The Toronto Raptors are once again in prime position for a deep run in the postseason, as president Masai Ujiri and GM Bobby Webster have done a masterful job of making sure this team stayed together amid some trying circumstances.
Not only did Toronto have to deal with the fact that they are playing all of their home games in central Florida, but they had to figure out their offseason and free agency plans in an extremely short offseason. Even with all of these factors working against him, Ujiri has the Raptors right in the thick of the playoff hunt.
While Ujiri will never have to pay for a drink in Toronto again due to his championship, and he has made some solid moves lately, he is by no means beyond reproach, as he’s made some missteps this offseason.
Ujiri has helped this roster stay, for the most part, intact. Despite that, he has had some misses in this up-and-down season. Time to take a look at where he’s excelled and where he’s flopped.
Where Masai Ujiri has helped the Toronto Raptors
Ujiri’s biggest accomplishment this season was re-signing Fred VanVleet, who returned to Toronto on a four-year, $85 million contract. While that is some big money for a player who has never been a featured scoring option, his 20.1 points per game this year show that he is more than capable of being a long-term building block for the Raptors.
Chris Boucher was also resigned on a two-year, $13 million contract. The early returns in that suggest that he’s, at the very least, a massive bargain. He’s becoming Toronto’s best offensive big man and a legit Sixth Man of the Year candidate given his shot-blocking ability.
Where Masai Ujiri has hurt the Toronto Raptors
The most obvious issues with Ujiri’s performance during the offseason related to the center position. At the risk of beating a dead horse, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka both slipped through Toronto’s grasp and ended up in Los Angeles. They chose to replace the pair with Aron Baynes and Alex Len, but the former has been a massive disappointment and the latter has been waived.
While Ujiri has been solid at drafting and developing over the last few years, point guard Malachi Flynn has been so bad on offense that he earned a demotion to Raptors 905. While the Raptors have enough star power to overcome his slow start, they are operating without a backup point guard at the moment, and Flynn is a big reason why.
Masai Ujiri’s overall performance summarized
In one of the most complicated, convoluted offseasons in recent memory, Ujiri has managed to keep their stars happy and position the Raptors nicely for a playoff run in the deep Eastern Conference. However, due to his free agency flops and questionable drafting, Ujiri has had far from a perfect offseason.
Grade: B