Rumors

The elephant in the room is the one person who’s no longer in the room: the recently dismissed team president, Masai Ujiri. Nobody is talking about their former boss or even speaking his name aloud. Ask somebody about him, on or off the record, and you’ll get a scripted response, something along the lines of: "He did great things and will be missed, but life goes on." Requests to make general manager Bobby Webster or other members of the front office available to the media have been declined, even for stories unrelated to Ujiri, and the sense is that the code of silence is a directive coming from the very top. The nervous energy is palpable.

TSN

As if the situation wasn’t precarious enough already, imagine asking Webster to report to somebody with less relevant experience, who beat him out for the job that he wanted and felt that he earned. He was recently given a contract extension, along with the other prominent members of his leadership team, but according to sources, those deals run through the 2026-27 season. Hardly a long-term commitment or something that would preclude a new president from cleaning house and bringing in their own people.

TSN

Pelley said he and Ujiri had been talking about the executive’s future for the last few months. According to Pelley, Ujiri requested he be able to run the draft if a change was going to ultimately be made, even though the franchise extended the contracts of general manager Bobby Webster, assistant general manager Dan Tolzman and would be looking to hire a new president, a role for which Webster will be interviewed. Pelley said the new president will focus solely on basketball, not business.

New York Times

Raptors general manager Bobby Webster and assistant GM Dan Tolzman recently received contract extensions that were not announce until Friday and now assume day-to-day control of basketball operations while MLSE conducts a search for Ujiri's replacement. We'll have to see to what lengths MLSE is prepared to go in terms of hiring a successor when the significant annual salaries held by Ujiri and former Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan are believed to have factored in strongly to the dismissals of both lead executives in the space of the past five weeks.

marcstein.substack.com

Pelley said Webster will be a candidate for the president of basketball operations role. Webster figures to be a real contender given how often in recent years "Masai and Bobby" were referenced around the league as Toronto's decision-making duo.

marcstein.substack.com

Marc Stein: Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment says it will launch a search for a new Raptors team president but adds that “Raptors front office leadership remains in place with (contract) extensions for key personnel including general manager Bobby Webster.”

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Josh Lewenberg: Webster on CMB's initial on-cam reaction to being drafted by Raptors: "We don't tell the player. A lot of teams will tell the players that they're getting picked and so I don't think he knew. I think it was truly a reaction to it happening. Maybe we should leak to them more" 😂

x.com

Ryan Wolstat: Raptors general manager Bobby Webster on Collin Murray-Boyles says they watched him closely for two years. "Very versatile great hands a lot of stops. See him as a chance to be a very good defensive player in the NBA."

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• Brooklyn Nets: Makar Gevorkian, VP of Basketball Operations Alignment and Strategic Planning • Charlotte Hornets: Rick Schnall, Co-Chairman and Governor • Chicago Bulls: Faizan Hasnany, Manager, Basketball Strategy and Analytics • Dallas Mavericks: Matt Riccardi, Assistant General Manager • Houston Rockets: Sam Strantz, Senior Team Counsel • New Orleans Pelicans: Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President • Oklahoma City Thunder: Sam Presti, Executive Vice President and General Manager • Philadelphia 76ers: Ned Cohen, Assistant General Manager • Portland Trail Blazers: Andrae Patterson, Assistant General Manager • Sacramento Kings: Alvin Gentry, Vice President of Basketball Engagement • San Antonio Spurs: Brian Wright, General Manager • Toronto Raptors: Bobby Webster, General Manager • Utah Jazz: Justin Zanik, General Manager • Washington Wizards: Will Dawkins, General Manager

RealGM

Tristan Thompson: You wanna full court press with under a minute left in the game when you get cracked by 30 this will happen to you. Lose for draft lottery and be happy buddy boy. Hopefully you and most of your guys see the light at the end of Bobby and Masai long term plan. Bless up stay warm in MY CITY 😉😁 Toronto Star Sports: Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic on Tristan Thompson’s antics late: “I think what Tristan did there was no class and disrespectful… I love when my team stands up for themselves.”

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Josh Lewenberg: For those worried about how Ingram might impact the Raptors' immediate plans, Bobby Webster confirms that their goals for this season remain the same. Priority is to play/develop the young guys. "I think it's still a rebuild." He calls the Ingram trade more of a "long-term play."

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Josh Lewenberg: Ingram is extension eligible now, so the Raptors can start talking contract with him and Webster says they're "looking forward" to having those conversations. "(We) hope to lock him up so he has a long stay in Toronto."

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The structure of the deal helps. Per a source, and as Raptors GM Bobby Webster confirmed to TSN on Monday, it’s a flat $175 million over five years – no options or annual raises. It will be worth 25 per cent of the salary cap next season, but assuming the cap continues to rise as expected, Quickley’s cap hit will only be 17 per cent by Year 5, when he’s 29 and the team figures to be more competitive and in need of the additional roster flexibility. That’s fair value for even an average starting point guard, and Toronto is certainly hoping that he can grow into more than that.

TSN

Eurohoops: “I had conversations with Sasha, his representations, Bobby, coach, and I think that should develop in the next few days or we'll see whether it's a few months” – Raptors president updates the status of Vezenkov #NBA eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/16…

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