Does This Looks Like The Face Of A Man Who Could Potentially Change The NBA Forever?

Ever since his days with the Nuggets, Masai Ujiri has long been considered one of the best basketball executives on the planet. The guy has big time stones and is certainly not afraid of taking risks. He dealt Melo from DEN to NYK, and we all know about what he did last year with Kawhi and how that all worked out. You may remember this past summer the Wizards threw a shit ton of money at him to get him out of Toronto and he declined, and as expected his name is being floated around once again, this time in relation to the Knicks. From the sounds of "reports" it's an issue that can't be ignored

But based on comments made by numerous people in Toronto on Wednesday, many in the Raptors’ organization believe that the changes could come higher on the organizational chart and that if the Knicks’ struggles continue, at season’s end, Dolan will make an effort to convince Masai Ujiri to come to New York. And the fear within the Raptors’ organization is that Ujiri will go

It's the same old story with the Knicks. Big market, tons of money, historic franchise, blah blah blah. It's no surprise that the Raptors owner has come out and immediately tried to squash these rumors 

“We hope so,” Tanenbaum, who is MLSE part-owner and long-time chairman, said earlier this week at the Board of Governors’ meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. “We haven’t talked (about an extension) at this point in time, but if you ask him, his intentions are pretty clear.”

When asked why a contract extension has not yet been offered, Tanenbaum said the timing wasn’t right.

“Masai has a contract that goes for another two years — this season and next season — so there’s really no need at this point (to re-sign him),” he said.

but the timing here is important. Let's just say that Ujiri doesn't hit the market until after next season, the summer of 2021. Why is that significant? One GIGANTIC reason

Everyone, and I mean everyone is making sure they have cap space in the event Giannis hits the market in 2021. Even if you think there is a 0.000000001% chance Giannis turns down his supermax and tests the market, if you are a team looking to bring Giannis in, finding a way to have Masai Ujiri on your staff is a big advantage. The two have a long history together

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"Raptors president Masai Ujiri tried desperately to trade into the 2015 draft so he could take the teenager. His connection to the Antetokounmpo family is long-standing. Ujiri helped the family emigrate from Nigeria to Greece to start the 23-year-old on his path to NBA greatness and the “what-if” possibility of Ujiri getting Antetokounmpo is fun to imagine."

And if anything is going to get Giannis to leave MIL where he is treated like a Greek God, Ujiri might be the best option. For the Raptors, that means maybe they could be a destination if Ujiri signs an extension there, that's why the Knicks will probably dump an insane salary number at him in hopes that he could sell Giannis on saving the Knicks together. Shit, would it shock anyone if the Lakers somehow got involved? They already have his brother and who gives a shit about Rob Pelinka if it could somehow land them Giannis.

Even if he comes up empty in the potential Giannis sweepstakes, Ujiri has still proven he can draft as well as anyone in the league and has done pretty well when it comes to big time trades. If I had to bet on it, my money is that he stays in TOR and Giannis stays in MIL, but we've seen some weird shit over the last few years and you can't rule anything out. He accomplished his goal and brought a title to Toronto, so if he wants a new challenge you can't blame him. The potential power shift if that move happens though could change the history of the NBA forever, especially if he gets Giannis to come with him.