Toronto Raptors FULL press conference announcing departure of president Masai Ujiri | #raptors #nba

Toronto Raptors FULL press conference announcing departure of president Masai Ujiri | #raptors #nba

good afternoon everyone Thank you for joining us here this afternoon for immediate availability with MLSC President CEO Keith P uh following today’s uh Raptors leadership change announcement Um immediately following um Keith’s opening remarks we’ll open it up to questions from the audience and uh will be mics on either side of the room there So please just raise your hand will identify uh the the reporter to ask questions and Phil and Josh will will bring a microphone to you With that I’d like to turn it over to Keith Py
Okay Thanks David Uh good afternoon everyone and thank you for joining us I apologize for a Friday afternoon of a long weekend but I felt that uh and I felt the need to come and see you all face to face and have a discussion about uh our announcement earlier today Uh today is not an easy day but as you know change is never easy Uh Messiah Yujeri has had a monumental impact on the Raptors and on our community during his 13 seasons with this organization His legacy will be indelibly etched in our city in perpetuity based on him playing such a significant role in bringing the 2019 NBA championship to our city and also how he transformed our brand and worked through the Raptors to create a connection with so many fans in Toronto We owe Messiah a great deal of gratitude and I wish him the very best moving forward One thing we know wherever Messiah ends up he will be successful So why now why why the timing now so Messiah and I spoke over a month ago and he asked that if a change were to happen that it was postdraft and that made the most sense not to disrupt the draft process you know we we were holding the the ninth pick a top 10 pick And of course Messiah’s not only his area of passion but his area of expertise He’s prolific when it comes to the draft And uh we were grateful to have him as the person with with Bobby leading our draft You know we talked last night about Colin Muro Boils and he said “Murray Boils is going to be something special Keith.” and you’re going to enjoy watching him develop over the many years to come 13 seasons is an extremely long time in a sports leadership role As I said change is inevitable And what we really thought is with the current status of our team and the foundation that well Messiah is built that this was the time to make the change The roster is in place All our players are signed at the luxury tax limit The front office is renewed including general manager Bobby Webster And we have great coaching stability led by Darko So we’re now going to turn our attention to search for a new team president and we’ll be working with CA beginning on that later on this afternoon Now the question has come over and over again is is we didn’t bring in a new president for the Toronto Maple Leafs uh but we are bringing in a new president for the Raptors What is the difference you may remember that during the news conference just a month ago I talked about there not being a preset formula for structures for teams Different teams have different structures different needs and they’re in different areas of their evolution And with the Toronto Maple Leafs you know one game from the conference final and with Brad Tring and the team uh moving forward we didn’t feel the need for a president of the Toronto Maple Leafs With the evolution of where the Toronto Raptors are in the middle of a rebuild we felt that we needed to bring in a president and as a result we will start that search immediately as I mentioned So once again I want to thank Messiah for incredible 13 years a brilliant journey and congratulate him on all his success and most importantly for winning a championship and creating a culture and a brand and really an organization that and a foundation that it is our our our job now going forward forward to build upon and no doubt that’s a big challenge but we’re ready for it And with that I’ll open up to uh to any questions
Doug Smith Hi Keith Doug Smith of the Toronto Star What do you hope to find in a new president that you don’t have in the president that just left well I think that’s an excellent question and we’ve we we’ve talked about that and uh that is a question right now that we have uh we’ve poised uh not even a question some of the answers and some of the thoughts and although they were uh confidential that we’ve discussed with CIA uh obviously uh whoever comes into that position has massive shoes to fill uh so it will need to be a prominent successful business leader my Gr
Keith Michael Grange from Rogers Sports Net Um Messiah had a year left on his contract and I’m just wondering um was there a financial implication here why it needed to be done and uh what you can tell us on that front well I think there are there are major factors that go into a decision at this this this large but the primary reason in this case was the situation and where we currently are in basketball operations as I talked about the stability with our roster the stability with our front office and the stability with our coaching staff and and that allowed us to uh make a decision uh to move forward
Josh
hi Keith Josh Lewenberg TSN Will Bobby be considered for the president job and if it’s not an internal candidate how appealing will the job be do you think for an external candidate with a general manager and a leadership team already in place and extended
well the first question is Bobby will be a candidate Uh and we’ve already talked about that Uh so he will be uh he will be interviewed and I think the president of an NBA franchise is always appealing So uh I don’t think that we will have any challenges whatsoever uh finding a strong prominent uh businessman with a with an depth background in-depth background in basketball operations Uh but as I said before we’re definitely hiring a president of basketball operations and and Bobby will definitely be a candidate Ryan
hey Keith right here Ryan Wolstead Toronto Sun Just curious what you would say to the basketball fans in this country who might have some concerns that a very passionate uh basketball person in Messiah is leaving and uh with looming ownership changes another very passionate basketball person in Larry Tannibal as well uh down the line Well I I’m not sure exactly what your what your question is because if you’re talking about passion I think that what you will what at least I’ve learned is anybody that is working in the front office of any professional operation has unwavering passion for their for their role Uh Masai had it Bobby has it Brad for living had it Brendan Shanahan has it Jason Hernandez has it uh when you have the opportunity and the privilege of having that role um you have an unwavering passion I go back to 2004 and I saw it for the first time when I had an opportunity to work with general manager Adam Marita and at uh 76 years old when I ran into him just a couple of months ago he still has that passion people that work in in sports and work at the highest level have the passion So I would say to the fans that we will find somebody that unequivocally will have the passion to bring another NBA championship to this city and that is our goal When I when I arrived in April of 2024 uh I repeatedly asked the board what was the definition of success for myself how was I going to be judged and that was on building championships on winning championships And uh I think that whoever comes into this role that will be their key focus just like that’s the key focus of Brad and that will be the key focus of anybody that comes into this position Eric Karine from the Athletic Keith Um you said you spoke to Messiah a month ago or so Was that when he was told the change was h would be happening i think we’ve been Messiah and I have been chatting for the uh for probably last couple of months last two or three months about uh about the future and uh so we’ve had a number of conversations over that time
And when was so when was he told firmly this was the decision
uh we we talked we talked um earlier at the beginning of of this month And what were your impressions of how he took that news uh I think Messiah is is a is a is a professional and so he he took it as such and and I think that Messiah no doubt will be speaking in uh in the coming days and uh and you can ask him that question directly Steve Keith Steve Simmons Toronto Sun Did you make this decision or did Edward Rogers make this decision
this this was my decision supported by the board Keith John Chidley Hill with the Canadian Press Uh you said uh obviously Bobby has been extended What were those conversations like obviously he and Messiah had a close relationship and besides departure and then he’s negotiating a contract What were those conversations like with Bobby
they were they were very amicable and Bobby and I had a had a number of positive conversations Uh I have a ton of time for Bobby He has incredible integrity Uh he knows the the ins and outs of basketball and and the luxury tax as good as anybody does in the league based on his time uh at the league office So they were they were very good conversations in the back on the left
Joseph Aaro the score Uh Keith you spoke of the brand transformation that happened under Messiah Is there any concern that some of that brand luster will be lost with him and then just a quick followup also how involved in the day-to-day basketball operations do you want the team president um compared to the general manager say well I think the team president will be very involved in the basketball uh operations and we’ll need to work very closely with Bobby So the answer is is his or her focus will be 100% on basketball operations We have a numbers number of centers of excellence based on the plethora of of teams that we have So him worrying about commercials or tickets is is not going to be a priority It will be focused entirely on basketball operations Um what was your first question again oh yeah Well you know yeah we we have we have we we give MSI tremendous accolades for creating a brand and a culture Um but but the testament to that brand and the testament to a culture is how it lives once that individual is gone and and I believe that the culture and the brand that he has created will flourish uh because that’s the way that he would have wanted it to flourish Uh but when you create a brand when you create um a culture if it is mitigated when that individual is no longer involved then the culture and the brand has not been created in the right way And I believe that the way that he has built the brand and the way that he has created the culture is something that we as an organization at MLSSE cherish and need now to build upon and that will be something critical for the next president coming in
Adrian Keith Adrien Goril CTV National News Keith you’re in the business of winning What has led you and the board at MLSC to believe that the Raptors are better positioned to win without Messiah than with him
well I I I think winning is very difficult and it’s hard And and you know when you think about it there’s 30 MLS teams there’s 30 NBA teams there’s 32 NHL teams That’s three chances out of 92 teams So winning is hard regardless So you have to have every piece of the puzzle Um and and the the I can’t unequivocally answer your question right now because I don’t know the the the answer Um but as I said change is inevitable and sometimes getting in front of it is is necessary and we just seize the opportunity at this particular time with where we are in the evolution of the rebuild to to make a move that hopefully now will build on what is a real young um aggressive team that Bobby and Messiah has built and a foundation that he has built uh and so somebody is coming in in the midst of a rebuild and will hopefully expedite that and bring us to a new level quickly Hi Keith Aaron Rose on SI It sounds like you you guys were happy with Messiah being in charge of the draft and it sounds like you’re happy with the direction of the rebuild and the retool So I’m struggling to understand why it was felt like it was needed to make a change given your happiness level with the rest of the roster Well I I I think the the the discussion with Messiah and you know is is a discussion that is obviously private between the two of us but the fact that he um led the led the draft shows Messiah’s integrity and our trust and belief that uh that he always and will always have the best interest at heart for the Raptors I can’t say it any more any more times than there are many factors that came into this decision and the timing was right to make a change and uh we believe we believe that with the stability in all of the areas that I’ve outlined multiple times that gave us the opportunity to do such and that’s what we’ve done We have time for three more questions
Hi Keith this is Willoo from uh the Nature Network I wanted to ask you two things Number one you mentioned stability a few times but obviously to the outside it is a little confusing if you want stability to change the leadership at the very top Was there any indication I know you’ve spoken about from your perspective but maybe from Messiah that he was also looking for a change as well um well that’s a better question for MSAI but I would say no you you you have strong stability throughout the organization Um you have stability at MLSSE Uh you have an ownership group uh that is is ready to invest has has uh been very public with that Um you know I I think now our focus is finding the right president to build on the culture to build on the brand to build on the foundation uh that we have in that we have in place And just to follow up on something else you said earlier about potentially expediting the rebuild under our new president is there a specific urgency that you see for this team that has been rebuilding but not back to the playoffs in a while do you see an specific urgency to get back to that point i think I think the the urgency is to find the right person right so we are we are not if if we are able to find the right person next week fantastic If that is next month that’s okay too And if it’s in two months that’s okay That that’s our number one priority is finding the right person that can um that can get us back to contending and winning championships Uh and that’s that is a luxury that we have based on the likes that we have Dan Tolsman uh as our director of player personnel that we have Bobby Webster uh in the general manager role and that gives us the flexibility that that we need Uh but we’re certainly not going to rush into anything uh just so that we we have a president But if it happens quickly it happens quickly And if it takes two months it takes two months on the left here
Uh Adam Luceras from Daily Hive Uh you’ve been in this job for a little bit over a year now Uh and and uh a lot of your press conferences have been ones like this They’ve been hirings They’ve been you know people being let go Uh I’m wondering what sort of legacy uh do you feel like you’ve built so far in your little time here and what do you want your legacy to be uh sort of whenever you’re done with this job
well I I don’t I don’t I don’t believe in in a legacy for myself I believe legacies belong to the likes of Winston Churchill and and Shakespeare They don’t belong to Keith Py the CEO of MLSSE Uh my my role is to do the best I possibly can and and to contend for championships on an annual basis We have four teams It’s obviously a little easier to do such with uh with the Canadian Football League but the other three teams it’s tough it’s hard and uh and I’m committed to it to to building the right culture and the right competitive uh players to contend and to win championships And that’s the way that I’ll be judged and that’s the way that I should be judged And in order in order for that then um you have to be prepared to make some tough decisions You have to be prepared to make make change Change is change is hard It really is hard And uh this decision today is hard It’s a tough decision But I think it’s the right decision for the Raptors at this time And I will continue to make decisions that I think are right for the organizations that put us in the best opportunity to win Keith Michael Grinch from Sportsnet Um you know if you are around the NBA the two people most associated with the Raptors are Larry Tannenbomb at an ownership level and Messiah Jury from uh you know the front office level that those are the people that interacted with new players with the prominent agents that kind of really um not to say other people didn’t do a lot of work but who was going to be the face of this team who are going to be the people that uh people around the NBA associate with the Raptors going forward
Well Michael you know the respect that Bobby Webster has around the league um and and the the relationship that he has with the general managers and when you look at not only this year but in previous years he has often been the spokesperson for key trades key moves free agency deals Um so you have a prominent person there right now but we are hiring another president Uh whether that’s Bobby is is to be determined Um but we’re not hiring a president and a general manager We’re hiring a president and we will have a general manager So the the president as I said will will uh will be an experienced we’re looking for an experienced um prominent strong successful um personality So um I I I think that uh Messiah and Larry have been both two incredible ambassadors uh for the Raptors Uh Larry is the chair in Ammeritus for MLSSC Uh and uh and I hope wherever Messiah ends up uh I know he’ll be successful but at the same time I hope he’s still silently cheering for the Raptors Last question in the back row here
Hi Keith Thomas Dag CBC News Uh back here Just to follow up on a question from earlier You said that uh this was your decision supported by the board How much influence does Edward Rogers have on a decision like this
i think I think all board members uh on all major decisions supply input U but at the end of the day they look for the input and the direction and the strategy of where the team is going uh through their CEO uh that was the role and that was the the reason they brought uh me in or they brought some they wanted to bring somebody in that oversaw the teams So they all have input but at the end of the day this was my decision supported by the board
Thank you Keith and thank you everybody That concludes uh today’s media availability Okay
Thanks everybody Sorry about a long weekend

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