The Toronto Raptors fired president and general manager Bryan Colangelo with one year to go on his current contract.However, Colangelo won’t be without a job as the franchise has offered him a front office position. Reports out of Toronto said the Raptors will be trying to pry general manager Masai Ujiri away from the Denver Nuggets. Ujiri was named as the Executive of the Year in the NBA this season.
The Raptors are owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd (MLSE), which also owns the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL and Toronto FC of Major League Soccer. MLSE recently hired Tim Leiweke as its new CEO and president, and this is his first major move since taking over.
The 47-year-old Colangelo hasn’t been able to turn around the fortunes of the Raptors, who are one of the worst teams in the league. They finished the season with a record of 34-38 and missed the postseason for the fifth straight year.
There was a club-option year remaining on the former general manager’s contract, with May 20 being the club deadline to activate it. They decided to shuffle the deck instead and move him elsewhere in the organization. Leiweke is already hunting for a replacement with Ujiri being at the top of his list.
Ujiri knows the Raptors well since he worked for the organization and Colangelo for three years in the past. He was an assistant general manager with Toronto until the Nuggets hired him in 2010. Ujiri’s current contract with Denver is set to expire during the NBA’s offseason, which would make him a free agent.
Another possible replacement for Colangelo could be Ed Stafanski. He is currently the executive vice-president in charge of basketball operations with the Raptors.
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey could be the next one to get his walking papers. He has one more year remaining on his current contract, but the team may wait until it find a new general manager before deciding on Casey’s fate.
Colangelo had much better success with his previous NBA club, the Phoenix Suns, before heading to Toronto. He helped build the Suns into one of the league’s most successful and exciting franchises. He started out well with the Raptors and he guided them to the playoffs during his first two seasons in Toronto. He also took home the 2007 Executive of the Year award.
After the first two seasons, the Raptors began to slide down the standings. The team has been below-.500 for the last four seasons and they went 4-19 in the first 23 games this year before rebounding somehow. Toronto fans criticized Colangelo for letting Chris Bosh leave the club with the Raptors receiving minimal return for the All-Star forward.
Colangelo also used the top draft pick in 2006 to select Andrea Bargnani of Italy, and has brought in players such as Shawn Marion, Jermaine O’Neal and Hedo Turkoglu. However, none of these moves have worked out well for the team.
He then tried to improve the club this season by obtaining Rudy Gay in a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies; the jury’s still out on that move.
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