According to Vic Lombardi of CBS4 via Twitter on Friday, former Nuggets GM and 2012-13 Executive of the Year Masai Ujiri is on his way out of Denver. Per Vic, the Raptors reportedly signed him away to a 5-year deal worth $15 million.
Not going to lie, this is not good for the Nuggets in any scenario. Not just the loss of one of the best in the front office business in Masai, but the fact that it will likely start a domino effect across the organization. After a successful regular season, but an unfortunate end in the playoffs, there’s a lot that Nuggets fans should now be wondering about.
The Nuggets were headed into this off-season with many questions that had a good chance of being answered with Masai Ujiri behind the decisions. But with Masai headed to Toronto for more money in my estimation, many things can now happen.
First off, Andre Iguodala. He might be on his way out of town. With an opt-out clause for this off-season, he could be a one-and-done in the city of Denver. He wants to win a championship now, and he might’ve just realized that it won’t happen with the Nuggets if they can’t add pieces via Masai’s genius.
The Nuggets needed to have a solid free agency period. They needed to acquire some solid shooters and had a better chance of doing so with Masai making those moves in the off-season. With Masai gone, the chance of adding championship calibur veterans might have just gone out the window as well.
And lastly, let’s not assume that George Karl is a shoe-in to stay in Denver. Call me crazy, but there are a few teams that need a new head coach and the reigning Coach of the Year could be receiving calls to talk with the award-winning coach. Clippers, anyone? That could be a winning situation for the city of LA, as they try to keep CP3 in town.
Masai Ujiri leaving as GM of the Nuggets could set a lot of these scenarios in effect. Not happy at all to see him leave town. The team that set a record for wins in the 2012-13 regular season, only to be ousted in another disappointing first-round exit, is suddenly in limbo. Stay tuned.
Related Posts From Lightning Rod Sports
Anthony Rodriguez
Anthony is the Founder, Administrator, Editor and Publisher of Lightning Rod Sports. Originally from California, Anthony has been raised in the Rocky Mountains and Denver area for most of his life. Anthony works with the Emmy-winning student-run T.V. newscast at MSU Denver, The Met Report, as the Assistant General Manager, formerly the Sports Producer, as well as Lead Anchor and Production Assistant. He is currently the Play-by-Play Announcer, Color Commentator, and Production Assistant for the Metro State Broadcast Network, and calls games for Metro State soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, and softball as a “Voice of the Roadrunners.” In addition to that work with the Metro State Broadcast Network, Anthony also hosts the monthly 30-minute magazine show called "The Roadrunner Review" which airs on Altitude Sports and Entertainment. He hosts the bi-weekly "KMet Sports Show" on KMET Radio at MyMetMedia.com/KMETSportsShow. He is also the Founder, Administrator, Editor, and Columnist for his own Denver Sports website, LightningRodSports.com. Anthony is also part of the Social Media team at Examiner.com, and has worked with the Altitude Radio Network for the Avalanche and Nuggets. Anthony is a former Producer for Mile High Sports Radio, as well as a former Sports-Talk show host on the LightningRod Radio Network.
