Exploring Masai Ujiri’s ties to Washington, D.C. as the Wizards’ front office search continues

The Wizards’ search for their next President of Basketball Operations is going slower than expected. Tim Connelly turned down the job last week according to reports and Ted Leonsis isn’t exactly keen on the remaining candidates.

The one possible candidate whom may be a home run hire is Toronto Raptors President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri.

Since taking the reigns for the Raptors in 2013, Toronto has won 50 or more regular season games in five consecutive seasons. They won their first Eastern Conference championship last weekend against the Milwaukee Bucks and have homecourt advantage against the Golden State Warriors.

There’s a good chance that the Raptors will be this season’s NBA champions. Ujiri deserves a lot of credit for constructing the Raptors’ roster and making a high-risk, high-reward move once in awhile like trading DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard last year.

But why would he be intrigued in the Wizards’ job?

Besides the uncertainty of Leonard’s free agency this summer, the possibility of meeting former American President Barack Obama or the Sports Junkies’ interview with Toronto radio host Greg Brady on Tuesday, his wife Ramatu is from the Washington area according to almost everything I read.

There aren’t too many sites where I could find information on Ramatu, but according to her Facebook profile, she is from Greenbelt, Md. and went to Eleanor Roosevelt High School and is a model. Eleanor Roosevelt High School also has a strong boys basketball team and former NBA player Delonte West is one of their alums. Perhaps she went there around the same time he did but I digress.

Washington is certainly a great city to live in and family ties can certainly play a role in job decisions. It isn’t clear if Ujiri is seriously interested in the Wizards’ vacancy beyond chatter from the media. But if he really is interested and actually takes the job, Ujiri definitely has family ties in the DMV.