Masai Ujiri is still firmly missed by Raptors Nation, but while it's one thing to sit around and reminisce about what once was, the Raptors organization has fully moved on in its search for the revered executive's successor.
It was a tough pill to swallow, but I think anyone paying close attention in recent years saw that the writing was on the wall, and Masai Ujiri was working on borrowed time before he no longer stood one in the same with the Toronto Raptors.
Ujiri's departure stole the spotlight nearly a month ago, and here we are — approaching August —while the Raptors (more specifically MLSE, their primary ownership group) are still actively searching for a suitable candidate to take on the president role. It would be so simple to think that Bobby Webster, the Raptors' current General Manager and largely Ujiri's right-hand man throughout a good stretch of his tenure, would be the leading guy with his name in the job role hat; and you'd certainly be right to think so.
Webster has paid his dues well enough to warrant an internal promotion, but that doesn't mean MLSE isn't still exploring outside options in the interim. This was the subject of a recent article by Sportsnet Raptors insider Michael Grange, titled "Raptors Notebook: What's Next for Masai Ujiri and Toronto's Front Office Search?"
In the piece, Grange shined a light on Ujiri's recent endeavors since departing the Raptors — mainly pertaining to his Giants of Africa charitable organization — but it also delved deeper into the different candidates vying for the presidential position. And it was this one name that stood out to me the most, as he was the leader — aside from their veteran head coach — who can be seen as responsible for spearheading their recent campaign of success:
Raptors reportedly interested in Indiana Pacers president
"But an interesting name to watch is Kevin Pritchard, the long-time Indiana Pacers president who led the club to the NBA Finals this past June and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024. One league insider suggested to me that the Pacers executive is MLSE’s preferred choice, although lateral moves when executives are under contract with other teams are often harder to execute than when there is a promotion."Michael Grange, July 26, 2025
The Pacers might've fallen off the pedestal mightily after such an unexpected rise to NBA prominence (with a tough Game 7 Finals defeat and Tyrese Haliburton's gutting Achilles tear), but their route toward budding success is something that teams across the league (especially Toronto) can learn from. I'm sure the Raptors would love to follow suit in their footsteps and that scenario could start by stealing away Kevin Pritchard from the Pacers brass.
However, Toronto can try poaching Pritchard all they want, but ultimately, it would be up to him to organize a departure from the Pacers organization in a non-sour (and legal) manner. Still, I think this is a very intriguing development, and as Grange mentions, perhaps Kevin Pritchard is that dark horse to watch in the Raptors' hunt for a new president.