Toronto Raptors Granted Permission To Denver Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri

Dec 21, 2012; Toronto, ON, Canada; The Raptors logo on the head of Toronto Raptors center Amir Johnson (15) against the Orlando Magic at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Magic 93-90. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Earlier this morning, CBS’ Ken Berger reported that the Toronto Raptors had requested permission to speak to Indiana Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard. That came on the heels of a report that the Denver Nuggets would deny the Raptors permission to speak with their GM, Masai Ujiri. However, apparently, there was a change of heart.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Nuggets have indeed granted the Raptors permission to speak to Ujiri, somewhat of a shock given all of the refusal reports we’ve heard over the past week.

Per Wojo:

"The Denver Nuggets have granted the Toronto Raptors permission to speak to the NBA’s Executive of the Year, Masai Ujiri, and a meeting is expected to take place within the next 24 hours, league sources told Yahoo! Sports."

Initial reports from earlier this week suggested that the Raptors were willing to pay upwards of $2 million dollars a year to bring Ujiri back to Toronto, where he served as an assistant general manager prior to taking the Nuggets job. However, Wojnarowski is reporting now that the Raptors are willing to pay $3 million:

"Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke is aggressively pursuing Ujiri to become the Raptors’ general manager and plans to present an offer that will pay him nearly $3 million annually over the course of a multiyear contract, league sources said."

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