Trading Ujiri for Roy would be no bargain
“For KSE to essentially swap Masai Ujiri for Patrick Roy will result in a net loss for the organization, and for Colorado fans as well.”
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Nobody was more excited than I was learning that Kroenke Sports and the Avalanche had stepped up to draw Patrick Roy as a coach and as a part of the hockey organization. There’s no question that Roy will bring a special kind of pride to the Avalanche. He will be a coach who commands the respect of his players and an executive with an insatiable will to win…just like Masai Ujiri, the General Manager of the Denver Nuggets and the NBA’s Executive of the Year.
As Roy is entering Pepsi Center through the front door, Kroenke Sports is close to letting Masai Ujiri exit through the back door. The Toronto Raptors are in need of a talented person to tune up their organization and an appointment with Ujiri is in the offing. According to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, Tim Leiweke, the longtime partner of Philip Anschutz, is the person luring the 42 year-old executive. Leiweke has Denver ties and probably sees what Nuggets fans see in Ujiri which is irreplaceable leadership.
Kroenke Sports is not known for paying executives well. In fact, it’s one of the most tight-fisted companies in pro-sports when it comes to front-office compensation. KSE’s reputation has bred speculation that Masai Ujiri would eventually move on. Plenty of chances have come and gone for Kroenke Sports to offer Ujiri an extension and they haven’t. But they just can’t let him go. It’s critical that the company retain Masi Ujiri’s services. If there was ever a time for KSE to buck the trend and open its wallet, it is now. Sadly, now it seems that any deal will be on Toronto’s terms regardless of where Ujiri winds up. Leiweke has expressed a willingness to pay the young GM over three times what he’s making now.
All of the excitement and energy – and then some – of the Roy hire will evaporate from Pepsi Center immediately if Masi Ujiri is hired away. His architecture of the Nuggets we now know is the reason that the team has continued to make the playoffs year after year despite trading away Carmelo Anthony. Ujuri is instinctive and creative and wildly popular with Nuggets fans. For KSE to essentially swap Masai Ujiri for Patrick Roy will result in a net loss for the organization, and for Colorado fans as well.
Hopefully Josh Kroenke, the President of both the Nuggets and the Avalanche, realizes the value of his close friend Masia and makes an eleventh hour push to retain his services. Hopefully Josh Kroenke doesn’t intend to make himself the Nuggets GM.
Stay tuned…
