Ujiri is back in Denver to kick-start the Josh Kroenke Era… and potentially the Post-Carmelo Era as well. If that is the case, at least Masai will be building a team designed to compete in the increasingly internationalized NBA.
With the late August hiring of General Manager Masai Ujiri, the Denver Nuggets gained an experienced emissary to the International Basketball community.
Ujiri is a native of Zaria, Nigeria and has long been a bridge between the NBA and the basketball talent pool outside of the United States. He served as the director for the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program in Africa, and continues to be active in the development of basketball culture in his home country.
Masai served as the Assistant General Manager of the Toronto Raptors for three years, largely as a result of that team’s desire to expand their international recruiting reach. Now Denver has placed him in a position to build the Nuggets in his own image. In his time with Toronto, Ujiri added Andrea Bargnani, Carlos Delfino & Jose Calderon to the Raptors roster.
No doubt, the Nuggets’ bench will take on more of a world flavor in coming seasons.
For now, Issue #1 is keeping star forward Carmelo Anthony in Denver.
Melo has been looking at moving on to the bright lights of a bigger city all summer.
While Anthony has been careful to maintain team obligations at every turn, he is also clearly more than a little interested in exploring the open market at the end of his contract following the 2010-2011 Season. Denver watched Lebron spurn the winter snow fields of Cleveland for the sandy expanses of South Beach, and the Nuggets will do anything they can to keep Carmelo in town.
Masai Ujiri is undoubtedly the Nuggets’ Ace in that quest, and he is reported to have a positive prior relationship with Anthony. More than that, though, Masai represents a positive movement by the Nuggets to advance the franchise beyond its present recruiting limitations. Denver hopes that Carmelo values that club commitment to growth.
At 39 years old, Masai is a relatively fresh face in the dusty lineup of NBA GM’s.
And yet his experience in World Basketball is expansive.
In six years of professional European basketball Ujiri played in Belgium, Germany, England, Greece and Finland. He started out as an unpaid international scout for the Orlando Magic, an assignment that lasted only a year.  Masai was quickly recruited by the Nuggets to spearhead their international scouting initiatives, working with the team from 2003-2007 before moving on to Toronto.
Now Ujiri is back in Denver to kick-start the Josh Kroenke Era… and potentially the Post-Carmelo Era as well. If that is the case, at least Masai will be building a team designed to compete in the increasingly internationalized NBA.
Ujiri’s take on the global growth of basketball scouting?
“You cannot miss it. There’s no running away from it. You have to cover everywhere. Basketball globally has gotten better, the skill level has gotten better. What some of the international kids are doing in the NBA is amazing.â€
