Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri is the 2012-13 NBA executive of the year.
Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri is the 2012-13 NBA executive of the year. (Hyoung Chang, Denver Post file)




After speaking with Ujiri about the situation, Kroenke, who Ujiri works with closely on every major basketball decision, understood Ujiri's connection to his former organization in Toronto, and thus allowed him to do the interview.

Kroenke believes that Ujiri is still invested in the Nuggets, who won 57 games last season with players Kroenke and Ujiri brought to Denver.



It is expected that the 42-year-old Ujiri will think about his options over the weekend, whether to rejoin his old friend, executive Bryan Colangelo, or stay with Kroenke and the Nuggets, who entered the season with basketball's third-youngest team and finished third in the Western Conference.

"In my mind," Kroenke said, "we had an agreement but it doesn't matter because I would never hold someone back from an opportunity they might be curious about. Especially someone I hold in such high regard as Masai.

"If it was any other team, I wouldn't even have thought about granting permission to speak to him. But it's his former team and its not entirely a black-and-white situation. He'll make the decision he thinks is best for himself, and I'll support him no matter what."

Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294, or