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One of the league’s most prominent decision-makers has been let go just one day after the 2025 NBA draft.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLS&E) is parting ways with Raptors vice chairman and president Masai Ujiri, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Ujiri led Toronto to its first NBA title in 2019 on the back of a bold trade of franchise icon DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard.
The decision to let Ujiri go comes less than a year after Rogers Communications, the Toronto-based media and telecommunications company, announced that it was increasing its stake in MLS&E to 75% for $3.46 billion. The deal has not closed yet. Rogers currently owns 37.5% of MLS&E, which also manages the NHL’s Maple Leafs and Scotiabank Arena, home of the two major sports franchises.
According to Ian Begley of SNY TV, there had been ongoing speculation among opposing NBA executives that Rogers Communications would part ways with Ujiri, who had just one more season under contract. Begley reported that Ujiri had “previous disagreements” with Rogers executives.
Rogers was also “hesitant” to pay Ujiri a new contract. The 54-year-old is reportedly earning $15 million per season on his current deal.
Ujiri joined the Raptors in 2013 and traded away Rudy Gay in the same year, which many believe was the catalyst to the Raptors’ rise in the 2010s. On top of the 2019 championship, Toronto made a franchise-record seven straight playoff appearances between 2013 and 2020.
Weeks before joining the Raptors, Ujiri was named the 2013 Executive of the Year as the GM of the Nuggets. He led Denver to a 57-win season one year after trading Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks.
Since the 2019 championship, Ujiri’s decision-making in Toronto has come under fire. The team let go of most of its championship core in the five years after winning a title, including veterans like Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby. Toronto has prioritized a youth movement centered on Scottie Barnes, the No. 4 pick in the 2021 draft, but it has missed the playoffs for the last three seasons.
