The Raptors have a 15.6 per cent chance of winning the first pick in Tuesday night’s NBA draft lottery. Count Bryan Colangelo’s chances of earning a contract extension many times higher.
The club’s president and general manager is closing in on a new multi-year deal to remain in charge of Toronto’s basketball operation, multiple NBA sources said Tuesday.
“It’s happening,” said one person with knowledge of the negotiations.
Sources say the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, the club’s majority owner, continues to make progress in its ongoing effort to sell its interest in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the company that owns the Raptors and Maple Leafs, among other interests.
With their eyes on an ever-more-probable exit, the pension plan’s representatives have appeared unwilling exert influence on a future that isn’t likely to include them. That’s been a boon to the Raptors’ GM, of course, since the pension plan’s Glen Silvestri has made a name as the chief anti-Colangelo voice on the board of directors.
Without Silvestri actively leading the opposition to Colangelo’s continuing presence in Toronto, the GM has no shortage of influential support.
Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of the board and the minority owner, counts himself a believer in Colangelo’s ability to reverse the fortunes of the struggling club, which has missed the playoffs for three straight seasons. Richard Peddie, the CEO who also holds a seat on the board, has also voiced public support for Colangelo’s rebuilding plan.
Colangelo, who was en route to the New York area on Tuesday morning, has declined comment on his contract status in recent days.
As multiple league sources said this week, his is a “delicate” situation. And his isn’t the only one.
Jay Triano, the head coach, is staring down a June 15 deadline on the one-year club option on his contract. Most of Triano’s staff is also in limbo, as is Maurizio Gherardini, the vice president of basketball operations and resident guru of the international game, who is without a contract beyond next month.
If the Raptors and Colangelo can’t reach an agreement, the franchise has its backup plan.
As ESPN.com first reported, Wayne Embry, the 73-year-old advisor, would be the likely candidate to be named interim GM. In that event Embry, who has refused comment on the matter, would preside over Toronto’s first-round pick in the June draft.
