Ujiri: No friction with Raptors ownership

Toronto Raptors team president Masai Ujiri tried to lay to rest rumours that he has friction with Edward Rogers, the executive chair of Rogers Communications, Inc.

Ujiri was asked about his relationship with Edward Rogers on Monday morning during Raptors media day before their pre-season training camp began. The question came nearly two weeks after Rogers Communications announced it was going to acquire rival telecom BCE Inc.'s 37.5 per cent stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the Raptors' ownership group, for $4.7 billion.

"I'm going to set the record straight here: Business continues as usual," said Ujiri. "I think everybody wants to ask the question of my relationship with Edward Rogers.

"We have a great relationship. We've had the same exact relationship for 10 years."

The Toronto Star reported in 2021 that Rogers had unsuccessfully fought plans to re-sign Ujiri as vice chairman and president of basketball operations, saying he was not worth the amount offered.

"People talk about negotiating and when we negotiated my contract. Yeah, those periods are tough," said Ujiri, joking that he had tough negotiations with his three-year-old son that very morning. "This is life and we all we all go through this. So I want to set that clear that (Edward Rogers) has never treated me any different.

"From when that went on, we moved on. Everybody moves on. You have tough negotiations with everything we do. That's the nature of my job."

Ujiri's current contract will reportedly expire in 2026. The Raptors are entering what he called a rebuilding year on Monday after finishing last season with a 25-57 record, 12th in the NBA's Eastern Conference.

MLSE owns almost all of Toronto's professional sports teams, including the Raptors, NHL's Maple Leafs, Major League Soccer's Toronto FC, and the CFL's Argonauts.

MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum, via his holding company Kilmer Sports Inc., owns the other 25 per cent stake. OMERS, a Canadian pension fund, purchased a five per cent indirect stake in MLSE in the summer of 2023 through a 20 per cent direct stake in Kilmer Sports for US$400 million.

"In terms of Larry Tanenbaum, he's always been a mentor. He'll always be a mentor," said Ujiri. "These guys have treated me with respect here. They've treated me well."

Kilmer announced this past summer that it was bringing a WNBA franchise to Toronto. Edward Rogers had also reportedly argued against MLSE making a bid for a WNBA franchise, which led to Tanenbaum and his holding company to strike out on its own for that team.

"Every time something comes up: WNBA, whoa, it's Masai versus Edward. Any small thing that comes up," said Ujiri. "Clear that. There's nothing. There's zero. Zero going on. OK?"

Rogers Communications wholly owns the Toronto Blue Jays.

Ujiri spoke with media for nearly 25 minutes to kick of the Raptors' media day at Scotiabank Arena. He returned to the podium after the death of NBA great Dikembe Mutombo was announced online.

"It’s really hard to believe. It’s hard for us to be without that guy," said a visibly upset Ujiri. "You have no idea what Dikembe Mutombo meant to me. Wow. It’s a tough one."

"I’m sorry. It’s a tough one. I have to say, that guy, he made us who we are," Ujiri added of Mutumbo's influence on Africans in the NBA. "That guy’s a giant, an incredible person. Who are we without Dikembe Mutombo? Not possible. It really is not."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.