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Another year, another playoff disappointment at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers. At this point, it is inevitable, death, taxes and Raptors playoff disappointments. After yet another stellar regular season where they won a franchise-record 59 games, secured the number one seed for the first time ever and changed their offensive system, the Raptors looked destined for their first Finals berth. But it was all for nothing as once again the Raptors were defeated by Lebron and the Cavs for the third straight time, two of which were sweeps. With the Raptors facing a crossroad with their team, President Masai Ujiri fired Dwane Casey, who could very well win the Coach of the Year Award this year. With Mike Budenholzer already signing with the Bucks, here is a look at some of the best head coaching candidates left for the Toronto Raptors.
The In-House Candidates
According to reports (the trustworthy Woj), the Raptors are considering hiring internally, which is a very interesting move. Here are the top internal candidates.
Nick Nurse
Nick Nurse is currently one of the head assistant coaches for the Raptors. Regarded as an offensive mastermind, Nurse is the man behind all of the Raptors plays and is largely responsible for changing the Raptors offensive system (not to take anything away from Dwane Casey as he also played a major role in the culture reset) from iso ball into the free flowing motion and 3 pt shooting. Nurse has been apart of the Raptors staff since 2013 so he does know the front office well. The main concerns with Nurse is he does not have any NBA head coaching experience, he was apart of the Raptors struggles in the playoffs and he is not really known for a strong defensive system. With all this being said, the Raptors hiring Nurse is a high-risk high-reward move that could pay dividends in the future.
Rex Kalamian
Rex Kalamian is currently one of the head assistant coaches for the Raptors. While Nurse is the offensive whiz, Kalamian anchors the Raptors on the defensive end. Not only is he a great defensive mind, he also has great relationships with players. Kalamian is constantly in the gym helping Derozan get up shots, no matter the time of day. Before working for the Raptors, Kalamain was an assistant coach with the Thunder when they had Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka and Harden so he has experience working with ball dominant players and deep playoff runs. He also has been coaching in the NBA for 24 years!! However, like Nurse, Kalamian has no head coaching experience in the NBA and is wildcard of sorts for this job. I would think that the Raptors are going to keep Kalamian where he is as an assistant coach, which is the best move as he is still a extremely valuable voice on the bench.
Jerry Stackhouse
Raptors fans have been calling for the hiring of Stackhouse and quite frankly it is a little puzzling. Yes, I know he is being sought after by many other teams with head coaching vacancies. However, at this time, I just can't see how he is a better coach than Dwane Casey and hiring him would really be a lateral move. After having a long and successful 18 year career as an NBA player, Stackhouse made the transition into coaching, his first gig as an assistant coach for the Raptors in the 2015-2016 season. After that year he decided to become the head coach of the Raptors 905, where he has led the G-League affiliate of the Raptors to 2 straight finals appearances. However, Stackhouse is not this perfect savior that many Raptors fans make him out to be. He does not make many in-game adjustments effectively, he's not great at X's and O's and the Raptors 905 ranked dead last in pace in the G-League due to a lot of iso ball, something that the Raptors know all too well. Also, the Raptors 905 have been one of the most talented teams in the G-League during Stackhouse's tenure as head coach, with the Bench Mob helping them in the first championship run and fringe NBA players like Lorenzo Brown (MVP of the G-League), Kennedy Meeks and Malachi Richardson leading the charge this past season, so the team's success is not solely thanks to Stackhouse. However, he has practically developed the Raptors Bench Mob and the stars of the team all respect him because of his prolific days as a player. Oddly, this sounds like similar to descriptions of Dwane Casey during his tenure with the Raptors. If Stackhouse is hired by the Raptors, expect Masai to blow up the team and start from scratch.
The External Candidates
Like any coaching search, external candidates coaches are considered. Here are a few that the Raptors should really look into.
Etorre Messina
This is the guy that I think the Raptors really need to get if they want to be competitive next season. I mean, his accomplishments and accolades speak for themselves.
I mean it hard to argue with results. Messina is regarded as one of the greatest coaches the Euroleague has ever seen, which by the way is the second best league in terms of talent in the world. Messina runs a very fluid offensive system, one that emphasizes post play and getting the defense to shift in order to attack. For the past 4 years, he has been one of Gregg Popovich's head assistant coaches and took over head coaching duties in this year's playoffs due to Coach Pop taking a leave in light of the tragic passing of his wife. The main downside of hiring Messina is Euroleague coaches have not fared will recently in the NBA (think David Blatt), although I truly believe that this will not be a problem with Messina's experience with the Spurs. In addition, he is known as a hard-nosed and fiery coach, which could lead to altercations with players of the same nature (I'm looking at you Kyle Lowry). Despite all this Messina's track record as a winner in the Euroleague and NBA is too good to pass up.
Ime Udoka
An 8-year NBA journeyman, Udoka didn't have a spectacular playing career in the NBA. Known for his strong defense and professionalsim, Udoka was an excellent locker room guy for any team he played for. Udoka joined the Spurs coaching staff in 2012 (after playing for the Spurs for 3 years) and has risen up the ranks very quickly. He was apart of the Spurs remarkable 2014 championship run. Udoka also played a key role in convincing Lamarcus Aldridge to sign with the Spurs as he was former teammates with Aldridge. Currently, Udoka is one of Pop's head assistant coaches, and has been interviewed by many teams with head coaching vacancies (including the Raptors). Because of his inexperience as a coach, his strengths and weaknesses as a coach are still a bit of an unknown. That being said, Udoka, is a dark horse candidate and could very well be the new coach and bring the Raptors to new heights (a la Steve Kerr).
The In-House Candidates
According to reports (the trustworthy Woj), the Raptors are considering hiring internally, which is a very interesting move. Here are the top internal candidates.
Nick Nurse
Nick Nurse is currently one of the head assistant coaches for the Raptors. Regarded as an offensive mastermind, Nurse is the man behind all of the Raptors plays and is largely responsible for changing the Raptors offensive system (not to take anything away from Dwane Casey as he also played a major role in the culture reset) from iso ball into the free flowing motion and 3 pt shooting. Nurse has been apart of the Raptors staff since 2013 so he does know the front office well. The main concerns with Nurse is he does not have any NBA head coaching experience, he was apart of the Raptors struggles in the playoffs and he is not really known for a strong defensive system. With all this being said, the Raptors hiring Nurse is a high-risk high-reward move that could pay dividends in the future.
Rex Kalamian
Rex Kalamian is currently one of the head assistant coaches for the Raptors. While Nurse is the offensive whiz, Kalamian anchors the Raptors on the defensive end. Not only is he a great defensive mind, he also has great relationships with players. Kalamian is constantly in the gym helping Derozan get up shots, no matter the time of day. Before working for the Raptors, Kalamain was an assistant coach with the Thunder when they had Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka and Harden so he has experience working with ball dominant players and deep playoff runs. He also has been coaching in the NBA for 24 years!! However, like Nurse, Kalamian has no head coaching experience in the NBA and is wildcard of sorts for this job. I would think that the Raptors are going to keep Kalamian where he is as an assistant coach, which is the best move as he is still a extremely valuable voice on the bench.
Jerry Stackhouse
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| "Jerry Stackhouse" by Paul Chin is licensed under C.C by 2.0 |
Raptors fans have been calling for the hiring of Stackhouse and quite frankly it is a little puzzling. Yes, I know he is being sought after by many other teams with head coaching vacancies. However, at this time, I just can't see how he is a better coach than Dwane Casey and hiring him would really be a lateral move. After having a long and successful 18 year career as an NBA player, Stackhouse made the transition into coaching, his first gig as an assistant coach for the Raptors in the 2015-2016 season. After that year he decided to become the head coach of the Raptors 905, where he has led the G-League affiliate of the Raptors to 2 straight finals appearances. However, Stackhouse is not this perfect savior that many Raptors fans make him out to be. He does not make many in-game adjustments effectively, he's not great at X's and O's and the Raptors 905 ranked dead last in pace in the G-League due to a lot of iso ball, something that the Raptors know all too well. Also, the Raptors 905 have been one of the most talented teams in the G-League during Stackhouse's tenure as head coach, with the Bench Mob helping them in the first championship run and fringe NBA players like Lorenzo Brown (MVP of the G-League), Kennedy Meeks and Malachi Richardson leading the charge this past season, so the team's success is not solely thanks to Stackhouse. However, he has practically developed the Raptors Bench Mob and the stars of the team all respect him because of his prolific days as a player. Oddly, this sounds like similar to descriptions of Dwane Casey during his tenure with the Raptors. If Stackhouse is hired by the Raptors, expect Masai to blow up the team and start from scratch.
The External Candidates
Like any coaching search, external candidates coaches are considered. Here are a few that the Raptors should really look into.
Etorre Messina
This is the guy that I think the Raptors really need to get if they want to be competitive next season. I mean, his accomplishments and accolades speak for themselves.
4× EuroLeague champion (1998, 2001, 2006, 2008)
2× EuroLeague Coach of the Year (2006, 2008)
FIBA Cup Winners' Cup champion (1990)
4× Italian League champion (1993, 1998, 2001, 2003)
7× Italian Cup winner (1990, 1999, 2001–2005)
3× Italian League Best Coach (1998, 2001, 2005)
5× Russian League champion (2006–2009, 2013)
2× Russian Cup winner (2006–2007)
4× Russian League Coach of the Year (2006–2009)
2× VTB United League champion (2013, 2014)
50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors (2008)
Italian Hall of Fame (2008)
Career Games Coached: 377
Games Won: 279
Games Lost: 98
Winning %: 74%
I mean it hard to argue with results. Messina is regarded as one of the greatest coaches the Euroleague has ever seen, which by the way is the second best league in terms of talent in the world. Messina runs a very fluid offensive system, one that emphasizes post play and getting the defense to shift in order to attack. For the past 4 years, he has been one of Gregg Popovich's head assistant coaches and took over head coaching duties in this year's playoffs due to Coach Pop taking a leave in light of the tragic passing of his wife. The main downside of hiring Messina is Euroleague coaches have not fared will recently in the NBA (think David Blatt), although I truly believe that this will not be a problem with Messina's experience with the Spurs. In addition, he is known as a hard-nosed and fiery coach, which could lead to altercations with players of the same nature (I'm looking at you Kyle Lowry). Despite all this Messina's track record as a winner in the Euroleague and NBA is too good to pass up.
Ime Udoka
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| Photo by Zereshk is licensed under C.C by 2.0 |
Stackhouse is legit
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