The Toronto Raptors have fired head coach Nick Nurse. Nurse and Toronto were reportedly considering parting ways at the end of the season, as far back as midseason.
Wojnarowski added that former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka is a “serious candidate” to replace Nurse.
As far as Nurse goes, he won’t be out of a job for very long as Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, citing sources, reported the “Houston Rockets will target Nick Nurse as a strong candidate for their vacant head coach opening.”
In 2013, Nurse was hired as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors under head coach Dwane Casey. When Casey was fired in 2018, Nurse was named his successor as head coach of the Raptors. In his first season as head coach, Nurse led the Raptors to their first NBA championship in franchise history, defeating the Golden State Warriors in six games in the 2019 NBA Finals.
Nurse was also named the NBA Coach of the Year in 2020. Under his leadership, the Raptors have become one of the most respected and successful teams in the NBA. He led the team to playoff appearances in each of his first four years and a play-in tournament berth this past season, where it was eliminated by the Chicago Bulls.
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Before becoming the Raptors’ head coach, Nurse had a successful career as a coach in Europe and the NBA’s developmental league. Nurse spent several years coaching overseas, including stints in the United Kingdom, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In 2013, he was named the head coach of the Bakersfield Jam, another D-League team, and led the team to the D-League Finals.
Overall, Nurse went 227-163 in five regular seasons. He was a further 25-16 in three playoff appearances.
As for the Rockets, the franchise is in the midst of a rebuild and has not made the playoffs in three seasons. Nurse could easily come in and turn things around for this young team.
