The Toronto Raptors' decision to fire Nick Nurse leaves them at an organizational crossroads. Is this team really capable of contending, and if so, who's the best voice to lead them?
There's no denying the baseline talent on the Toronto Raptors' roster. Pascal Siakam earned All-NBA consideration despite the Raptors' poor record and there's plenty to be excited about with players like Scottie Barnes and OG Anunoby, two elite defensive wings on the front end of their basketball primes.
And yet, the Raptors feel like the NBA's biggest mess. Nick Nurse's firing highlighted the bad vibes around the franchise. Nurse butted heads with front office members, assistant coaches, and players. Toronto, after several years spent in contention, suddenly looked like ultimate resident of no-man's land — too talented and experienced to rebuild, but far too flawed to pose any threat to the elite NBA teams.
It all ended with a play-in tournament loss to the Chicago Bulls. No disrespect to Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, but it's hard to script a more poetic and embarrassing end to a sorry season. The Bulls, too, are stuck in basketball no-man's land. But at least Chicago has a coach it believes in.
Who can the Raptors find this summer to lead the next era of Toronto basketball?
Best head coach options for Toronto Raptors to replace Nick Nurse
3. Chris Quinn
Former NBA point guard Chris Quinn has been an assistant coach under Erik Spoelstra in Miami since 2014. While much is made of the Gregg Popovich coaching tree coming out of San Antonio, Spo is widely considered the best working coach in the NBA. Maybe it's time to grow in the Spoelstra coaching tree.
Quinn is a relatively young coach for a relatively young team. Toronto's core players are all younger than 30. Scottie Barnes is probably the centerpiece of the Raptors' future; giving him a guard-minded coach to grow alongside for the next decade is a tantalizing proposition.
No current head coach is better at maximizing a flawed roster and getting the most out of depth pieces than Spoelstra. The Raptors would hope some of that creativity and innovation has rubbed off on Quinn. Toronto is defined by atypical roster construction, but the talent level is enough to compete at a high level — at least in the regular season — with the right head coach.
2. Adrian Griffin
Adrian Griffin is another former NBA player and longtime assistant who has been waiting in the head coaching line for a minute. Spending time on the sidelines with Milwaukee, Chicago, Orlando, and Oklahoma City since 2008, Griffin joined the Raptors' bench under Nick Nurse in 2018.
The root of the appeal here is obvious: Griffin knows the roster. He is generally thought to have the respect of Toronto's players and, while last season was a disappointment, the Raptors have generally played above their means in the post-Kawhi era. Griffin has been there for the best iterations of this team.
Also, Griffin got to coach under Nurse. The Raptors fired Nurse for myriad reasons, but not because of his incompetence in the head coach's chair. Nurse was known for his innovation and adaptability. He got quite a lot out of an imbalanced roster. Maybe the Raptors believe Griffin can maintain some of Nurse's best tendencies while avoiding the off-court drama Nurse instigated in his final year with the team.
Griffin is the perfect blend of old and new. He has borne witness to what makes this Raptors team tick. He was also there for last season, when the vibes went south and Nurse lost his grip on the locker room. That could be valuable corporate knowledge for Griffin as he tries to turn the franchise back around.
1. Mike Budenholzer
Mike Budenholzer was justifiably placed on the hot seat following Milwaukee's shocking first round loss to the Heat. But, it's important to remember the context of the Bucks' failure. Giannis Antetokounmpo was hurt and Miami has done nothing in the ensuing weeks to suggest that series win was a fluke. Maybe the Heat are just that good.
Very few NBA coaches have been more consistently successful over the last decade than Budenholzer. He is arguably the most acclaimed disciple of Gregg Popovich, winning Coach of the Year twice (2015, 2019) and leading the Bucks to an NBA championship in 2021.
Bud famously engineered a 60-win team around Al Horford and Paul Millsap. He is a bastion of regular season dominance, a defensive genius who consistently builds efficient offenses with imbalanced rosters. The Hawks didn't have a traditional go-to scorer to operate around, so Bud went Spursian. With Milwaukee, he built a scoring buzzsaw around Giannis without consistent perimeter shot creators. The Bucks overcame multiple key injuries to win 58 games and claim the No. 1 seed this season. There are valid concerns about Budenholzer's limited capacity for adjustments in the playoffs, but he reached the mountaintop just two years ago. It's hard to argue with the results.
The Raptors have the talent to compete. If anyone can build a cohesive offense and dominant defense around playmaking bigs like Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes, Budenholzer is a strong bet. He would also be more receptive to utilizing his team's full depth chart than Nurse, who became notorious last season for running his starters into the ground. Budenholzer is an established winner and a low-risk option to lead Toronto forward.
Check out The Step Back for more news, analysis, opinion and unique basketball coverage. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our daily email newsletter, The Whiteboard.