Despite the fact that the Toronto Raptors were among the first teams to fire their head coach this season, only they and the Phoenix Suns remain with a vacancy. The Raptors have taken a wide-open approach to their coaching situation, and they have been moving along at a glacial pace.
The Raptors reportedly were snooping around Monty Williams’ camp before the Detroit Pistons gave him a frankly eye-watering amount of money to be their next head coach. Anyone eyeing him to come in and change the culture was dealt a swift kick in the teeth by this deal.
Toronto’s search has taken them to all sorts of weird places. While names like Williams and Kenny Atkinson were considered, so were Steve Nash and current analyst JJ Redick. After so much tribulation and uncertainty, the Raptors may finally be honing in on one of their top guys.
According to Marc Stein, the three coaches who will likely be considered for Toronto’s head coaching job are former assistant Sergio Scariolo, Sacramento Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez, and Memphis Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic. Fans may finally get some sort of resolution in this process.
The NBA Finals, once again, will be Daily Dime time.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 1, 2023
Get ready for tonight's Game 1 here: https://t.co/BDiNEhB0jG
3 coaches named finalists for Toronto Raptors head coach job.
Scariolo would be the most familiar coaching hire due to his tenure as a Raptors assistant, and his tenure as the Spanish national team head coach is beyond reproach. However, is it worth hiring one of Nick Nurse’s assistants after making such a big deal of firing him and starting fresh?
Rajakovic has a background in player development, as he was a developmental coach in Serbia for eight seasons and a former G League head coach. Rajakovic has spent the last nine seasons in the NBA as an assistant for the Grizzlies, Suns, and Thunder. He has paid his dues and could cash in with a head coaching job very soon.
Fernandez has some support among Raptors Twitter users, and it is very easy to see why. Fernandez has the perfect blend of Rajakovic’s development background, Scariolo’s offensive Xs and Os mastery, and his own unique flair that can help build a sustainable culture.
Raptors Still Considering Sergio Scariolo, Jordi Fernandez, Darko Rajakovic For Head Coach https://t.co/GIuqiFYIqI
— RealGM (@RealGM) June 1, 2023
None of these coaches have any prior head coaching experience at the NBA level, so there is an element of risk involved with all of them. However, the Raptors seem to be extremely confident in the idea that they could build a winner around any one of this trio.