Raptors dismiss Nurse as head coach

Nick Nurse | Toronto Raptors | Head coach: The Toronto Raptors made the announcement that the head coach who guided them to the 2019 NBA title will not take over for them in 2020.

Ime Udoka is rumoured to be a "serious candidate" for the now-vacant head coaching position in Toronto, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Nurse, 55, leaves the Raptors after five years with a 227-163 overall record, two Atlantic Division titles, and three playoff berths.

The decision to make a change like this is never taken lightly or easily, particularly when it involves a person who has played a key role in some of the franchise's most illustrious victories and who has served as a solid leader during some of our team's most trying times. In a press release, Vice-Chairman and President Masai Ujiri said, "We appreciate Nick and his family and wish them the best in the future as we reflect on Nick's many triumphs.

We have the chance to start over, refocus, and assemble the team members and players who will enable us to achieve our next championship goal.

By losing 109-105 to the Chicago Bulls in the 9-10 Eastern Conference Play-In game, the Raptors were eliminated from the playoffs in 2023.

After coaching in the NCAA, British Basketball League, and the D-League, where he won championships with the Iowa Energy and Rio Valley Vipers and was awarded D-League Coach of the Year in 2011, Nurse, a native of Carroll, Iowa, joined the Raptors in 2013 as an assistant under Dwane Casey.

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers eliminated the Raptors from the playoffs for the third year in a row at the end of the 2018 season. As a result, the team made sweeping changes, firing Casey, the NBA Coach of the Year at the time, elevating Nurse, and dealing franchise stalwart DeMar DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for the erratic and frequently injured superstar Kawhi Leonard.

With Leonard following a "load management" strategy in which he was frequently rested and avoided playing in back-to-back games, the Raptors prospered under Nurse. They also added centre Marc Gasol in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. Leonard had only played nine games the previous season while recovering from a lingering quad injury.

The Toronto Raptors overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals and go to their first NBA Finals after overcoming the Orlando Magic in the first round and the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games on Leonard's now-famous series-winning jumper. To win their first title, the Raptors would later overcome the Golden State Warriors in six games.

The Raptors retained their division title the following year and won the franchise's first-ever postseason series sweep over the Brooklyn Nets in the first round before losing to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs at the Disney World NBA Bubble in seven games, even though they were missing Leonard, who left for the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency.

The team won 27 games in the COVID-19-shortened 72-game season, the fewest in over ten years, and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013. This forced them to relocate to Tampa for the 2020–21 season owing to border laws connected to the pandemic. The offseason trade of team saviour Kyle Lowry to the Miami Heat effectively ended the championship club.

The Raptors returned to the playoffs in 2021–22 with a 48–win season, helped by the performance of fourth overall pick Scottie Barnes, the eventual NBA Rookie of the Year, the development of Pascal Siakam as a viable No. 1 option, and an All-Star campaign from Fred VanVleet. The Sixers would eliminate the team in six games of the first round.

The Toronto Star's Doug Smith reported in late March that Nurse was anticipated to leave the team at the conclusion of the season for the Houston Rockets, the NBA parent team of Rio Grande, with former Celtics coach Ime Udoka scheduled to take over as coach of the Raptors as they sought to at least qualify for the Play-In Tournament. Days later, when Nurse's future was brought up during a post-game press conference, the whispers persisted.

First off, I believe that after this season is through, we will analyse everything. As for myself, I'm going to wait a few weeks to see where I stand. said a nurse on April 1. Where my head is, as you mentioned. Just observe the organization's relationship with everything else.

He reaffirmed his passion for the company and the city at Nurse's season-ending availability, but he gave no assurances about his future.

Listen, I adore this place...Additionally, we have developed a pretty solid culture, stated Nurse. "[Team president Masai Ujiri] is acting in this manner. That is what Bobby [Webster], the general manager, is doing. I'm acting in this manner. We must collectively assess how we can restore the appropriate culture, become a playoff team once more, and eventually reach the level of winning the championship. What we intend to do is that. For the past ten years, that is the reason we get out of bed and go to work.