

July 20th, 2018 at 8:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Raptors president Masai Ujiri claims he never told DeMar DeRozan he would not be traded, though Ujiri admits making a mistake talking at length with the All-Star shooting guard about his future with the franchise, according to an ESPN report. DeRozan fumed publicly over being traded to the Spurs as their centerpiece of the deal that landed Kawhi Leonard in Toronto.

“I had a conversation with DeMar at summer league, and I really want to leave it at that,” Ujiri said during a news conference Friday. “We spoke … I think maybe my mistake was talking about what we expected going forward from him. So, not necessarily talking about a trade but what I expect from him going forward, and I think that’s where the gap was.”

We have more regarding the blockbuster trade:

Ujiri simply couldn’t pass up the chance of acquiring Leonard, even though Leonard wants to play in Los Angeles when he can exercise his early termination contract option next summer. Ujiri feels it was worth the risk. “We’ve been doing this for how many years?,” Ujiri said, according to a transcript of his press conference posted by RaptorsRepublic.com. “You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again and when you get a chance to get a top 5 player – which isn’t very often – I think you have to jump on it.”
Leonard has not expressed any reservations about playing in Toronto, according to Ujiri, who will push hard to convince Leonard to re-sign with the Raptors. “I think there’s a lot to sell here,” Ujiri said. “Our team, our culture, our city, our ownership, we have everything here except a championship, in my humble opinion. I don’t think we lack anything in this city.’
DeRozan apparently wasn’t impressed by Ujiri’s apology, according to an Instagram post that was relayed by The Score (Twitter link).
Leonard has officially arrived in Toronto to take his physical. The team tweeted out a photo of him at their practice facility.

Raptors Notes: Ujiri, Leonard, DeRozan, VanVleet

July 18th, 2018 at 4:55pm CST by clarkcrum

By trading away franchise cornerstone DeMar DeRozan, Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri demonstrated his belief that Toronto’s roster, as constructed pre-Kawhi Leonard, wasn’t going to get the job done against the Celtics or the rest of the Eastern Conference, reports Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports.

But now that Leonard is a Raptor, the obvious question becomes, for how long? The Lakers, like most everyone else who follows or reports on the NBA, believe they will land Leonard next summer. Yet, the brass in L.A. felt the same way last summer when they saw Paul George, who publicly voiced his desire to play in Hollywood, be traded to the Thunder only to re-sign with Oklahoma City earlier this month without so much as a second look at the Lakers.

Per Mannix, however, this feels different. The Raptors don’t have an MVP sidekick to pair with Leonard like the Thunder have in Russell Westbrook, and as Chris Haynes of ESPN blunty tweeted earlier today, Leonard has “no desire” to play in Toronto. But then again, Toronto is not an undesirable city, it plays host to one of the most rabid fan bases in all of professional sports, and Ujiri will have an entire year to sell Leonard on a future in Canada.

Ultimately Ujiri, who another front office executive tagged as “really impressive” and a “tremendous asset,” chose to roll the dice on an MVP-caliber player knowing that there were risks attached. It remains to be seen, at least until next summer, whether Ujiri’s gamble will payoff.

There’s more from The North:

In a subsequent tweet from Haynes, the ESPN scribe mentions how players around the NBA have not failed to notice that the Raptors have yet to make a statement thanking DeRozan for his contributions over a nine-year period with the franchise.
In another article for Yahoo Sports, Michael Lee opines that the DeRozan/Leonard trade is unique because both of the marquee players involved are furious with the deal. For his part, DeRozan is particularly hurt because he claims to have been told by the Raptors just recently that he wouldn’t be traded out of Toronto. And after former franchise stars like Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, and Chris Bosh bolted, it seems cruel for a player like DeRozan, who actually wanted to stay in Toronto, to be sent packing without his approval.
In other Raptors‘ news, re-signed guard Fred VanVleet sat down with Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype for a wide-ranging interview detailing everything from his free agency experience this summer and last season’s breakout performance to his thoughts on former coach Dwane Casey and new head coach Nick Nurse.

Atlantic Notes: Irving, Stevens, Leonard, Brown, Ujiri

June 14th, 2018 at 5:52pm CST by marksuleymanov

There has been speculation that Kyrie Irving‘s days in Boston may be numbered as he can hit the free agent market after next season. We already noted that Irving will not consider an extension this summer as his focus is coming back healthy from knee surgery and helping the Celtics capture a championship.

A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston examines all the reasons why it makes sense for Irving to stay in Boston beyond next season. As Blakely notes, the Celtics’ ability to field a winning team and to offer him the most money, along with the chance of leading a team to a championship, are all reasons for Irving to remain in Celtics green. Blakely also notes the stability of the Celtics’ front office and coaching staff as strong points since Irving’s stint with the Cavaliers included four head coaches and three general managers.

A healthy Irving will strengthen a team that was on the brink of an NBA Finals appearance. In addition to Irving, Gordon Hayward is expected back healthy next season. A strong year — along with Boston’s resources — could lead to Irving signing long-term in Beantown.

Check out more Atlantic Division notes below:

Brad Stevens is regarded as one of the NBA’s premier coaches. He has led the Celtics to the playoffs in four of his five NBA seasons and to the conference finals the past two years. As he gears up for the 2018/19 season with a healthy roster, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders explains why next season may be the most important of Stevens’ career.
NBC Sports Boston discussed whether or not it makes sense to deal one of the Celtics’ top young players in a trade for Spurs superstar Kawhi Leonard. We relayed yesterday that Boston made an offer for Leonard before the trade deadline this past season.
After Bryan Colangelo’s departure from the Sixers due to his alleged use of burner accounts, head coach Brett Brown was given the role on an interim basis until a replacement general manager is hired. Derek Bodner of The Athletic (subscription required) writes about the challenge Brown faces and how it may be too much responsibility.
President of basketball operations Masai Ujiri said the Raptors are “open for business” as the team tries to construct a more sustainable roster, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.

Raptors Notes: Nurse, Casey, Messina, Valanciunas

June 13th, 2018 at 7:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

Assembling a staff will be the first priority for Nick Nurse, who was officially hired as the Raptors’ new head coach earlier today, writes Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. With many of Dwane Casey’s assistants possibly following him to Detroit, Nurse, an assistant in Toronto for the past five years, may have to build his staff from scratch.

One possibility, according to Wolstat, is Nate Bjorkgren, a longtime friend who worked on Nurse’s staff at Iowa in the G League. Bjorkgren landed a job as an advance scout with the Raptors last fall after being let go when Earl Watson was fired in Phoenix. Wolstat also cites a report out of Italy that Spanish National team head coach Sergio Scariolo and former German National Team head coach Andrea Trinchieri are being considered. Nurse was a successful coach in Europe for 12 years before coming to the United States.

Current Raptors assistant Rex Kalamian isn’t expected to remain on staff, according to Wolstat, and may take a job with the Clippers if he doesn’t go to the Pistons.

There’s more tonight out of Toronto:

The relationship between Nurse and Casey became severely strained after the Raptors were bounced from the playoffs, according to Dave Feschuk of The Toronto Star, with a source telling Feschuk there’s “no love lost between ’em.” Casey gave Nurse his first NBA opportunity, hiring him out of the G League in 2013. Feschuk also questions whether it was the right choice to promote one of Casey’s assistants when fellow finalist Ettore Messina could have provided a new direction for the organization.
The Raptors’ front office was divided between Nurse and Messina over the weekend, tweets Josh Lewenburg of TSN Sports. Messina, an assistant with the Spurs, reportedly performed well in both interviews.
The decision to hire Nurse means center Jonas Valanciunas is unlikely to be traded, relays Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Valanciunas worked frequently with Nurse during the season to try to develop a perimeter game, and that effort figures to expand now that Nurse is in charge.
The decision to replace Casey indicates that team president Masai Ujiri is feeling pressure to make changes, Deveney adds in the same piece. Ujiri’s job remains safe, but his preference to avoid major moves in the past hasn’t resulted in playoff success.

Atlantic Notes: Fizdale, Knicks, Stevens, Ujiri

May 6th, 2018 at 8:57pm CST by Luke Adams

In David Fizdale, the Knicks landed a coach who was coveted by multiple teams with job openings this spring, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. We’ve previously heard that Fizdale turned down an offer from the Suns and met with Hawks ownership. A source tells Berman that Fizdale was also a “frontrunner” for the Hornets and Magic positions.

So why did Fizdale opt for the Knicks’ job? Former Nets guard Elliot Perry – a current Grizzlies broadcaster and Fizdale confidant – tells Berman that he believes the former Grizzlies coach wants the challenge of being on a big stage in New York.

“That’s the one thing I mentioned to him,” Perry said. “You’re never off stage in New York as [the Knicks’] head coach. You’re not always on the stage in Memphis. He wanted the challenge. He thinks there’s talent there. He thought it was a good fit.”

Let’s round up a few more items from out of the Atlantic, including another note on Fizdale…

In a piece for Newsday, Al Iannazzone examines why the Knicks felt that Fizdale was the right pick for their job, with one source downplaying the head coach’s tension with Marc Gasol in Memphis. “He gets along great with players,” that source told Iannazzone. “He’s a good developmental guy and is good at working with the players. He comes from Miami, where they put an emphasis on that. He’s still unproven as far as X’s and O’s. But he’s good with players.”
The Celtics are missing a pair of difference-making players on the court, with Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving on the shelf, but the team also has a difference maker on the sidelines in Brad Stevens, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. “He knows each player like the back of his hand, so he’s going to put you in the right position, he’s going to put you in the right spot, to be great,” Terry Rozier said of his head coach.
Raptors president Masai Ujiri received a $25K fine from the NBA for walking on the court during halftime of Game 3 to “verbally confront” the game’s referees, the league announced today in a press release. Raptors head coach Dwane Casey expressed his displeasure with the officiating throughout the game, and Ujiri joined the act as the second quarter ended.

Atlantic Notes: Nets, Ujiri, Porzingis

December 21st, 2017 at 6:50pm CST by Austin Kent

There’s no denying that the Nets were in a pickle when Sean Marks took over from Billy King as general manager of the franchise. In the time since, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer writes, the former Spurs‘ staffer has changed the culture of the franchise by consistently and patiently strategizing ways to improve.

Another transformative figure within the Nets organization is head coach Kenny Atkinson. O’Connor details Atkinson’s hands-on approach and willingness to get in the foxhole with his players.

The results speak for themselves. While the Nets don’t exactly strike fear in their opponents yet, they’ve managed to amass a solid cache of promising young players despite the previous regime having unloaded a bounty of picks in one of the worst trades in sports history.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Ex-Celtics big man and current Heat forward Jordan Mickey gives his former boss the benefit of the doubt regarding his release from the team. Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe tweets that Mickey was surprised about being waived in the summer but that he trusts that Danny Ainge knows what he’s doing.
Give Masai Ujiri more credit for his work with the Raptors, Tom Ziller of SB Nation writes. The Raps’ president of basketball operations has turned a fledgling squad into a consistent playoff team and now a potential contender, all without bottoming out.
Desperate to build enough strength to avoid injuries, Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis has been working with famous personal trainer Carlon Colker, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. The doctor and former MMA fighter has worked previously with Shaquille O’Neal and, uh, Justin Bieber.

Atlantic Notes: Fultz, Crabbe, Ujiri

July 29th, 2017 at 9:25am CST by marksuleymanov

Markelle Fultz, the first overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, has brought enthusiasm to Philadelphia, a city that has already been told to trust the process. The Washington product now joins a Sixers team that enters 2017/18 with a hopefully healthy duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid alongside veteran acquisition J.J. Redick ready to compete.

In Fultz’s mind, Philadelphia will not just be a fun team, it will be a competitive one, as the first overall pick said to CSNPhilly from Sixers Day Camp at Valley Forge Military Academy.

“We’re going to be in the playoffs this year, and I think everybody is willing to put forth their best effort and listen to the coaches and listen to the bench. We’ve got to just do whatever it takes to get there,” Fultz said. “That’s practicing even harder, that’s doing extra work in the gym by ourselves, I mean, we’re going to do whatever it takes.”

Fultz, 19, also addressed several other topics, including his rehab from an ankle injury he suffered at the onset of the Las Vegas Summer League; LeBron James possibly joining the Sixers next season in free agency; and his relationship with fellow rookie and top two draft pick, Lonzo Ball.

Below are additional notes around the Atlantic Division:

A year after Trail Blazers matched the Nets‘ offer sheet for then-restricted free agent Allen Crabbe, the guard is now a part of the Brooklyn roster, Ethan Sears of the New York Post writes. Now, in an offseason where the Nets have pulled off calculated trades, Crabbe joins the team a year later and he expressed confidence in his new team at an introductory presser Thursday.
Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri spoke to Michael Lee of The Vertical to cover this year’s offseason for the team. Ujiri, who was mentioned as a possible GM candidate for the Knicks, proclaimed his team’s focus is to beat LeBron James and he discussed new Cavaliers GM Koby Altman‘s tough predicament.

Atlantic Notes: Lin, Nets, Valanciunas, Miller, Raptors, Jackson, Celtics

July 18th, 2017 at 6:37pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Jeremy Lin boldly stated that his Nets will make the playoffs this upcoming season while answering questions from fans in an Instagram Live video, relays A.J. Neuharth-Keusch of USA Today Sports.

“We’re making the playoffs. I don’t care what anybody else says to me,” said Lin. He went on to say, “We’re gonna do some serious damage next year… I’m pretty sure he’ll (D’Angelo Russell) start (at shooting guard), but it will be pretty interchangeable. And then when one of us is out of the game, the other person most likely will have the ball in their hands. It will probably be a little bit combo guard-esque.”

This offseason the Nets have added Russell, as well as DeMarre Carroll and Timofey Mozgov. Brooklyn will be coming off a season in which it finished 20-62, dead last in the NBA standings. Lin played in just 36 games due to injury, but averaged a furtive 14.5 PPG to go with 5.1 APG and 3.8 RPG. Furthermore, Lin managed to put up those strong numbers in a mere 24.5 minutes per contest.

Raptors president Masai Ujiri addressed rumors that the team is trying to unload center Jonas Valanciunas, via Josh Lewenberg of The Sports Network. Ujiri said that he believes in Valanciunas’ talent and values his offensive rebounding. While admitting that the team looked at trading Valanciunas when they were in the tax, the team is now “very comfortable” keeping JV.
Raptors guard Malcolm Miller underwent right ankle surgery, the team announced via press release (link via Twitter). Miller is expected to miss the next 12 weeks. He signed the team’s first two-way contract on July 9.
Also via Josh Lewenberg of The Sports Network, the Raptors president says the team will “add a couple of different players. Maybe they’re non-guarantees, I don’t know.”
The Celtics employed a creative use of the stretch provision on the contract of Demetrius Jackson, reports Bobby Marks of ESPN. A day prior to waiving the former Notre Dame guard, Boston exercised the 2019/20 non-guaranteed team option on Jackson. This allowed Boston to stretch the contract over seven years rather than five, lowering the cap hit per year to $92,857 instead of $130,000.