Ujiri staying with Raptors on multi-year deal

Masai Ujiri has agreed to a new multi-year deal to stay on as vice chairman and president of basketball operations for the Toronto Raptors, the team announced Thursday.

Terms of Ujiri's contract were not disclosed.

Ujiri will continue to serve as the franchise's top basketball and business executive while also carrying out philanthropic work, including through his role as president and co-founder of non-profit organization Giants of Africa.

"I've said it before, and I'm saying it again. We will win in Toronto," Ujiri said in a video shared by the club. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to lead this team. I love being the leader of the Toronto Raptors, and I'm here to stay."

Ujiri joined the Raptors in May 2013 after a successful three-year stint as the Denver Nuggets' general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations.

Toronto's had its longest stretch of success under Ujiri's guidance. The club made the playoffs in seven of the executive's eight seasons at the helm, and won the franchise's lone championship in 2019.

"Great sportsmen impact their games. Great leaders impact their communities. Masai Ujiri does both, and we're very pleased he is returning to the Raptors as vice chairman and president," Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment chairman Larry Tanenbaum said.

The former NBA Executive of the Year was set to become a free agent and had been courted by multiple pro franchises beyond the NBA's boundaries, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.