Raptors coaching tier list: Who are the best candidates for the job?

The Toronto Raptors went from one of the first teams to enact some regime change after the firing of Nick Nurse. After over a month of interviewing and reading the tea leaves, only the Raptors and Phoenix Suns still need someone to fill that hole.

The Detroit Pistons managed to take the best available candidate off the market when they gave Monty Williams a contract that compensates him so well that he would be a complete moron to turn it down. As such, the rest of the league is waiting to see what Toronto will do.

The Raptors have not been shy about casting a wide net in their coaching search, so much so that Toronto fans have to be a little bit uneasy about how this team is operating. Can fans finally get some sort of clarity on the team’s direction and preferences?

No matter who gets hired, fans will have some very strong opinions. Which coaches will constitute a successful hire that sets this team up well in the immediate and long-term future, and which ones would be a controversial move that leaves the Raptors in a worse spot?

Toronto Raptors tier list: Who is the best head coach?

No Way Tier: Doc Rivers

It’s over, Doc. Go take a job on TNT or be a family man. Don’t keep besmirching your legacy.

“Meh” Tier: Steve Nash, Charles Lee, JJ Redick

This tier is composed of coaches that many were surprised are even in the running, as they include someone that was regarded as a coaching flop, an assistant that was not promoted when given a chance, and a talking head on TV that stunned the basketball world.

Lee seems like a solid coach, but Milwaukee seems totally indifferent to him. The fact that he was Mike Budenholzer’s top assistant for years, yet was passed aside in favor of Adrian Griffin, might speak to how the Bucks view his coaching acumen. Budenholzer might be a better option than Lee.

Will JJ Redick or Steve Nash coach the Toronto Raptors?

Redick seems like a sharp basketball mind that could be a very valuable presence on the bench as an assistant coach. Perhaps in a few more years, Redick would make sense. Giving such a raw coach this very difficult task could lead to a re-run of Nash in Brooklyn.

The Nash haters will say he is a terrible manager in-game that helped ruin the KD-Kyrie Nets. The Nash supporters will say the outside noise made it almost impossible for him to implement his system. Raptors fans might get a crash course in figuring out which side was right.