Masai Ujiri on his future: 'I'll always be a Raptor'

The past week has been a draining one for Raps fans.

Those seemingly annual reports of James Dolan and the New York Knicks expecting to try and “lure” Masai Ujiri to NYC have reared their heads once again, but these rumblings, at least at first, seemed much more concrete than they ever had in the past.

New York has since reportedly cooled to the idea of having to jump through the hoops it would take to pry Ujiri from the Raptors and had no desire to wait for Masai’s contract with the Raptors to run-up. The Knicks hired player agent Leon Rose as team president on Thursday, temporarily quieting the Knicks’ pursuit of Ujiri.

Masai has yet to comment on the reports since they surfaced, but CBC reporter Catherine Cullen caught up with him in Ethiopia, where he finally chimed in.

“I’ll always be a Raptor,” Ujiri said.

Let’s over-analyze shall we? I’m not too sure what to make of it. Should it be taken as he’s gonna stay in Toronto, like, always? Or that "where ever he ends up he'll always be a Raptor at heart” kind of thing?

Will he always be under contract with the Raptors? That’s the real question. Arguably the most influential sports figure in the country and one of the most powerful and astute executives in the NBA, it would be devastating from a fan’s perspective to ever see Ujiri go. It would be even tougher after the bond the city, country and Masai built during the Raptors’ title run last spring.

Ujiri, who is under contract with the Raptors through the 2020-21 season, called the fact that other teams are expressing interest in him a "blessing," according to the CBC, but has said numerous times how happy he is in Toronto. His two children are Canadian as well.

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