The Raptors now suddenly have another intriguing name to consider in their coaching search because of the speed with which things can change in the NBA.
When the Phoenix Suns fired coach Monty Williams on Saturday night, a decision that rocked the league because it was so unexpected, it added a highly-respected and successful name to the list that vice-chair and president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster are working from.
Almost immediately after Williams was let go — two seasons removed from leading Phoenix to the NBA Finals — his name was linked to the vacant Raptors job, as it should have been.
While Ujiri and Webster have been meeting with varied current and former NBA assistants as they look to replace Nick Nurse, the 51-year-old Williams should immediately vault near the top of their list.
He’s a proven winner universally respected and seems to have the personality and demeanour that Ujiri seeks. He’s respected by players and comes with little or no drama; a steady hand at the helm could help Toronto regain the “culture” that Ujiri said disappeared last season when the Raptors stumbled out of the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
Toronto has spoken to a handful of possible coaches, ranging from former Raptors assistant Sergio Scariolo to Sacramento associate head coach Jordi Fernandez to ex-NBAer JJ Redick and sought permission to interview WNBA Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon.
There have most certainly been others whose names haven’t leaked out but the sudden availability of Williams, who coached in Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Portland before Phoenix, puts a proven NBA head coach on the market.
It would be negligent of Ujiri and Webster if they didn’t at least make a call to gauge any interest there might be.
Williams is sure to be in demand. Aside from Toronto, the Bucks have an opening with a veteran, championship-calibre roster in place and who knows what other jobs might come open in the next couple of weeks.
It’s unlikely a rebuilding project like Detroit — the only other franchise without a coach today — would interest Williams but if, for instance, Philadelphia thinks it’s time for a change or New York wants to make a move — he is going to be in even higher demand.
That might force the Raptors to act quickly just to take advantage of an immediate opportunity that could vanish quickly.
Meanwhile, the Raptors are going to give their new coach all the freedom imaginable to build a staff.
According to league sources, practically all of Nurse’s former assistants are no longer working for the team, either because their contracts are expiring in the next couple of months or because Ujiri and Webster want a clean slate.
Nate Bjorkgren, Earl Watson and Trevor Gleeson are gone while Adrian Griffin remains under contract but he’s in the running for the Milwaukee job and his situation for next season in Toronto is unclear.
Second-row developmental assistants John Goodwillie, Fab Fournoy, Nathaniel Mitchell and John Corbacio are also gone and a 2023-24 role for Jamaal Magloire is still to be determined.
None of the moves are unexpected or unusual because allowing a new coach to select assistants — after consultation and approval of the front office — is standard operating procedure.
Jim Sann and Rico Hines are still running pre-draft and off-season workouts along with members of the G League Raptors 905 staff so the business of getting ready for the summer workout programs are still in place.
But whoever the Raptors hire — and there remains no firm timeline for getting the 10th head coach in franchise history — will get to bring in his or her own people.
Williams’ firing was just the latest in a series of post-season coaching moves that will shake the top of both conferences. Nurse, Williams and Budenholzer are all out of work today and each has a resume that includes championships and finals appearances that were obviously not good enough.
The dismissals of Williams, Budenholzer and Nurse highlight the precarious nature of coaching in the NBA and the true “what have you done for us lately” nature of the profession.
Budenholzer’s Bucks won the 2021 championship, beating Williams and the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals; Nurse’s Raptors were the 2019 titlists and each had led their franchise to constant and consistent regular season success.
Each, however, paid the ultimately professional price after about the same tenure: Williams was let go after four years in Phoenix, Budenholzer is gone after five in Milwaukee and Nurse leaves after serving as the Raptors head coach for five seasons.
pakattack91
Honestly, I love this. Fresh everything
The_Living_L
Everything fresh on the coaching staff is great but if it’s the same roster it doesn’t matter, no coach can make whatever mess we have rn work, need to see how they shakeup the roster
Da-Wang
That’s rough for some of the development guys have been there for a long time hopefully they find another NBA role
LostPants7
bruh. I think if this is the case then it wouldn’t make sense for AG to be the front-runner? Kind of weird letting him interview elsewhere if they’ve gonna give him the job OR still deciding… I’d take that as insulting
CazOnReddit
And there it is
Clean slate sans-Griffin
This is going to be….an interesting offseason to see who is on the coaching staff/who is in charge of development going forward
Plantedballer
Damn
Muse4lp
seesh that’s a lot of hires that need to be made.
mr10am
They should keep Watson. He’s highly regarded
Scase15
Good, fucking clean house. But this also includes the roster.
midnightmunchiez
Sorta hope Magloire stays
efficientshelter69
Very good
AHImusic
Keep Jamaal Magloire
BuzzyBee83
I was wanting Jerry Stackhouse as coach when they were making coaching decision after dwane Casey firing. Could he be still available ?
Afrorobotics
Bring back Big Cat 🥲
Lewro29
What about jim sann? Big cat is a legend.
Outland3r_
What about Rico Hines?
n3moh0es
idk if y’all be on twitter, but the fanbase wanted earl watson as head coach LMAO
AssyrianRhapsody
Sounds like Jim Sann and Rico Hines both avoided the axe. Would have been doing them both dirty after running open gym episodes fluff pieces on them during the season
Annoyed-Citizen
Please do not knock me for asking, but what was wrong with nick nurse? He brought us a championship, is there something I’m missing here?
bmnewman
Curious that Earl Watson is gone since he is Pascal’s guy.
nath999
As it should be, your head coach should get to pick his own staff. I was surprised they re-upped Griffin so fast considering he hasn’t gotten the Head coaching job.
shiftydnm
Doug said Monty comes with little to no drama lol…
jamiecballer
Unless they have some professed loyalty to Nurse I really don’t see why the wholesale change. Everything I heard suggested Nurse sort of muzzled his staff or operated like a dictator. In which case you are just throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Nat_Feckbeard
were all of them hand-selected by Nurse? I understand wanting to clear house but maybe they should also look at their own track record of hiring
blueseeka
Jim Sann and Rico Hines running draft practices
elarmthecity
Get me all outta here, especially big cat. Hasn’t helped developed any of our bigs
27 Comments
The whole article:
The Raptors now suddenly have another intriguing name to consider in their coaching search because of the speed with which things can change in the NBA.
When the Phoenix Suns fired coach Monty Williams on Saturday night, a decision that rocked the league because it was so unexpected, it added a highly-respected and successful name to the list that vice-chair and president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster are working from.
Almost immediately after Williams was let go — two seasons removed from leading Phoenix to the NBA Finals — his name was linked to the vacant Raptors job, as it should have been.
While Ujiri and Webster have been meeting with varied current and former NBA assistants as they look to replace Nick Nurse, the 51-year-old Williams should immediately vault near the top of their list.
He’s a proven winner universally respected and seems to have the personality and demeanour that Ujiri seeks. He’s respected by players and comes with little or no drama; a steady hand at the helm could help Toronto regain the “culture” that Ujiri said disappeared last season when the Raptors stumbled out of the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
Toronto has spoken to a handful of possible coaches, ranging from former Raptors assistant Sergio Scariolo to Sacramento associate head coach Jordi Fernandez to ex-NBAer JJ Redick and sought permission to interview WNBA Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon.
There have most certainly been others whose names haven’t leaked out but the sudden availability of Williams, who coached in Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Portland before Phoenix, puts a proven NBA head coach on the market.
It would be negligent of Ujiri and Webster if they didn’t at least make a call to gauge any interest there might be.
Williams is sure to be in demand. Aside from Toronto, the Bucks have an opening with a veteran, championship-calibre roster in place and who knows what other jobs might come open in the next couple of weeks.
It’s unlikely a rebuilding project like Detroit — the only other franchise without a coach today — would interest Williams but if, for instance, Philadelphia thinks it’s time for a change or New York wants to make a move — he is going to be in even higher demand.
That might force the Raptors to act quickly just to take advantage of an immediate opportunity that could vanish quickly.
Meanwhile, the Raptors are going to give their new coach all the freedom imaginable to build a staff.
According to league sources, practically all of Nurse’s former assistants are no longer working for the team, either because their contracts are expiring in the next couple of months or because Ujiri and Webster want a clean slate.
Nate Bjorkgren, Earl Watson and Trevor Gleeson are gone while Adrian Griffin remains under contract but he’s in the running for the Milwaukee job and his situation for next season in Toronto is unclear.
Second-row developmental assistants John Goodwillie, Fab Fournoy, Nathaniel Mitchell and John Corbacio are also gone and a 2023-24 role for Jamaal Magloire is still to be determined.
None of the moves are unexpected or unusual because allowing a new coach to select assistants — after consultation and approval of the front office — is standard operating procedure.
Jim Sann and Rico Hines are still running pre-draft and off-season workouts along with members of the G League Raptors 905 staff so the business of getting ready for the summer workout programs are still in place.
But whoever the Raptors hire — and there remains no firm timeline for getting the 10th head coach in franchise history — will get to bring in his or her own people.
Williams’ firing was just the latest in a series of post-season coaching moves that will shake the top of both conferences. Nurse, Williams and Budenholzer are all out of work today and each has a resume that includes championships and finals appearances that were obviously not good enough.
The dismissals of Williams, Budenholzer and Nurse highlight the precarious nature of coaching in the NBA and the true “what have you done for us lately” nature of the profession.
Budenholzer’s Bucks won the 2021 championship, beating Williams and the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals; Nurse’s Raptors were the 2019 titlists and each had led their franchise to constant and consistent regular season success.
Each, however, paid the ultimately professional price after about the same tenure: Williams was let go after four years in Phoenix, Budenholzer is gone after five in Milwaukee and Nurse leaves after serving as the Raptors head coach for five seasons.
Honestly, I love this. Fresh everything
Everything fresh on the coaching staff is great but if it’s the same roster it doesn’t matter, no coach can make whatever mess we have rn work, need to see how they shakeup the roster
That’s rough for some of the development guys have been there for a long time hopefully they find another NBA role
bruh. I think if this is the case then it wouldn’t make sense for AG to be the front-runner? Kind of weird letting him interview elsewhere if they’ve gonna give him the job OR still deciding… I’d take that as insulting
And there it is
Clean slate sans-Griffin
This is going to be….an interesting offseason to see who is on the coaching staff/who is in charge of development going forward
Damn
seesh that’s a lot of hires that need to be made.
They should keep Watson. He’s highly regarded
Good, fucking clean house. But this also includes the roster.
Sorta hope Magloire stays
Very good
Keep Jamaal Magloire
I was wanting Jerry Stackhouse as coach when they were making coaching decision after dwane Casey firing. Could he be still available ?
Bring back Big Cat 🥲
What about jim sann? Big cat is a legend.
What about Rico Hines?
idk if y’all be on twitter, but the fanbase wanted earl watson as head coach LMAO
Sounds like Jim Sann and Rico Hines both avoided the axe. Would have been doing them both dirty after running open gym episodes fluff pieces on them during the season
Please do not knock me for asking, but what was wrong with nick nurse? He brought us a championship, is there something I’m missing here?
Curious that Earl Watson is gone since he is Pascal’s guy.
As it should be, your head coach should get to pick his own staff. I was surprised they re-upped Griffin so fast considering he hasn’t gotten the Head coaching job.
Doug said Monty comes with little to no drama lol…
Unless they have some professed loyalty to Nurse I really don’t see why the wholesale change. Everything I heard suggested Nurse sort of muzzled his staff or operated like a dictator. In which case you are just throwing the baby out with the bath water.
were all of them hand-selected by Nurse? I understand wanting to clear house but maybe they should also look at their own track record of hiring
Jim Sann and Rico Hines running draft practices
Get me all outta here, especially big cat. Hasn’t helped developed any of our bigs