Raptors' head-scratching Masai Ujiri firing feels like a blur — yet inevitable

A full day and some change has come to pass since the Raptors organization publicly announced that it was parting ways with President and Vice Chairman Masai Ujiri... and yet here I am, still coming to terms with it all, struggling to process what has happened.

The timing certainly threw everybody off with dramatic surprise, seeing as this shock revelation was made not even a full day after the Raptors wrapped up their 2025 NBA Draft selections, bringing defensive stalwarts Collin Murray-Boyles (with their lottery pick) and Alijah Martin (second-round pick) on board.

The selections certainly signaled the work of a typical Masai Ujiri special at hand, and we even saw footage of Ujiri featured in social media clips welcoming CMB to the team. So Raptors Nation still had every reason to believe that their revered, yet still somewhat polarizing, head honcho was fully still in his position of power; but alas, that was not the case. Although, it was reported that Ujiri knew he wasn't returning and yet he still had an influential say in Toronto's draft efforts.

Raptors firing Masai Ujiri rendered fans into state of shock and confusion

If you can still recall, I wrote a striking piece some time ago titled "Raptors fans should be worried about impending ownership change," where I referenced the potential danger of a majority ownership shift — specifically involving Rogers Communications, and especially Ed Rogers himself —which could spell bad news for Raptors fans.

I noted that such a change would likely signal the end of Masai Ujiri's storied tenure at the helm of operations in Toronto. And here we are, some two and a half months later, and the Rogers-led MLSE has gone ahead and parted ways with Ujiri.

If you haven't read up on the gossip already, it is no secret that Ujiri and Ed Rogers did not see eye to eye, with the most highlighted clash being Rogers apparently working to pull back on an Ujiri contract extension — though he got it anyway in 2021. While in the inner basketball circle, the news of these tensions heightening was drawing attention; it seemed like all parties were working to make it seem like everything was okay in Toronto.

MLSE President Keith Pelley addressed the media in a scrum on June 27, where it was largely recieved by Raptors fans to be one of the most confusing press conferences ever.

During the Pelley scrum, he would be candidly asked what exactly caused this parting of ways to take place, although the MLSE President would give very vague and press-friendly answers. A majority of Pelley’s reasoning supposedly stems from the Raptors being in a rebuild/or retool, viewing the timing as most fitting to let Masai Ujiri go.

But that’s definitely not an answer that sits well with Raptors Nation, as they’ve speculated on the true reasons why (citing Rogers' rumored frugality and distaste for Ujiri) and still find themselves in a whirlwind of emotion — much like myself.

Ujiri-Ed Rogers beef widely believed to be the cause of the firing

I don't know if every Raptors fan saw this coming, but those in the know certainly had a hunch that this inevitable changing of the guard was on the horizon. Given how important Masai Ujiri is to the Raptors' identity, I can't think of many in the community who actually wanted to envision a world in which the man many consider Toronto's messiah, in a way, would no longer be part of that vision.

Masai Ujiri is the Raptors, and the Raptors is Masai Ujiri.

Now, Raptors Nation is going to have to get used to using was in those statements. I think Ujiri's influence and signature flair will stand the test of time — it certainly helps with his protege Bobby Webster still having a key role as team GM — but this will likely be a canon event for many Raptors fans that sets a truly new era in stone. Whether or not this post-Masai timeline will be a happy one has the Raptors community on edge.