Raptors general manager Bobby Webster and head coach Darko Rajakovic are both expected to receive extension offers in the next few weeks, sources tell Michael Grange of Sportsnet. The organization is hoping to emphasize continuity after making its first playoff appearance in four years, Grange adds, and Webster and Rajakovic have one year left on their respective contracts.
“You don’t have your head coach and general manager head into the final year of their contracts as lame ducks, not after a playoff year,” one source told Grange.
Details of Webster’s next deal will be worked out in meetings with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the Raptors’ parent company, but Grange hears there’s a “mutual understanding” between the parties. Rajakovic had a year added to his three-year contract during the 2024/25 season, and Grange expects Webster to handle negotiations with his coach.
Grange also points out that there’s a fresh sense of urgency with former team president Masai Ujiri now running the Mavericks. He has several positions to fill in Dallas, and there has been speculation that he might target Webster to be his general manager. However, Grange states that he spoke to multiple sources who dismissed that idea, believing the Raptors wouldn’t let Webster go and that he wouldn’t want to revert to a secondary role under Ujiri when he’s in charge of the operation in Toronto.
Grange suggests that it’s more likely Ujiri will target members of the talent evaluation staff that he assembled with the Raptors. That includes assistant general manager Dan Tolzman, a player personnel expert who also worked with Ujiri in Denver. Tolzman played a significant role in building the 2019 championship team and helped identify young talents such as Scottie Barnes, Ja’Kobe Walter, Jamal Shead and Collin Murray-Boyles on the current roster.
Grange views Tolzman as a potential GM candidate with the Mavericks, while Toronto’s director of player personnel Patrick Engelbrecht and director of global scouting Curtis Crawford may also join Ujiri in Dallas.
MLSE president Keith Pelley didn’t put any pressure on Webster to improve the team heading into the trade deadline, according to Grange, which suggested that an extension would be coming. Accordingly, Webster opted to remain conservative rather than getting in a bidding war for Jaren Jackson Jr., who was “very much on the Raptors’ radar” before being traded from Memphis to Utah.
Grange describes the just-completed season as “an extended job interview” for Webster and his basketball operations team, nearly all of whom worked under Ujiri. The results were impressive, with a 46-36 record followed by a tight seven-game series against Cleveland in the first round. It marked the first winning season and playoff appearance for Rajakovic since he took over the team in 2023.
