The Toronto Raptors officially parted ways with head coach Nick Nurse on Friday, and Twitter reactions were marked by praise for all of the winning he had done during his five-season tenure with the Raptors and relief over the fact that a new era is about to begin.
After a stretch of wondering whether or not head coach Nurse and the Raptors were going to be able to work out the tension between them following a disappointing season, the answer came on Friday with word that Nurse had been fired.
The decision to part ways with Nurse at this stage allows the team to reorient their offseason plans under new leadership, and that becomes the first order of business for a Raptors team keen on turning the corner to contender status once again with a solid offseason.
As the news leaked out on Friday, the resulting responses on Twitter were about what one would have expected from a fan base that both respected Nurse yet were ready to see him leave.
Toronto Raptors Twitter reacts to Nick Nurse being fired.
Plenty of fans were keen to express their appreciation for what Nurse brought to the franchise in the first place.
Thank you, Nick Nurse. We had a great run together. pic.twitter.com/pfoRbmWIjZ
— Chris Walder (@WalderSports) April 21, 2023
Nick Nurse’s five-year run as head coach of the Raptors:
— Lukas Weese (@Weesesports) April 21, 2023
🏀NBA championship (2019)
🏀NBA Coach of the Year (2020)
🏀 227-163 record (.582%)
The best coach in Raptors franchise history. pic.twitter.com/WqlMa31SzJ
say what you want about nick nurse as a head coach but he’s one of the nicest human beings i’ve ever met and i wish him the best with whatever comes next for him
— maha (@mahaaaay) April 21, 2023
Some analysts aren’t convinced that firing Nurse was the right move to cure the Raptors’ woes. After all, there isn’t a steady stream of coaches with championship rings to shine in your face walking through that door anytime relatively soon.
I think it’s crazy the Raptors are parting ways with Nick Nurse. But alas, seems like it’s been brewing for a while.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 21, 2023
More importantly, though, does this mean he isn’t coaching Team Canada anymore?!? 😭
The front office had been weighing Nick Nurse’s performance for a while; he’s been a defining coach in this city, but it went sour this year. The real question is what the Raptors do next, or if they decide a new coach fixes things. I don’t think it does
— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) April 21, 2023
If you’re curious about the tension surrounding Nurse, these tweets express it best. While Masai Ujiri seems to hint that the departure was more amicable than it seemed, it’s clear that a swift move was needed to get a new voice in the room.
I said this in February and I stand by it now.
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) April 21, 2023
I think Nick Nurse is a tactical genius who lost touch with how to actually lead the human beings in his locker room, and while a change was sorely needed in Toronto, he can learn from what happened and land on his feet elsewhere. https://t.co/mo0HZdSK19
Nick Nurse you will always be an NBA champion. It's good for the Raptors to get a new voice in there though.
— Paul Ross (@RealPaulRoss) April 21, 2023
Of course, other fan bases are already ready to stake their claim in Nurse, who has a 58.2 win percentage in his career. The Houston Rockets, in particular, have their eyes
me when the sixers fire doc tonight and hire nick nurse pic.twitter.com/SNFjMaS7bw
— Rodney (@lukatroncic23) April 21, 2023
The Raptors are moving on with a brave new era of basketball, but it doesn’t include their only coach with a championship ring.