The Toronto Raptors dismissed head coach Nick Nurse after five years of service Friday morning, showing that Masai Ujiri is not going to take another season outside of the playoffs lying down. Not even Nurse’s championship ring was enough to save him after a 41-41 campaign.
The hunt for his successor promises to be as important as any coaching search in franchise history. Ujiri has shown he can make good hiring choices once before by swapping Nurse in for Dwane Casey, but he needs to show that he can pull off that trick one more time.
The Raptors have several quality assistants on the staff that might be able to slide right in and take over a squad dying to reassert themselves. However, as the latest rumors seem to suggest, Toronto may have its eyes set on a few quality names that made their names elsewhere.
Toronto will likely need to conduct a very thorough search in order to identify the person best suited to succeed Nurse. They should start off by bringing these 10 coaches and then whittling that list down to something that is a bit more manageable.
10 replacements for Nick Nurse as Toronto Raptors head coach.
10. Earl Watson, Toronto Raptors assistant coach
Watson has earned another shot as a coach in the NBA with Toronto or someone else, as players like Devin Booker have been quoted saying that Watson was instrumental in their development. The Robert Sarver situation and the dearth of talent available to him in Phoenix made it almost impossible for him to succeed with the Suns.
Still, on a Raptors team that is trying everything possible to erase the stench of last season, bringing back one of Nurse’s top assistants might not be the home run formula for success some think it may be. Watson’s win-loss record is unsightly for many reasons outside of his control, but also some within his grasp.
Will the Toronto Raptors retain Earl Watson?
9. Chris Quinn, Miami Heat associate head coach
Quinn is a former Heat point guard who has since become the most trusted deputy for Erik Spoelstra in Miami. Quinn is becoming a hot name in the coaching circles, as he is reportedly going to get a look from the Detroit Pistons as they try to dig themselves out of a hole.
The Raptors’ style of play is not too dissimilar from what Miami is trying to do, so bringing in Quinn might help them preserve an identity while tweaking the deficient areas. If the Raptors miss on Quinn, they will likely see him in charge of another team in the near future.
8. Charles Lee, Milwaukee Bucks associate head coach
The Mike Budenholzer coaching tree has produced two of the best hires from the last few coaching cycles in Taylor Jenkins and Darvin Ham, making Lee one of the most in-demand names in the sport. Lee played a huge role in taking Milwaukee’s offense into the stratosphere.
Bringing a 38-year-old first-time coach into a situation where he is expected to produce immediately and make sure that Scottie Barnes ends up developing into a star player could be a nasty situation, but Lee’s association with Budenholzer might help him balance those two ideals in his first season.
Will the Toronto Raptors take a look at Frank Vogel?
7. Frank Vogel, former Lakers/Pacers/Magic head coach
Vogel, like Nurse, has a championship ring. This immediately puts you in a select tier across the rest of the league. Like Nurse, Vogel has shown an ability to work with superstar players in the postseason and construct some of the league’s most suffocating defenses.
The negatives around Vogel, who has interest from Houston, are there, however. Not only was his final Lakers season a mess, but his record in Orlando and playoff volatility in Indiana might lead some to believe that he only got over the hump due to the mercurialness of LeBron James. Giving Vogel this job could be a way to test that theory.
6. Patrick Mutombo, Phoenix Suns assistant coach
Mutombo was a Raptors assistant from 2016-2020 under both Nurse and Dwane Casey before becoming an incredibly successful G League Coach with Raptors 905. The organization knows him like the back of their proverbial hand and clearly missed his presence this season.
Mutombo might be third on the Suns’ pecking order on the bench, as Monty Williams and assistant Kenny Young might have elevated roles right now. Mutombo would be a risky move that doesn’t signal a huge change in day-to-day operations, but he does make some sense.
Will Jerry Stackhouse return to the Toronto Raptors?
5. Jerry Stackhouse, Vanderbilt head coach
Like Mutombo, Stackhouse started off as a Raptors assistant before taking ownership of Raptors 905. If the former All-Star is sick of sucking up to boosters at the collegiate level in Nashville, he could make the jump back to the pros and take over the Raptors.
While some critics might take issue with Toronto hiring someone with a losing record at Vanderbilt, the fact he’s recruited pro players and got the NIT twice despite the lack of resources around him and the program he walked into is impressive. Stackhouse may have more wins with better infrastructure around him.
4. Sam Cassell, Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach
Cassell has been plugging away as an assistant for a very long time, and he might get his chance if the Raptors come calling. Cassell has played a major role in making Joel Embiid and James Harden a duo capable of winning a title, showing he can work well with star players.
Houston, where Cassell excelled as a player, might have an interest in him. If Doc Rivers hangs it up, Cassell could be a natural successor. It will take a lot to pry him away from Philly, but that doesn’t mean that Toronto shouldn’t give it a whirl and add him.
Can the Toronto Raptors keep Adrian Griffin?
3. Adrian Griffin, Toronto Raptors assistant coach
Ujiri was very open about the fact that the assistant coach parade might not return, but Griffin has been such an excellent coach that Toronto might need to keep him around. After 15 straight years on various NBA benches, Griffin has earned a crack at a head coaching job.
Griffin interviewed for two head coaching jobs last season, and the Pistons are poking around him in this cycle. Some team will snatch him up if the Raptors do not. After winning a title by promoting Nurse internally, Griffin might be an attempt by the front office to catch lightning in a bottle twice.
2. Ime Udoka, former Boston Celtics head coach
Udoka, who has been plagued by scandal to such a degree that he lost his job with the Celtics, has been named as the team’s top replacement for Nurse by many of the rumor mongers out there. Udoka was in the running for the job in 2019 before Nurse was hired.
From a basketball perspective, Udoka is almost beyond reproach, as he helped get the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first season on the job. Toronto will need to withstand a heavy PR hit, but the result could end up with Udoka getting the team in a better position.
Will the Toronto Raptors hire Ime Udoka or Kenny Atkinson?
1. Kenny Atkinson, Golden State Warriors assistant coach
Atkinson, who was doing a terrific job in Brooklyn before losing a power struggle to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, had enough leverage to turn down the Hornets job and stay with the Warriors. He can wait until the right job comes around, and Toronto could offer that.
Atkinson is an offensive-minded coach that could help the team finally have some half-court identity. With Mike Brown coming from Steve Kerr’s juggernaut in San Francisco and winning Coach of the Year with the Kings, why can’t Atkinson have a similar impact in Toronto?