Raptors news: Nick Nurse “loves it here,” Pascal Siakam wants to stay

The Toronto Raptors may need to confront the distinct possibility that they could change head coaches, as Nick Nurse could be somewhere else by this time next season. Not only did his team wilt in the play-in tournament, but he has been linked to the Houston Rockets quite frequently.

Nurse, who was 41-41 this season, missed the playoffs for the first time as Raptors coach in a year where he didn’t have to play home games in Florida. Changes are needed, and Nurse would make a ton of sense as one of the big moves to shake up this franchise.

Nurse may have been very open about his evaluation of his coaching career and mental state earlier, but fans assuming that his job status with Toronto is in jeopardy may be in for a very rude awakening. Nurse is making it sound like he wants to come back to Toronto.

“Listen, I love it here,” Nurse said. “We’ve built a really strong culture here..we all got to evaluate where we can get back to being a playoff team…and then getting to a level of winning it all, that’s what we get up and to work to do for the last 10 years.”

More Raptors news

• In addition to Nurse, the Rockets are requesting an interview with Adrian Griffin for their head coaching spot. Griffin, who has been Nurse’s top assistant for years, was heavily considered for the Utah Jazz job last offseason before Will Hardy was hired by Danny Ainge.
• Pascal Siakam put to bed any speculation of him potentially wanting to leave the Raptors in the near future. Siakam said that Toronto is “part of who I am as a person” and the city “feels like home,” per Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. You can close the Trade Machine, rival fans!

NBA news

• DeMar DeRozan confirmed that daughter Diar, who helped contribute to the Raptors’ 18 missed free throws against the Bulls, will not be attending the team’s matchup against the Miami Heat. The reason? DeRozan said that she needed to get back in time for school.
• Pelicans star big man Zion Williamson, who hasn’t played since early January with an injury, said that he needs to overcome a “mental battle” before he can return to action. Williamson said he could play, but he wants to get back to a level more reminiscent of the player he was before all his injuries.