Raptors announce Webster as GM
Rumours out of New York have Masai Ujiri heading to the Knicks
POSTMEDIA NETWORK
TORONTO — The Raptors took care of some long-expected business on Wednesday, even as a loud distraction emanated from Gotham.
The team announced that Bobby Webster has been promoted to general manager, Dan Tolzman to assistant GM/vice-president, player personnel and Keith Boyarsky to VP basketball strategy & research.
“Masai Ujiri will continue to oversee basketball operations as president of the club.”
That line in a team release was the key one, since early Wednesday morning the news had dropped that the New York Knicks and Phil Jackson were parting ways after a disastrous fling together. Further reports from ESPN had beleaguered Knicks owner James Dolan restarting his pursuit of Ujiri, who he has long been a fan of.
That sent the Raptors’ fanbase into panic-mode
However, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment likely headed this scenario off at the path about a year ago, when Ujiri was given a long-term extension and a significant raise. That deal still has four years remaining and Ujiri has been granted total autonomy in Toronto and has overseen the greatest run of success in franchise history. The organization has also contributed millions of dollars to his Giants of Africa program.
Ujiri fleeced the Knicks in a pair of deals (Carmelo Anthony and Andrea Bargnani), first while helming the Denver Nuggets, and then just after he returned to the Raptors (where he had previously served as assistant GM under Bryan Colangelo). That scared Dolan off of a potential Kyle Lowry deal that would, in hindsight, have been a coup for the Knicks.
After the Jackson disaster, the Knicks clearly want to generate positive headlines for once and with Tim Leiweke now getting involved with the team (he already is partners in a business venture with Dolan’s close friend Irving Azoff ), it was only natural that Ujiri’s name would come up again. Leiweke brought Ujiri to Toronto when he was in charge of MLSE in one of his signature moves and is a huge fan.
“They should know the future of the Raptors is ultimately about Masaiandtheyshouldfeelextremely comfortable,” Leiweke had told Postmedia shortly before he left the organization when asked how fans should feel about his leaving a basketball side he had been a strong supporter of.
“My job was to find a good leader, and I did. I will leave behind that great leader and he’s the guy who will take them to the next heights.”
At the time, Ujiri had admitted that it was tough to see Leiweke go.
“It was phenomenal. It was great. We had ways of getting through everything, whether it was good or bad,” Ujiri said
“I’m not kissing his ass because he’s here. I’m with him every single day. That’s the difference, that’s what I’m going to miss is the chemistry and the working environment that he created here. This is a product of it. He always says to us that you have to build it for the next person. You have to have this vision.”
Still, don’t expect a reunion in New York. MLSE knows what it has in Ujiri and has done its part to ensure he stays put.
Ujiri, Webster and Jeff Weltman were given elevated job titles and raises in May of 2016 in an attempt to make poaching any of them harder. Weltman did end up leaving to become president in Orlando a month ago, but that was a promotion to head of basketball operations. Ujiri already has the highest title possible here and, if forced into a corner, MLSE would surely demand significant compensation from the Knicks.
When Weltman left, it was widely expected that Webster would succeed him as Ujiri’s second-in-command. Webster is regarded as a salary cap guru. He previously worked for the NBA and helped write the previous collective bargaining agreement (a new one goes into effect on July 1).
Tolzman has been the scouting lead, amongst other responsibilities, and was the GM of Raptors 905, D-League champions in Year 2 of existence.
Boyarsky has been the team’s director of analytics for a few years now after first coming aboard in 2009 as a consultant with Alex Rucker, who now leads Colangelo’s analytics team with the Philadelphia 76ers.
“We are excited to promote Bobby, Dan and Keith for their hard work and important contributions to our program,” Ujiri said in a release (Webster was set to meet with the local media later Wednesday afternoon).
“They have been invaluable across many aspects of the franchise, making decisions on our salary management, key input on scouting, analytics, strategy, player personnel and team building that has helped us develop a winning culture throughout our organization.”