Ime Udoka and Raptors’ Top HC Candidates after Nick Nurse Fired

The Toronto Raptors added another important item to their checklist in what’s shaping up to be a crucial offseason for the franchise.

The Raptors confirmed Nurse’s departure from the Raptors after five seasons as their head coach. Adrian Wojnarowski originally reported the departure

There had been growing speculation that Nurse’s tenure in Toronto could be coming to an end. The team underachieved with a 41-41 record this season after winning 48 games in 2021-22.

Nurse even told reporters on March 31 he was going to “evaluate” things at the end of the season. The Raptors missed out on the playoffs when they lost to the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament.

In addition to searching for a new head coach, the Raptors could lose Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. in free agency if they don’t exercise their contract options for 2023-24. Jakob Poeltl is set to become a free agent.

While there will be time for president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri to figure out what to do with the roster, here are the top options he can explore to replace Nurse.

Making Udoka

According to WojnarowskiIme Udoka is “expected to be a serious candidate” for the Raptors.

The 45-year-old sat out this season after being suspended by the Boston Celtics for multiple violations of team policies stemming from an independent investigation conducted by a law firm hired by the team.

Per Jimmy Golan of the Associated Press, Udoka’s suspension stemmed from an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the organization.

The Celtics initially hired longtime assistant Joe Mazzulla as their interim head coach for the 2022-23 season. He was named their full-time head coach and received a contract extension in February

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said during the press conference announcing Mazzulla’s new deal that Udoka was no longer employed by the organization.

From an on-court perspective, Udoka ticks a lot of the boxes that would make him an attractive candidate for a franchise like the Raptors. He has a reputation as a strong player-development coach dating back to his time as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs.

The Celtics already had a strong foundation in place when Udoka replaced Stevens as head coach, but he helped elevate Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown into top-tier players at their positions. Marcus Smart won Defensive Player of the Year last season.

Boston went 51-31, ranked second in defensive rating and reached the NBA Finals in Udoka’s only season as head coach.

Scottie Barnes didn’t build on his Rookie of the Year campaign in his second season, but the 21-year-old still has all the potential in the world that made the Raptors unwilling to include him in trade offers for Kevin Durant last offseason.

Patrick Mutumbo and Jerry Stackhouse

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Patrick Mutombo and Jerry Stackhouse are considered potential options for the Raptors.

Both men have previous experience with the organization. Mutombo was an assistant for the final two years of the Dwane Casey era and first two years of the Nurse era (2016 to ’20). He spent two seasons as head coach of the Raptors’ G League affiliate from 2020 to ’22.

Raptors 905 went 36-11 and made the playoffs in both years with Mutombo at the helm. The 43-year-old left the organization in June when he was hired as an assistant coach by the Phoenix Suns.

Stackhouse began his coaching career as an assistant on Casey’s staff for the 2015-16 season.

The former NBA All-Star had his first run as a head coach with Raptors 905 for two seasons from 2016 to ’18. He led the team to back-to-back appearances in the G League finals, winning a title in 2017.

After spending the 2018-19 season as an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies, Stackhouse has been Vanderbilt’s head coach for the past four years. He has a 61-69 record with the Commodores, including back-to-back appearances in the NIT quarterfinals in 2022 and 2023.

Adrian Griffin

The Raptors haven’t historically been an organization that goes after marquee names for their head-coaching position.

Nurse spent five seasons as an assistant coach on Casey’s staff before being promoted to the main job in June 2018.

If the Raptors want to go with an in-house candidate this time around, Adrian Griffin could be a viable wild-card option. The 48-year-old has been an assistant coach in the NBA since 2008.

Griffin joined Nurse’s staff in June 2018 and has interviewed for various head-coaching jobs over the years, including with the Utah Jazz last offseason.

Keeping some semblance of continuity for a young player like Barnes could make Griffin attractive for Toronto. He’s certainly got more than enough experience as an assistant to at least warrant getting an interview with the Raptors.