New Delhi, July 19 -- Masai Ujiri's July is shaping up to be quite the rollercoaster ride. The recently-fired former Toronto Raptors executive is navigating his sudden departure from a franchise where he'd spent 13 seasons while also launching the second edition of his private foundation's Giants of Africa Festival - all within a one-month span.

The humanitarian work, Ujiri pledged, will continue regardless of his employment status. The British-born NBA executive, raised in his father's native Nigeria, founded Giants of Africa in 2003 - back when he was just starting off as a scout and long before becoming the first African team president of a professional North American sports franchise.

"It's an obligation for me," Ujiri said. "It's a...