3 former Toronto Raptors thriving elsewhere to start 2023-24
By Mike Luciano
1. Nick Nurse, Philadelphia 76ers
The Raptors may have just been the wrong team at the wrong time for Nurse. He is still a damn fine leader at this level, and his hot start with the 76ers has Joel Embiid and the rest of the squad in position to finally break past all of their postseason malaises.
Nurse has the 76ers at 8-2 to start the season after ending the James Harden drama, all while Joel Embiid has established himself as arguably the favorite to win MVP once again and Tyrese Maxey is playing at an All-NBA level. This offensive creativity would have been a big help for a very vanilla Raptors offense.
Nick Nurse is coaching well after the Toronto Raptors fired him.
The Raptors only had one losing season with Nurse, and that came during the Tampa season. His coaching acumen has never been in question, but his abrasive style and inability to connect with this young roster made it a somewhat easy decision for Ujiri to let him go.
Nurse needed to go to a team ready to win now that needed two or three tweaks in how they do business. Much to the chagrin of the Raptors, Nurse found that in Philadelphia, and both Embiid and Maxey will confirm what a great decision it was to bring him into the fold.