Ujiri knew it was two good to last
One of the conditions Masai Ujiri attached to the deal that brought him back to the Raptorsalmost four years ago was that he would be able to hire Jeff Weltman away from the Milwaukee Bucks as his chief lieutenant and adviser. The bond between the NBA executives was that hard and full of respect. And now that Weltman is gone — from Raptors general manager to president of basketball operations with the Orlando Magic — the void is deep, the loss personal for Ujiri, but the pride he feels for his friend is great.
“He’s just that voice, that calm voice,” Ujiri said Tuesday. “He reasons well, has great instinct and is quick on his feet with thoughts and ideas, just one of those guys that is blessed that way.
“He knows when to back out, he knows when to be aggressive, and just (has) a unique skill set we need in this job. But in terms of working together, we just knew each other so well. It was pretty cool.”
The relationship really has come full circle. When Weltman was working with the Denver Nuggets in the early 2000s, he convinced boss Kiki Vandeweghe to hire Ujiri, then just a young scout working part time with the Magic. It began a relationship that grew despite the circumstances and the title. They were friends and colleagues and cohorts, balancing each other out.
“I think he has paid his dues, a great basketball mind, and the time has come,” Ujiri said. “It’s sad sometimes, but I think eventually it was going to happen somewhere, somehow.
“I tried to fake it with the GM title last year and give him a raise and everything, but it didn’t fake anyone out, I guess.”
The Ujiri-Weltman coupling led the Raptors on their ascent to become one of the most successful franchises in the league over the past three seasons, averaging more than 50 wins.
They worked together on trade ideas — Raptors lore is that Weltman pushed Ujiri to demand more from the New York Knicks in the Andrea Bargnani trade, and the extra draft pick became Jakob Poeltl.
There were astute drafts — Norm Powell in the second round, Delon Wright a late first, Pascal Siakam seemingly out of nowhere.
Each had a hand in figuring it out, working in tandem.
“Now it’s time for him to go stand on his feet and do it,” Ujiri said. “I’m so proud of him.”
There are no plans to immediately replace Weltman — who got right to work, hiring John Hammond away from the Bucks to become the Magic’s GM on Tuesday — because Ujiri still has a solid group in place. Assistant GM Bobby Webster, player personnel director Dan Tolzman, director of basketball operations Teresa Resch and a handful of scouts will assume more responsibility for now, with the draft a month away.
“We’ll be creative in what we do, whether it’s bringing in somebody or raising a couple of these guys,” Ujiri said of the existing staff. “These guys are good.”