Masai Ujiri Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Ujiri Hopeful About Iguodala Returning

May 9th, 2013 at 6:21pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Fresh off from receiving his Executive of the Year award, Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri says that he's very optimistic that Andre Iguodala re-signs with Denver and that the team wants him back, tweets Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post. A few days ago, we also relayed that team president Josh Kroenke expressed his desire to keep the 6'6 forward as part of Denver's future moving forward.

Despite a disappointing first round exit for the Nuggets, Iguodala was very productive in six games against Golden State, averaging 18.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 5.3 RPG, and 2.0 SPG while shooting 50% from the field overall and an excellent 48.3% from long range on nearly five three-point attempts per game. It will be interesting to see how those numbers factor into determining Iguodala's worth in the free agent market this summer.

Masai Ujiri Named Executive of the Year

May 9th, 2013 at 12:08pm CST by Michael Pina

THURSDAY, 12:08pm: The Nuggets have officially announced that Ujiri has won the Executive of the Year award. Gary Sacks (Clippers) finished second in the voting, followed by Glen Grunwald (Knicks) and Daryl Morey (Rockets), who were tied for third.

WEDNESDAY, 8:45pm: Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri will be named Executive of the Year, according to the Denver Post's Benjamin Hochman.

Ujiri built the best team in franchise history this season, as Denver won 57 games in the regular season before losing 4-2 in the first round against the Warriors.

Last summer he nosed his way into the Dwight Howard trade, acquiring Andre Iguodala and giving up Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, and a 2014 first round pick. He also extended Ty Lawson to a contract that's widely viewed as a slight bargain for the Nuggets.

Nuggets Notes: Mozgov, Trades, Ujiri

January 25th, 2013 at 12:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Having gone 16-3 at the Pepsi Center so far this season, the Nuggets are in good position to gain some ground in the Western Conference standings, as their next six games will all be at home. Still, head coach George Karl doesn't want his club to take anything for granted, as he tells Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post.

"We're a young team trying to become a good team — a really good team," Karl said. "I think we all think we can get there, but sometimes I think we need a lot more work than (the players) think we do."

Here's the latest out of Denver:

Since the beginning of the year, teams have been calling the Nuggets about acquiring Timofey Mozgov, who is unlikely to be with the Nuggets past the trade deadline, says Dempsey.
While Mozgov says that he'd like to remain in Denver, that comes with a caveat: "More than I want to stay, I want to play." With Kosta Koufos and JaVale McGee seeing most of the minutes in the middle, Mozgov is averaging a career-low 9.6 minutes per game in 24 contests.
Although Masai Ujiri is in the last year of his three-year contract with the Nuggets, the two sides aren't expected to explore an extension for the general manager until after the season, reports Dempsey.

Atlantic Links: Sixers, Ujiri, Wayns, White, Nets

October 2nd, 2012 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Before the 76ers promoted Tony DiLeo to general manager last month, we heard a report that the Sixers had made a run at Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri. However, Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said on Monday that Philadelphia's interest in Ujiri didn't get the Sixers far. According to Kroenke, the Nuggets didn't allow the Sixers to even talk to their GM, as Adrian Dater of the Denver Post writes.

"You hire good people for a reason, and sometimes other people take notice of that," Kroenke said. "But we never gave permission to Philly to talk to Masai."

Here are a few more Tuesday updates out of the Atlantic Division:

76ers backcourt mainstays Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner both had praise for Maalik Wayns, who grew up a Sixer fan and is excited to be in Philadelphia. Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News has the details.
Even though the offseason didn't play out exactly how the Celtics anticipated, team president Danny Ainge feels like "the things that we lost we were able to replace in a big way" (link via CSNNE.com).
James White tells Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside that he doesn't expect to play in the D-League if he fails to earn a roster spot with the Knicks.
According to Nets GM Billy King, the Magic were "determined to send [Dwight Howard] west" when Brooklyn was trying to land D12. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes that King has done well to build a contender in the East without acquiring Howard.
Nets forward Kris Humphries has hired Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media as his agent, according to Bloomberg's Scott Soshnick.

Sixers Made Run At Denver GM Masai Ujiri

September 20th, 2012 at 11:17pm CST by Alex Lee

Before broadening the parameters of their search for a general manager, the 76ers made an aggressive attempt to land current Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri, says Adrian Wojnarowski. The report confirms that Tony DiLeo is currently the front runner to replace Rod Thorn, but this is the first time that news of Ujiri's involvement has surfaced.

Ujiri is well respected in NBA circles despite being one of the lowest paid general managers in the league. After losing the franchise centerpiece in Carmelo Anthony, Ujiri molded the Nuggets into an instant winner. Apparently, the Sixers attempted to lure him to Philly with big bucks but his loyalty to Denver ownership (and presumably big money from the Nuggets in the near future) allowed him to resist.

Ujiri only has one year left on his deal. The Nuggets will need to extend him to prevent other teams from poaching their architect. Although Wojnarowski mentions the Dwight Howard blockbuster that both teams were involved in, it is unclear where this report fits in from a time perspective.