When Nick Nurse was relieved of head coaching duties, few would have anticipated the Toronto Raptors keying in on an inexperienced replacement for the championship-winning coach. Especially with so many other, proven candidates becoming available, such as Doc Rivers, who also has an NBA title to his name.
All the other teams who moved on from their coach have since hired a replacement, but not Toronto. They’re the last of the bunch to hire their next franchise leader.
But a list of finalists appears to have emerged, yet coach Rivers isn’t reported to be among them.
Instead, as Josh Lewenberg reports, the Raptors aren’t expected to be without a coach for much longer. A final batch of interviews is scheduled for this weekend or throughout the following days.
According to Lewenberg, both Sergio Scariolo and Sacramento Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez are “believed to be among” the finalists.
Neither has been an NBA head coach before, and while Scariolo is now leading Virtus Bologna in the EuroLeague, he does have four years of experience as an assistant with the Raptors under coach Nurse from 2018 to 2021.
Fernandez also has yet to be an NBA head coach, but the 40-year-old has been involved in various coaching roles since 2006. Most notable are his times with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2009-2013, the Denver Nuggets from 2016 to 2022, and most recently with the Kings.
Even if Scariolo and Fernandez may not have experience as an NBA head coach, neither did Nurse when he started either. Instead of going with a coach everyone knows, the Raptors may have more interest in trying to uncover another gem.