5 General managers the Raptors could call to replace Masai Ujiri

The Toronto Raptors just underwent an ownership change, with Rogers Communications buying out Bell Canada and growing to control 75 percent of the team (as well as the Maple Leafs). That greatly increases the influence of Rogers chairman Edward Rogers over the operations of the team.

That may spell doom for President Masai Ujiri, who is both one of the most respected executives in the league and a favorite of current Raptors governor Paul Tanenbaum, who owns the remaining 25 percent of the team. Ujiri and Rogers, on the other hand, have had a fairly contentious relationship.

We discussed more of the details of the situation here, but suffice it to say it's not crazy to think the Raptors could be looking for a new basketball decision-maker sooner rather than later.

If that ends up happening, and Ujiri is fired or otherwise forced out, who are the top candidates to replace him? Let's look at five names who could be in play for the position, starting with the in-house option.

No. 5: Bobby Webster

Bobby Webster has come up in the Toronto Raptors organization, joining the franchise in 2013 and becoming assistant GM in 2016. In 2017, the then-32-year-old replace Jeff Weltman to become general manager, becoming the youngest GM in the league at the time.

For all that Masai Ujiri has taken credit for building the 2019 title team, Webster has been intimately involved in all of the team's transactions, from that 2019 team to the more recently questionable decisions. An expert on salary cap management, Webster likely has a lot to offer a team as the lead decision-maker, but he may also be viewed as too close to Ujiri to retain if Edward Rogers wants a clean slate.