Ujiri, Raptors part ways after 12 years

TORONTO – Masai Ujiri is out as vice-chairman and president of the Toronto Raptors, marking the end of a more than decade-long run that delivered the franchise’s first NBA title.
The sides parted ways Friday, with Ujiri heading into the final year of his contract.
The dismissal continues Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment’s trend of moving on from team presidents — Brendan Shanahan was let go last month by the Maple Leafs, and Bill Manning was shown the door last year by both Toronto FC and the Argonauts.
In a release, MLSE said general manager Bobby Webster had been extended, but the terms of the contract were not released.
Ujiri was present at the OVO Athletic Centre, the Raptors’ training facility, about an hour before the first round of the NBA Draft began on Wednesday. He walked around the public area and greeted reporters in the media centre.
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Ujiri guided the Raptors to their lone NBA title in 2019 after a series of bold moves, including trading star DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard and firing coach Dwane Casey in favour of Nick Nurse.

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Under Ujiri, the Raptors made the playoffs seven straight seasons from 2013-14 to 2019-20.
While Leonard packed his bags for Los Angeles to play for the Clippers in free agency after the championship, the Raptors remained a force in the pandemic-interrupted 2019-20 season. Toronto finished the regular season with the league’s second-best record before losing to the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of a second-round series in the league’s bubble in Orlando, Fla.
Kyle Lowry, a pillar of the Raptors’ most successful run in team history, went to Miami in a sign-and-trade following that season, and Toronto has since missed the post-season four of the last five years, including the last three, as Ujiri committed to a rebuild amid a trying 2023-24.
Longtime point guard Fred VanVleet had already bolted to Houston in free agency prior to that season, with Ujiri eventually trading forwards Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby to Indiana and New York before the trade deadline.
The trades left backup forward Chris Boucher as the last player remaining from the 2019 title team.
Toronto went 25-57 in 2023-24, following that up with a 30-52 record last season.
An assistant general manager in Toronto in 2008 before taking over as GM of the Denver Nuggets, Ujiri was rehired by the Raptors to run basketball operations in May 2013.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press


Spirits maker Diageo will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., early next year, as it shifts some bottling volume to the U.S., the company announced on Thursday.
The facility, which bottles Crown Royal products, will close in February in a move aimed at improving its North American supply chain.

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About 200 jobs will be affected.
“This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network,” Marsha McIntosh, Diageo’s president of North America supply, said in a statement.
Diageo said it will engage with the community and find ways to support its employees through the transition, and work alongside Unifor to assist unionized workers.
The company said it will still maintain a “significant” footprint in Canada — including its headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area, and bottling and distillation facilities in Manitoba and Quebec.
McIntosh added the company’s Crown Royal products will continue to be mashed, distilled and aged at its Canadian facilities.
© 2025 The Canadian Press

Toronto police say a 33-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly striking two men with his car Wednesday evening.
Officers say they responded to reports of a collision in the area of Don Mills Road and Gateway Boulevard in the city’s North York neighbourhood just before 10:30 p.m.

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Police say two men got into an argument, leading to one man getting into his car and hitting the other man with it.
They say the man then put his car into reverse, striking a second man.
A man in his 50s was transported to hospital with serious injuries and the second man, in his 20s, had minor injuries.
Police say the suspect from Markham, Ont., faces several other charges as well, including two counts of assault with a weapon, uttering threats and dangerous driving.
© 2025 The Canadian Press

A court document shows a Lindsay, Ont., man facing charges for allegedly breaking into an apartment was carrying a crossbow when he was confronted by a tenant.
The resident, Jeremy David McDonald, is also facing assault charges in the incident on Aug. 18 — a fact that has generated widespread interest in the case.
Police information filed in court alleges that Michael Kyle Breen damaged a window and screen at McDonald’s home and carried a crossbow.
The court document says the 41-year-old Breen is charged with break and enter, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, mischief under $5,000 and failing to comply with a probation order.

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Police have said that Breen, who is scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing next week, was already wanted for unrelated offences.
McDonald, the 44-year-old resident, was charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon after he allegedly “did endanger the life” of Breen.
Premier Doug Ford blasted the decision to charge the apartment resident, saying last week that it shows “something is broken.”
Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Kirk Robertson wrote in a statement Wednesday that he recognizes the incident has generated significant public interest and “emotional” responses, but called some of the reaction “unjust and inaccurate.”
Robertson wrote that individuals have the right to defend themselves and their property, but the law requires that any defensive action be proportionate to the threat faced.
“This means that while homeowners do have the right to protect themselves and their property, the use of force must be reasonable given the circumstances,” he wrote.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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