The Raptors interviewed Sergio Scariolo on Thursday for their head coaching position, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando, who relays reports from multiple Italian outlets, including Il Resto del Carlino and Corriere di Bologna.
Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster reportedly traveled to Italy to meet with Scariolo.
A veteran coach who has spent the majority of his career in Europe, Scariolo is the current head coach of Virtus Bologna in Italy, as well as the Spanish national team. He has previously coached European teams such as Baskonia, Olimpia Milano, Khimki, and Real Madrid.
Perhaps most notably, Scariolo had a three-year stint as an assistant in the NBA, serving as a member of Nick Nurse‘s staff in Toronto from 2018-21, so the Raptors were already familiar with him. He won a championship with the franchise in 2019 and was briefly the club’s acting head coach when Nurse tested positive for COVID-19 in 2021.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports first reported that Scariolo might get an interview as part of the Raptors’ head coaching search.
Toronto is casting a wide net and considering outside-the-box candidates as it seeks a replacement for Nurse, having also spoken to ESPN analyst JJ Redick among many others.