A Vote for Continuity – Nick Nurse is the Raptors’ New Head Coach
Nick Nurse has assumed the head coaching position of the Toronto Raptors. He can provide both continuity and a voice that can harbor change.
All of the current NBA coaching jobs have now been filled as Nick Nurse has assumed the head coaching position of the Toronto Raptors. Masai Ujiri took his time, interviewed a host of exciting candidates, but ultimately chose to hire from within, promoting the former lead assistant to the main job.
There were two camps that emerged over the past few days, those who wanted Nurse, and those who wanted anyone from outside the organization. Fans in the latter group will ultimately be disappointed by the lack of change, however, could the hiring of Nurse actually be the best of both worlds?
There is a case to be made that Nurse actually provides both the changing voice that the team needs, while also providing continuity that is difficult to replicate during a coaching change.
Masai Ujiri has long admired the San Antonio Spurs’ model of building an organization. Hire from within, and replenish those promotions with more hungry young and promising talent. This trend seems to have continued with Nurse. Nurse became an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors the same year that Ujiri became President & GM. These two men have been with the team the entirety of their dramatic rise through the NBA over the last five years.
There is a sense from fans and the media that the Raptors are currently at a crossroads between blowing it up and continuing forward. The hiring of Nurse indicates that the belief internally has not wavered, and that the organization believes this team can contend for a championship.
Continuity is king
If that championship belief is to be assumed, then the hiring of Nurse makes a lot of sense. Nurse has mentored and helped build DeRozan and Lowry into the players they are today. He knows at an intimate level what their faults are, but more importantly what buttons to push to get them to overcome those faults..
This is important. DeMar DeRozan must also know the criticisms that have been thrown at him from the media and the fans following the Cleveland sweep. A new coach, without the proper relationship, hammering home those criticisms could completely turn off DeMar from the team. Having a familiar voice to say “DeMar, we have worked countless times in the gym together, you helped me get to the next level, now let me help you” could be a much more positive energy to help push him.
The same positive guiding force will also impact players like Kyle Lowry or Jonas Valanciunas. Nurse has grown with them and can hep correct mistakes of the past or help utilize a player more (JV). The cultural continuity has clearly worked for the Toronto Raptors. They do not have big scandals, and the players clearly enjoy being with one another.
The question is: can Nurse walk the tight-rope of managing egos, and introducing change? Nurse has been described as an “offensive genius”in the past, and news has been breaking that he and Dwane Casey butt heads multiple times over the past year. It;s clear that he disagreed with Casey on several decisions, and those differences bode well for future change.
Continuity can lead to change
The cultural continuity will make change possible. The players have embraced the culture, and voice from within that culture will hold the greatest weight.
Toronto is making a bet that it was not Casey’s culture in Toronto that was the problem but rather a matter of X’s and O’s. Casey has shown a lack of imaginative with in-bounds or end of quarter plays. Expect that to change. While Nurse’s defensive record is a bit of unknown, to assume that there is not one is also misguided.
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Nurse has earned the opportunity to show what he is made of. If Nurse succeeds his predecessor, the Raptors will be thrilled. If not, then this core will have run its course in two seasons time. One thing is for sure though, continuity is king for the Raptors currently, and Nurse is the right person to provide the mix of change and culture that Masai Ujiri wants.