Raptors Biggest Offseason Priority Should Be Front Office Deals
With the NBA offseason right around the corner, a lot of attention has been paid to the Toronto Raptors and their pending free agents. The Raptors are one of the few teams in the league with star power heading into free agency this fall, with Fred VanVleet, Marc Gasol, and Serge Ibaka all finishing out their contracts. While re-signing the trio is certainly a priority for the organization, it shouldn't be the biggest one for Toronto.
It's been over a month since Raptors president Masai Ujiri held his end-of-season press conference with reporters and was repeatedly asked about his and general manager Bobby Webster's contract status. On that September 17th, Ujiri said Webster and the Raptors were close to a deal.
"We are getting there," he said. "It is a priority for me to get to our leadership team and take care of the team and the organization in general, so we’re close."
As for his own contract, Ujiri said he hadn't had any discussions with the organization.
"Honestly, coming out of this, things are a little raw," he said referring to leaving the NBA's Orlando Bubble. "I'm going to reflect a little bit and we will address it when it's time to address it. It's not something I'm going to do in the media and publicly, with respect, but no I haven't had conversations."
Two weeks later, Raptors chairman Larry Tannenbaum told Doug Smith of the Toronto Star that extending Ujiri was a priority.
Yet there's been no news of an extension or extension talks for either of the executives.
Both Ujiri and Webster's contracts are set to expire at the end of the season, according to multiple reports. Ujiri is arguably the best executive in the NBA and probably Toronto's most valuable asset.
The longer things drag on without an extension for Ujiri and Webster, the more concerns grow. Until they've signed extensions, there is no offseason priority nearly as important as keeping the front office in place for the years to come.
