#ujiri

By Israel Olamilekan Masai Ujiri, one of the most respected executives in global basketball, has joined the Toronto Tempo as a Principal Owner. The architect of the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 NBA Championship and founder of Giants of Africa, Ujiri has built a career on empowering communities through sport while championing women’s equity and opportunity at every level. As an owner of the Toronto…

Ujiri: Raptors need a 'culture reset'

by Joseph Casciaro 21m ago Nathaniel S. Butler / National Basketball Association / Getty TORONTO – Masai Ujiri hasn’t yet committed to a specific offseason plan of action, but the Raptors president said Tuesday that plan will involve changes in Toronto. “After that performance, we need a culture reset here,” Ujiri told reporters at his season-ending news conference, just days after the…

Raptors extend president Ujiri; promote Weltman to GM

by William Lou 47m ago Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters The Toronto Raptors announced Friday that team president Masai Ujiri has signed a multi-year extension. Ujiri held titles as both general manager and team president under his previous arrangement. Under this updated structure, former assistant Jeff Weltman will fill the general manager role, while cap guru Bobby Webster will be…

Hey Raptors fans, welcome back for another Raptors related blog post.

Well, the off-season so far has been a busy one for general manager Masai Ujiri. It all started about a week ago when Kyle Lowry re-signed with the Raptors. His deal is reportedly worth 48 million dollars over 4 seasons. Now, I've heard Raptors fans whine and complain that this is far too big of a contract to be offering an injury prone, 28 year old point guard. Lowry absolutely deserved this contract though, and if he can stay healthy, I will go out on a limb and say that Lowry will go down as the best point guard to have ever suited up for the Raptors thus far in franchise history. The thing that is interesting about Lowry's contract is the fact that he can opt out after the 3rd season and become an unrestricted free agent. This will give Lowry the incentive to play hard so he can secure one last contract before he starts to consider retiring. Lowry averaged a career high 17.9 ppg, 7.4 apg and 4.7 rpg.

The next big acquisition happened when Ujiri shipped out John Salmon's and his huge expiring contract for Lou Williams and Lucas Nogueira. This was another net positive addition for the Raptors as they acquired another proven scorer to shore up their bench. Williams suffered a knee injury last season which seemed to slow him down. While Lou Williams lacked the same explosiveness as he did during his days in Philadelphia, he still proved that he can contribute to a winning team with the Hawks last season. Williams averaged 10.4 ppg and 3.5 apg. Lucas Nogueira is a bit of an unknown in this trade. Nogueira was selected 16th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in last years draft and spent the season playing in the ACB in Spain. His year was riddled with injuries to his knees which is never good for a young big man. On the bright side, he did win the defensive player of the year, and his defensive potential is undeniable. He is also from Brazil, so he can hopefully build some good chemistry with the Raptors 20th overall selection in this years draft in Bruno Caboclo. 

Following the Salmons trade, the Raptors signed Patrick Patterson to a 3 year deal worth right around 18 million dollars. Patterson really proved last season that he can be a lights out shooter, and "stretch 4's" are hard to come by in the NBA. Patterson is still young enough where he will continue to develop his game. Patterson is also a good insurance policy to have, just in case Amir Johnson gets hurt. Patrick Patterson could eventually even supplant Amir Johnson in the starting lineup if things go his way. Patterson averaged 8.5 ppg and 5.3 rpg. Grievis Vasquez also announced that he will be returning to the Raptors on a 2 year deal worth 13 million dollars. Last season, Vasquez really proved that he was one of the best bench guards in the league. He is versatile enough with his length to either play point guard or the shooting guard positions. It is also rumored that Vasquez will be a big recruiter in the 2016 Kevin Durant sweep stakes. Vasquez posted 9.6 ppg and 4.1 apg last season. James Johnson was the most recent addition to the Raptors signing a 2 year deal worth 5 million dollars. Johnson played for the Raptors a couple of seasons ago and his play was quite sporadic. Johnson would often try to play out of his role by launching undisciplined jump shots. If Johnson can stay within his role this season and simply play good defense, the Raptors would have a steal with this signing.  

Overall, this is the roster heading into next season: