Who should the Toronto Raptors hire to be their next coach? basic. All you have to do to answer this question is answer another question first.
What went wrong with the birds of prey last year?
Was it a mismatch between the front office and the coaching staff? Was it the instability of the coaching staff’s ability to hold some players accountable? Is it the lack of cohesion on and off the field between the players? Were they personality conflicts? The inevitable response from the league to an unconventional defense? Conflicting individual priorities between players? Lack of player development on the sidelines? Huge shortcomings in the skills in the list? Bad luck?
Answer: Yes.
As you can see, this whole thing just got a lot more complicated. No single trainer can check every one of these boxes, especially since some boxes are uncheckable. As the Raptors try to launch a network wide enough to bring in every qualified candidate from across the basketball world for the head coaching position, finding the perfect one will be impossible. This should be about priorities.
on monday, the athleteShams Charania and Joe Vardon report that the Raptors have interviewed Canadian basketball legend Steve Nash for the job. Nash has coached the Brooklyn Nets, a reality television series and largely theoretical basketball team, for two or more seasons, but Nash’s attributes as a leader and uniter can be traced mostly back to his time as a player. That is his strongest trait. As brilliant a basketball mind as Nash is, he rarely flaunts that in Brooklyn, and the nature of coaching a “super-team” means his past experience has little to do with a team that has been trying to grow more organically, in bouts and starts.
The Toronto Raptors met with Steve Nash to discuss their job as a coach, sources tell me W @tweet. 584 (94-67) in two seasons coaching the Nets. Toronto has had an extensive search for coaching.
– Shams Charania May 22, 2023
How do you feel about Nash directly relates to which of the nine questions above made you say “yes” the loudest? As evidenced by the head coaches of the 2019, 2020, and 2021 NBA champions who are currently unemployed, there is no perfect candidate. If you are smart and lucky enough, the coach’s strengths match the team’s needs for a long time. The examples of Erik Spoelstra, Gregg Popovich, and Jerry Sloan are the gold standards but also quite unrealistic ambitions.
After a year like last year, in which the front office and coaching staff dismissed player use and development, there may be a temptation for Raptors president Masai Ujiri and his company to hire someone who is perfectly aligned with the wing executive’s vision. Undoubtedly, this is important, but unexpected issues arise over the course of the season(s). Basically, there will be disagreements. More than perfect synergy, the coach’s ability to compromise must be appreciated, as well as the understanding and self-awareness of knowing what is non-negotiable.
Likewise, after former Raptors coach Nick Nurse has relied on his best players more than any other coach in the league over the past two seasons, the coach who feels most comfortable playing the long game feels paramount. the truth? A coach is judged on wins and losses (see: firing a nurse), and at some point, he’ll play with players he trusts. If the front office gives the boss a long leash, it may not happen right away, but it will at some point.
Right now, the Raptors are not a championship-level team. Wide par probably gets them there sooner than they think, but it still doesn’t sound like a great bet. Accordingly, any road to the mountain will require three things: talent to oversee and enhance player development, stylistic flexibility and the ability to command respect from players in their mid-career and youth careers.
Even checking all three of these boxes is a challenge. Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson ran a stellar development program in Brooklyn, but fell short of doing so as Steve Kerr’s young lieutenant. JJ Redick, through his podcast and recent football career, is beloved by players all over the league, but he has yet to prove his coaching abilities. Despite helping lift the wayward Phoenix Suns from the offensive line to the NBA Finals, Monty Williams has clashed with Deandre Ayton for most of his tenure. There isn’t anything Becky Hammon hasn’t done as a coach aside from being a coach in the NBA, but her career is now shattered by being suspended for her treatment of Derekah Hamby while she was pregnant.
We could go ahead and list the other major candidates: former nurse’s aides like Patrick Mutombo, Sergio Scarillo, and Adrian Griffin; top assistants around the league like Phoenix’s Kevin Young, Milwaukee’s Charles Lee, Sacramento’s Jordy Fernandez or Denver’s David Adelman among others; Ex-coaches are looking to get back into the top chair like Frank Vogel, Williams or, yes, Nash.
None of these coaches should be dismissed for what they lack, but they all lack something. The Raptors shouldn’t be hiring based on the same qualifications as the Milwaukee Bucks or the Philadelphia 76ers, because they’re not on the same stage as those teams, even if they strive to be. While the Raptors certainly have an idea of how they want the offseason to go as far as building their roster is concerned, they don’t control everything. There can be relative continuity, or there can be significant change. You need a coach who is ready for any road.
Badly, Raptors need someone who is flexible yet can command a room, who is open but demanding. Even after you’ve been in meetings with someone for a few hours, you can’t tell if the coach is going to be that person until a year or two down the road. The Raptors are right about interviewing all kinds of candidates, without the urgency of hiring someone, and a month before the NBA Draft. They need to find someone who is as open minded and outgoing as they need to be themselves.
(Photo by Steve Nash: Sarah Steer/Getty Images)