3 non-Rockets teams Nick Nurse may ditch the Raptors for
By Mike Luciano
The Toronto Raptors may face the very real possibility of losing head coach Nick Nurse in the offseason. While 2022-23 hasn’t been the best year for Nurse or the Raptors, parting ways with a coach that had the franchise’s lone championship ring and three (at least) postseason appearances is always going to sting.
The Raptors not only have a potential replacement lined up in former Celtics coach Ime Udoka, but Nurse has his next destination all ironed out. Reports seem to suggest that Nurse and the Houston Rockets, an organization that he has connections to after coaching their G League team, could end up combining forces.
The Rockets won’t be the only team that wants to woo Nurse over to their side of the aisle potentially. A coach with a proven history of success in the postseason and a winning record is going to have nearly every team in the league with a coaching vacancy banging on his door as he tries to find his next landing spot.
These three teams could all end up with a coaching vacancy in the offseason, which could preempt Nurse leaving the Raptors and joining up with a brand new franchise. Toronto needs to watch for the wandering eyes of teams in both conferences this offseason.
3 teams who may hire Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse
3. Portland Trail Blazers
Chauncey Billups was a desirable head coaching candidate, but Mr. Big Shot has been shooting blanks with the Blazers. Even though Damian Lillard remains elite and Anfernee Simons is starting to come into his own, Portland is going to miss the playoffs for the second season in a row and will be in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.
While GM Joe Cronin deserves a good chunk of the blame, Billups didn’t exactly do himself any favors here. While Portland has said that the thought of firing Bullips hasn’t crossed their mind, they could see those plans change if a candidate like Nurse becomes available and is interested in joining a rival.
The Blazers could lure Nick Nurse away from the Toronto Raptors.
If Nurse goes to Portland, he would get the benefit of some very promising young players like Simons and Shaedon Sharpe to build around while Lillard continues to defy age and put up elite numbers. That’s a solid core to start off with, especially in a Western Conference that is still wide open.
Portland owes it to Lillard to at least make an effort to compete with Lillard still playing well. If they want to win now, and Billups is not getting the job done, Nurse could come right in and keep Portland right in the thick of the postseason race in the West.