Mar 26, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors Team President and Alternate NBA Governor Masai Ujiri watches the warmup with his son before the game against the Washington Wizards at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Attention is focused on the playoffs but NBA rumors are still flying, with front-office changes looming for Toronto and Detroit pursuing a familiar face.
A slew of upset possibilities has created a fascinating second round of the playoffs, with the Heat, 76ers and Lakers (all lower-seeded) currently holding leads in their series. But while the playoffs push on, the rest of the league is already focused on the offseason, identifying free-agent targets and filling front-office openings. Here are the latest NBA rumors on that front.
NBA rumors: Wizards are preparing a push for Masai Ujiri
Pretty much every offseason since he joined the Raptors, we have seen rumors about one team or another preparing a big push to try and steal Masai Ujiri. To this point, no one has been successful but it sounds like the Wizards might be ready to try. They fired GM Tommy Sheppard at the end of the regular season and another anonymous executive told Heavy’s Steve Bulpett that Masai is high on their list of potential replacements.
“Masai (Ujiri) is really, really frustrated. He’s frustrated with VanVleet also, because he hasn’t shown him any indication that he wants to stay. So I think he’s really down about that situation. Maybe it’s because everything’s still so fresh, but there’s a lot they have to get done there. It didn’t surprise anyone that Nick moved on. I don’t know what they’re going to do, but I’ve been hearing that Washington is coming after Masai again.”
We still haven’t heard anything specific to indicate that Masai is looking for a new gig, but with several big roster changes looing and a head coach opening, perhaps he’d consider a fresh start somewhere else.