Ujiri Has Built a Consistent Winner in Toronto
Ujiri left the Nuggets in 2013 to become the President of Basketball Operations for the Raptors—the role in which he currently serves today. Proving his success with the Nuggets was no fluke, Ujiri turned Toronto into an instant winner. Despite inheriting a team that failed to make the postseason the previous five seasons, Ujiri’s Raptors have qualified for playoffs every year during his tenure.
The team steadily improved but seemed to hit a roadblock last season. The No. 1 seeded Raptors were swept out of the Eastern Conference by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers last year. The elimination proved to be a turning point for Ujiri, who made the bold move to fire reigning Coach of the Year Dwane Casey to promote assistant coach Nick Nurse and trade fan favorite and Toronto loyalist DeMar DeRozan for two-way superstar Kawhi Leonard. Despite catching criticism for being disloyal, Ujiri’s move proved to be fruitful, as Leonard’s stellar postseason play and Nurse’s calm demeanor has Toronto in the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
