Why Sergio Scariolo could be a very risky hire for the Raptors

The Toronto Raptors’ head coaching search, which includes names like Sergio Scariolo and Steve Nash in positions of prominence, has been moving along a pace that would make the term “glacial” look too speedy. After more than a month, there is still minimal clarity.

One candidate that is clearly starting to rise above many of the others is Scariolo, a former Raptors assistant under Nick Nurse that spent last season in Italy as the coach of Virtus Bologna. Raptors brass has flown out to Italy to discuss the position with Scariolo, perhaps the favorite for the job.

The Raptors would be bidding against themselves for this hire, as no other team with a head coaching vacancy has even sniffed around this particular basket. Scariolo could rack up the titles in Italy if he chooses to stay, giving the 62-year-old all the leverage in the world to squeeze more money and power out of Toronto if they want him.

There are no perfect candidates. If there was one, someone would have hired them by now. Scariolo seems to be a candidate checking a ton of Toronto’s boxes lately, but will that be enough to help him land one of the most coveted jobs in the entire basketball landscape this season?

Should the Toronto Raptors hire Sergio Scariolo?

Fans of promoting Adrian Griffin should be all in on Scariolo, who played a pivotal role on the Raptors’ bench in the last few seasons. However, those who wanted a clean slate and someone completely different from Nurse are on firm ground for complaint when it comes to their objections.

While hiring one of the best European coaches sounds like a winning strategy, such a philosophy would be basically unprecedented. On top of the fact that Euro hires would be a major change from the norm, the fact that David Blatt was fired so early into his tenure in Cleveland despite a Finals run shows that success overseas doesn’t always translate to the NBA.

The fact that Toronto still is unsure when it comes to either rebuilding or contending next season makes the decision to hire Scariolo even more unusual, potentially. At 62 years old, Scariolo likely wouldn’t leave Europe for a rebuilding project. Still, his player development skills will likely be prioritized by Toronto’s front office.

If Scariolo works, the Raptors will look like absolute geniuses for bringing in someone familiar with the team that no one else on the market had the foresight to hire. Failing with this move could set the team back for quite some time and make them a laughingstock.