General manager Bobby Webster will head up basketball operations, the team announced on Monday. The Raptors also said they will further extend Webster’s contract.
The team said it will not hire a president at this time to replace Masai Ujiri.
“Going through this comprehensive process this summer and meeting with external candidates played a critical role in arriving at this decision as it made clear that we already have the right person leading the Raptors in-house. When we weighed the many considerations, including roster construction, team culture and competitive landscape, it made perfect sense to officially hand the team to Bobby and give him the time and support to allow his plan to develop,” MLSE president/CEO Keith Pelley said in a statement.
“After spending time together this summer in Las Vegas, I was very impressed by Bobby’s leadership style, his rapport with the players and staff, his reputation with his peers across the league and — especially and importantly — his vision for the Raptors. This team is his, now, to lead and I know we all look forward to what comes next.”
Webster, 40, was Ujiri’s first hire when he took over as executive vice president and GM of the Raptors in 2013. At the time, Webster came on as the team’s vice president of basketball management and strategy before rising into the role of assistant GM.
In 2017, one year after Ujiri was named president, Webster landed the gig as general manager when incumbent Jeff Weltman departed for the Orlando Magic.
At the time, Webster was the youngest GM in the league.
The Kalua, Hawaii, native worked in lockstep with Ujiri during the Raptors’ most successful tenure as an organization, helping orchestrate major decisions like trading for Kawhi Leonard en route to a championship in 2019 and drafting Scottie Barnes fourth overall in 2021.
Ujiri parted ways with the team at the end of June. He was set to enter the final year of a five-year contract signed in 2021.
Webster and the coaching staff agreed to extensions that run through 2026-27, per Sportsnet’s Michael Grange, even before this announcement.
“We are confident that the Raptors organization, under the guidance of Bobby and his team, is in a great place,” MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley said when he announced that Ujiri would not return.
Now, Webster will look to take the Raptors back to the playoffs for the first time since 2022. Toronto finished last season with the seventh-worst record in the NBA at 30-52.
Amid a quiet off-season, the Raptors’ biggest move might have been the selection of forward Collin Murray-Boyles ninth overall in June’s draft.