More could be added to the mix, but the Bulls, sources say, will not pursue Toronto president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri or longtime Oklahoma City exec Sam Presti, marquee names some fans hoped the team’s frustrated ownership would present with a blank check. The team also will not look to high-powered player agents, an increasingly trendy approach and one that rules out Chicago-based Priority Sports founder Mark Bartelstein as a possible candidate.
Tag: Masai Ujiri
KC Johnson: Bulls also will seek …
KC Johnson: Bulls also will seek permission to interview Heat asst. GM Adam Simon, per source. Initial round of interviews centered on Nuggets’ Karnisovas, Raptors’ Webster, Pacers’ Buchanan and Heat’s Simon. Other targets could emerge, but longshot scenarios of Presti/Ujiri won’t happen
Toronto Raptors general manager Masai …
Ujiri’s contention came in his legal …
Ujiri’s contention came in his legal response to Alan Strickland’s litigation, which claims Ujiri hit him trying to access the court after the final buzzer in Game 6 that ended the season on June 13, 2019. Strickland also sued the NBA, which contended as well in its response that the security guard was the aggressor.
Given those connections, and his …
Given those connections, and his general philosophy that it is always wise to listen to experts in any specific field, Ujiri was always going to preach patience over frustration when it comes to the possible re-starting of the season.
“I’m hoping (the season can be …
“I’m hoping (the season can be salvaged). That’s all of our hope. We love our game and we love what we do,” Ujiri said. “Honestly, for now, I think (the way) we salvage the NBA season is by abiding by the rules and doing everything that we have to do as people, as a community, everything we possibly can. This is not about the NBA, NBA players, NBA fans. It’s about the whole world. This is something that hit globally. This is not an earthquake that hit in only one part of the world or a disease that is only in another part of the world or a tsunami — pardon me for mentioning all of these things. But this is affecting the whole world. We can want to plan the NBA all we want, and (want) it to come back all we want. Because it affects the whole world, something is going to stall that one way or the other, if we have not played by the rules.”
His decision-making process with the …
His decision-making process with the camps will mirror his decision-making process with the Raptors. Ujiri is one of the more powerful men in basketball, but the pandemic can make that power feel like an illusion. Like the rest of us, he sits, waits and, crucially, listens. “It’s been tough, guys, I’ll be honest,” Ujiri said. “Just being away from everything you do and you do so well, it’s been tough on everybody. But this is time for us to rally, be together, be innovative and figure out a way forward. I know (last June) we brought the world together in a really special way (with the Raptors’ championship). And now I think it’s time we stick together, bring people together by staying apart. I’m fine. … (My contract) is honestly like the last thing on my mind. I miss the game, man. Like I miss it. I miss basketball. If you have concern, I’m concerned for my team, I’m concerned for my family, I’m concerned for the world.”
As previously reported, Bulls president …
As previously reported, Bulls president and chief operating officer Michael Reinsdorf is doing due diligence on multiple candidates and multiple options. He’s seeking feedback from a wide variety of sources on a wide variety of candidates. Surely, the Bulls are performing due diligence on big names like Presti and Raptors president Masai Ujiri. Talk around the league is that the Raptors wouldn’t let Ujiri go but that Presti is so close with Thunder owner Clay Bennett that Bennett would let his friend pursue other opportunities if Presti wanted.
The Raptors ended up being an early …
The Raptors ended up being an early signal of the coming shift as Masai Ujiri negotiated extensions with both Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam. Ujiri willingly conceding spending power, albeit to retain two pivotal members of their championship team, helped clarify how little many front offices cared about maximizing 2020 cap space. It was unsurprising to see less flexible front offices like the 76ers (Ben Simmons) and Nets (Caris LeVert and Taurean Prince) lock up young players ahead of restricted free agency, but a group of teams that includes the Raptors, Grizzlies (Dillon Brooks) and Kings (Buddy Hield) deliberately gave up cap space, and that meaningfully reduced the league-wide spending power this summer.
How Kenny Smith became more interested …
How Kenny Smith became more interested in a front office position was through one of the most shrewd and respected executives in the modern NBA, Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri. “He called me one day,” Smith said Thursday in Chicago at the House Of Blues, “and I didn’t know him,”