Everything Masai Ujiri

[Zak24gege]

Fun fact: James Dolan gave Phil Jackson a $60 million dollar contract, at a press conference said he was 'willingly and gratefully' ceding all basketball responsibilities to Phil Jackson, then 3 years later fired him ('mutually parted ways') after a power struggle re buying out Melo's contract.

Oh yeah and the first thing Phil tried to do was recruit Steve Kerr to be his new head coach and couldn't, Kerr turned down the New York Knicks for some team in Oakland.

Let's not even get into the 2019 free agent class, who turned down the Knicks for legendary NBA franchises like the Nets and Clippers.

Can we stop pretending the Knicks are some obviously magical NBA destination.

I can see no reason an executive not motivated by money and would not allow owner meddling would find the New York Knick job attractive enough to leave a world-class global city / franchise..

[S.R.]

Fun fact: James Dolan gave Phil Jackson a $60 million dollar contract, at a press conference said he was 'willingly and gratefully' ceding all basketball responsibilities to Phil Jackson, then 3 years later fired him ('mutually parted ways') after a power struggle re buying out Melo's contract.

Oh yeah and the first thing Phil tried to do was recruit Steve Kerr to be his new head coach and couldn't, Kerr turned down the New York Knicks for some team in Oakland.

Let's not even get into the 2019 free agent class, who turned down the Knicks for legendary NBA franchises like the Nets and Clippers.

Can we stop pretending the Knicks are some obviously magical NBA destination.

[Apollo]

Masai is a man of strong resolve. Does anyone seriously think that Silver is going to decide this for him?

Masai can pretty much go anywhere and pick his job and he's earned it. All the Raptors can do is stick with him until the end and give him whatever he asks for in contract negotiations. Some people are talking about a $10M/yr offer is likely what he'll receive on the open market in a way that implies the Raptors won't match. Have any of them taken a look at the year over year earnings of the Raptors since Masai got here? They can't afford to NOT pay him. He's made so much money for the business.

[bertarapsfan]

Adam Silver's relationship concerns me also. Just like Stern pushed Donnie Walsh to the Knicks and Silver forced Colangelo into the Sixers, I'm pretty sure Silver would be "gently encouraging" his good buddy Masai to seriously consider taking his talents to the NBA's most valuable franchise. It would be a self-serving.

Masai isn't stupid. Both those guys lasted like 2-3 years in those positions. I don't think the commissioner pushing you to a certain team should be a bid of confidence to masai

[slaw]

Yeah I don't know why Grange would be promoting NY to Masai when he works for the same company as Masai. Kind of an idiot. But the main take away for me is that Masai didn't balk at an extension. That concerned me. He wasn't given one because he still has 2 years left on his deal (actually could be 3 years). Extensions usually come up the year before their last. Not 2+ years.

And I still think Washington was the better team/city for him if he jetted. He's got more of a political mindset than a business one. I don't think he's driven by money/fame.

Well, I mean, it doesn't exactly take a genius to figure out the upside of taking a job in NYC running the Knicks. It's not as though Ujiri read that article and said to himself, 'man, never thought of that!'. As for any extension, you can't constantly be ripping up agreements cause it makes people feel good. He's under contract and when the time comes, he and MLSE will decide whether there is a deal to be done.

And if he leaves, contrary to popular belief, the world won't end. The organization is in terrific shape and the infrastructure and resources won't disappear overnight. Ujiri has done a fantastic job but he isn't the only good basketball mind and leader in the NBA. No one is irreplaceable. Life will go on.