Masai Ujiri, the President of Basketball Operations for the Toronto Raptors, is widely considered to be one of the NBA’s top executives. He made the bold decision to trade away fan favorite DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard, which ultimately led to the Raptors winning the championship against the Golden State Warriors. Although Leonard only played for one season, it was a successful move that paid off.
Ujiri also made a smart draft pick in 2021, selecting a future All-Star in Scottie Barnes with the fourth pick, despite missing out on highly-touted players like Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, and Evan Mobley. Barnes has proven to be better than all of them.
However, Ujiri has received criticism for some of his recent decisions, such as letting Fred VanVleet go without a solid backup plan, and holding onto Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby for too long.
One of Ujiri’s potential blunders was the 2023 Jakob Poeltl trade, where the franchise exchanged a 2024 lottery pick (top-six protection) for Poeltl. Despite giving him a hefty contract of $80 million over four years, Poeltl is unlikely to become a star or a primary option. Unfortunately, the pick is now predicted to be a top-ten selection due to Toronto’s poor record and 12th-place ranking in the Eastern Conference. If the San Antonio Spurs make a wise choice (which is probable given their draft history), the Raptors will miss out on a game-changer with greater potential than Poeltl.
