NBA

In other words, Colangelo is out as Raptors lead man with respect to basketball decisions. MLSE will continue its search for a new head of the Raptors organization with Denver's GM Masai Ujiri firmly in sight.

The MLSE had been "negotiating" with Colangelo regarding his role, and it's looking like only a matter of time until his dismissal as the decision-maker is made official. Masai Ujiri worked for the Raptors before he became Nuggets GM and the Raptors are reportedly interested in bringing him back to Toronto.

Colangelo has guided the Raptors to the playoffs just twice during his time on the job. If Colangelo is given his dismissal, it's not clear where Toronto could turn to next, but we're guessing another round of Phil Jackson rumors will get thrown into the fire despite the fact they've been debunked previously. It's also been reported Toronto is pursuing Denver's GM Masai Ujiri. Colangelo's major acquisition this year was Rudy Gay.

Much like his teammate Linas Kleiza, Gray has no reason to decline the option. The five-year veteran had fits of fantasy usefulness in very deep leagues but is mostly an end-of-the-bench player. He averaged 2.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per game.

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone because there's no way Kleiza's getting anything close to that much on the open market. Kleiza barely played this season due to injuries and then was shut down by the Raptors for the final month of the season despite being healthy. He's candidate for Toronto's amnesty clause.

This comes one day after the Toronto Star reported that Maple League Sports & Entertainment has until Monday to decide whether to pick up the option on GM Bryan Colangelo's contract. Ujiri was named 2013 Executive of the Year by the NBA only nine days ago but is without a contract beyond this summer. The Nuggets have said they're not concerned about keeping him, knowing full well they'll likely have to pay the price to do so. However, Ujiri spent three years in Toronto's front office before heading to Denver and sources tell Yahoo! that could make this a difficult decision for him.

At this point, it seems highly unlikely that Colangelo will remain, especially considering that the Star also reported MLSE and new CEO Tim Leiweke have hired a head-hunting firm to help whittle down possible candidates to replace Colangelo. Although Phil Jackson's name has been mentioned in connection with the GM position, the hiring a search firm makes that seem less likely. The Star mentioned Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard and Thunder assistant GM Troy Weaver as possible candidates if/when Colangelo is let go.