Letting Masai Ujiri leave would be just plain dumb of Denver Nuggets ownership
Pay Masai Ujiri, Kroenke Sports Enterprises, or fans will remember why their favorite team doesn’t have a chance for a championship.
Is this seriously happening?
Will Masai Ujiri really leave the Mile High City for Toronto, a place he’s already called home once?
Are the Denver Nuggets destined to be a doormat for the entire NBA for the foreseeable future?
It’s times like these that make it tough to be a Nuggets fan.
Denver was sky-high on their Nuggs this season, watching the team win a franchise-record 57 games and do so in blowout fashion many nights.
Then it happened; all those hopes were once again dashed when the George Karl-led Nuggets made it into the first round and out of the playoffs in a mere six games.
Danilo Gallinari – the team’s second-best scorer – was injured. That was the excuse. Karl was kept on by Denver’s front office, which seemed to be led by Ujiri, until this week.
The Toronto Raptors swooped in and are attempting to steal Ujiri away from Denver, offering him a four-year deal worth $9 million according to SportsNet of Canada. That’s an average of $2.25 million per year, a high salary, but one befitting the NBA’s reigning Executive of the Year.
What’s the league’s best GM being paid in Denver? A mere $500,000 per year, or, the lowest salary of any executive in the National Basketball Association.
See something wrong here?
Ujiri was just recognized as the top executive in a league full of intelligent basketball minds building teams to compete for championships, yet, Kroenke Sports Enterprises are paying him the least amount of anyone in the sport.
That’s ludicrous.
In Denver, it’s become apparent in recent years just how important strong front office leadership is to having a competitive team.
The Rockies have been beyond bad for years, squandering top draft picks and failing to win a single division title in the history of the franchise. Still, the Monforts argue that Dan O’Dowd is the best GM in baseball, which is a ridiculous notion to anyone associated with the team. The Rockies wish they had the best GM – a prized position the Nuggets find themselves in – but they stick with O’Dowd and fire multiple managers instead.
The Broncos are thriving with John Elway as the VP of Football Operations, as his leadership righted a sinking ship, taking a 4-12 team and turning them into a 13-3 powerhouse in two years. In Elway Broncos’ fans trust, not just because he was the greatest football player in the history of the city, but due to his success in such a short time from the front office. He’s landed the biggest of free agents and made some solid draft picks as well, positioning the team as a legitimate Super Bowl contender, trying to win at all costs.
The Avs – who are also owned by KSE – have seen a complete overhaul of both the coach and front office, with Patrick Roy behind the bench and Joe Sakic calling the shots from up stairs. Will the superstar players pay off in their new roles, or will these feel-good moves be looked at as somewhat silly in the years to come?
While the Kroenkes have been thrashed by Avs fans over the years for paying little attention – as well as little money – into their professional hockey franchise, some similarities can be said of how they’re running the Nuggets now, too.
Except, Josh Kroenke is a basketball man, who once played Division I ball and has been around the game in multiple capacities for his entire life. Maybe Kroenke has been behind more of the myriad moves the Nuggets have made over the last few years. Or maybe he just trusts in himself to run the team if Ujiri does indeed leave.
But what we know is this; Ujiri is seen as the man that is responsible for pulling off the Melo Megadeal – the biggest trade in NBA history – and actually doing very well for the Nuggets in that trade as well as a litany of others, he’s getting paid peanuts compared to his contemporaries and KSE seems none too worried.
That’s plainly dumb.
When Denver decided to keep Karl as their head coach despite losing in the first round for the eighth time in nine years, it sent out a weird signal. That was, until he won Coach of the Year.
They had to keep him for one final season, even if the roster has completely changed due to Ujiri’s dealings.
Look, the problem is either the GM or the coach, and many are delighted with the deeply talented team Ujiri has built post-Melo. There are blossoming stars, great young talents and veteran leadership; they’ve blended and bonded as a true team.
The simple solution is this; pay Ujiri something much more competitive – around $2 million per year – and guarantee having him post-Karl, if you plan on moving on without the veteran coach after next season.
If you don’t offer him something more worthy of his value, KSE, you’ll see Ujiri leave just as other talented GMs have in recent years.
As badly as it would have looked to fire your head coach the same season he’s named Coach of the Year, it would look just as bad for the Nuggets to lose Ujiri only weeks after he was named Executive of the Year.
Fight for your fans, fight for the best GM in the game, fight for something Kroenke Sports Enterprises and prove you’re in this business to win, or your frustrated fans will continue to fade away.
