3 places Nick Nurse might coach after being fired by Raptors
By Ian Levy
Rumors that the Raptors and Nick Nurse might part ways have persisted all season. Now that the firing is official, where could he land next?
The Raptors didn’t waste any time, beginning and offseason of change, firing head coach Nick Nurse just a week after being eliminated in the NBA Play-In Tournament. The fact that both sides might seek a change was one of the worst-kept secrets in the league all season and with the move becoming official, we’re getting a few more details.
According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet, player development, structure and accountability and a taxing player style were all points of friction between Nurse, his players and the front office.
Raptors/Nurse were meeting regularly. Sticking points have been lack of bench development, a play style that yielding intended results but was overly taxing given minutes for starters & created problems in other areas. Desire for more structure and accountability a factor too.
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) April 21, 2023
Despite the way his Raptors tenure has ended, Nurse is likely to be highly sought after this offseason. He won a title in his first season coaching the Raptors, followed that up by winning Coach of the Year the following season and finished with a 0.582 winning percentage across five seasons in Toronto.
Which teams should be considering Nick Nurse as their next head coach?
3. Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks seem like they’re ready to roll into next season with Jason Kidd still at the helm, despite this season’s epic collapse and seemingly endless examples of him deflecting blame and responsibility, making terrible rotation decisions and antagonizing key players. All that is to say, the Mavs might not give serious consideration to trying to woo Nurse but they absolutely should.
There’s a good chance they end up having to clear the decks next season, with Kyrie Irving, Christian Wood and Dwight Powell all leaving in free agency. If they’re going to reset the roster and make a last-ditch attempt to convince Luka Doncic that they’re a serious basketball organization made up of serious basketball people, they might as well roll in an enormous coaching upgrade.