Grizzlies Notes: Morant Injury, Jones, Jackson
The Grizzlies haven’t determined Ja Morant‘s status going forward, but the scene in the locker room wasn’t encouraging after Sunday’s loss to the Lakers, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Morant kept his right hand at his side after hurting it on a collision with Anthony Davis in the fourth quarter. He used his left hand to check his phone, put on headphones and get dressed after a shower, raising questions about whether he can be ready when the series resumes Wednesday night.
Morant appeared to reaggravate a bruise on his hand that he suffered in the next-to-last game of the season. An X-ray on the hand Sunday was negative, but Morant described his pain level as “about a 10” and admitted there was “doubt” that he can be ready for Game 2.
“I’m gonna do anything to try to be out there for my team, be out there on the floor, pretty much how much I can tolerate, to like I can go out there and be somewhat like myself,” he said. “ If not, I don’t want to do anything to hurt the team.”
Vardon notes that most of Morant’s difficulties this season have been self-inflicted, with the most obvious being an eight-game suspension last month after posting a video of himself with a gun in a Denver-area nightclub. That seemed to be weighing on him as he considered the injury he suffered Sunday, Vardon states.
“It’s very tough, stressful,” Morant said. “Obviously, I feel like you guys can tell my body language and stuff now. Pretty much taking what happened, I don’t know, I’m numb to everything right now. It’s like, I’m not even surprised. It’s one thing after another.”
There’s more from Memphis:
- The suspension gave the Grizzlies a chance to get used to playing without Morant, so they have some confidence even if he can’t be ready for Wednesday, Vardon adds. Backup point guard Tyus Jones made 22 starts this season, averaging 16.4 points and 8.1 assists per game in that role, and Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. look to score more often when Morant is out. “We’ve been in that position before without him on the floor, and Tyus is obviously capable to play a big role and make plays on both ends of the floor,” Bane said. “You know, so, hopefully, Ja is back Wednesday, but if not, Ty will be ready to go.”
- Jackson was a bright spot for Memphis with 31 points while hitting 13 of his 21 shots from the field, notes Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal. Jackson was one of the league’s best interior players over the last month of the regular season and he looked like a mismatch for LeBron James in Game 1, Cole adds.
- The Lakers may now be the favorites to win the series considering Sunday’s performance and the uncertainty surrounding Morant, contends Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
Clippers Notes: Westbrook, Leonard, George, Fan Incident
The Clippers understood what they were getting when they signed Russell Westbrook in February, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The 34-year-old guard may be an unreliable shooter who commits frustrating turnovers, but he’s also an extreme competitor that has brought some much-needed energy to the team.
That was on display Sunday night as Westbrook made one big play after another in the closing minutes to help L.A. win in Phoenix. The most significant was a block of Devin Booker‘s layup attempt with 10 seconds left, followed by a quick reaction to throw the ball out of bounds off Booker and give possession to the Clippers. Although he shot 3-of-19 from the field, Westbrook had 11 rebounds — five on the offensive end — along with eight assists, three blocks and two steals.
“It is [heart], it’s timing, it’s the will to win,” he said. “Be able to make plays. Understanding time, scoring, possession. At this position, humbly speaking, nobody a better rebounder than me.”
Westbrook was struggling through one of the worst shooting seasons of his career when the Lakers shipped him to Utah at the trade deadline. From the time he joined the Clippers after a buyout, coach Tyronn Lue has urged him to find other ways to contribute when his shot isn’t falling, and it’s a message he emphasized Sunday night.
“He was mad about missing shots,” Lue said. “And I said, ‘Listen, your shot is not important. Take good shots, take the right shots, but what you bring to our team is way more valuable, and that’s rebounding the basketball.’ That’s the three offensive rebounds at the end of game against the extra possession, the defense on (Kevin Durant), the stop on Book at the end, and defensively, he was locked in.”
There’s more on the Clippers:
- Kawhi Leonard was brilliant in his first playoff game since suffering an ACL injury in the 2021 Western Conference semifinals, Youngmisuk adds. The Clippers have been careful with Leonard, who played just 52 games this season, but he was on the court for 42 minutes Sunday, delivering 38 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter. “That’s what we’ve been saving up for,” Lue said. “This moment here in the playoffs, we have to play heavy minutes, especially with (Paul George) being out, being short-handed, and he was great tonight.”
- A report Sunday indicates that George is likely to miss the entire first round with a sprained right knee, and the players understand that they may have to grind out a few victories without their star teammate, per Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. “We gotta work,” Ivica Zubac said. “Missing PG, it’s big for us, so we know our chances to win this series is be physical, be aggressive, bring a lot of energy.”
- The Suns are investigating an incident between a fan and Westbrook when he took a shortcut to the locker room through a club lounge area at halftime, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The team issued a statement that read, “We are aware of the incident that happened tonight and are conducting a review.”
Atlantic Notes: Toppin, Harris, Embiid, Mazzulla
Obi Toppin returned to the bench on Saturday with Julius Randle back in the lineup, but he still found a way to make an impact in the Knicks’ Game 1 win over Cleveland, Peter Botte of the New York Post writes. Toppin played 14 minutes and scored nine third-quarter points as New York pulled out a 101-97 win.
“I thought Obi gave us really good minutes,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We got hit with some things (Saturday). Some of the silver lining was the last month, we had different guys out, so those other guys had to step in.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Tobias Harris is often taken for granted but he played in a crucial role in the Sixers’ 121-101 win over Brooklyn on Saturday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Harris fired in 21 points and added four rebounds and four assists. “For me, it’s just staying in the moment and being aggressive with all opportunities that come my way,” Harris said. He’ll enter free agency after next season.
- After posting 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game during the regular season, Sixers star center Joel Embiid has set the bar high for the remainder of his career. Embiid still believes he can get better, as he told Pompey. “Obviously, next year, if I gotta get better again, that’s probably averaging 35, 36 a game,” he said. “The last guy that did it was James [Harden] and that’s hard to do, and that’s impossible. But I still gotta find ways to get better. There’s so many ways I can get better. But yeah, so far, it is my best season, offensively, defensively, and as far as everything, growing as a person and as a basketball player.”
- Joe Mazzulla won his first playoff game as a head coach when the Celtics defeated Atlanta on Saturday. Mazzulla knows that best-of-seven series are a grind and he’ll have to be quick to make adjustments, Jared Weiss of The Athletic writes. “I’m excited because of what a series brings about, the mental toll, the emotional toll, the opportunity for adjustments, the opportunity for doing different things,” Mazzulla said “I’ve seen what it represents, I’ve seen the tug of war.”
Warriors Notes: Wiggins, Poise, Looney, Curry, Poole
It wasn’t ideal that Andrew Wiggins ended up with the ball with the game on the line on Saturday, considering he hadn’t played in over two months. However, the Warriors do feel whole again with Wiggins’ return after a lengthy personal absence, Wiggins finished with 17 points and four blocks in 28 minutes in the Game 1 loss to Sacramento, Kendra Andrews of ESPN notes.
“He’s a big part of everything we do,” guard Stephen Curry said. “When you go into a season, you want to be as fully healthy as possible because that’s the way all the pieces are meant to fit. We haven’t had it for a very long time and we tried to hold down the fort. Now we have that look back.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t mind seeing Wiggins get a corner shot with his team down one in the waning seconds. “Take that shot all day long. Left corner 3, that’s his spot,” Kerr said.
We have more on the defending champions:
- The Kings showed grit and poise down the stretch despite their lack of playoff experience, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. Sacramento guards De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk outdueled the Warriors’ Splash Brothers in the second half. “They made plays down the stretch,” forward Draymond Green said. “They got to the free throw line. And we missed a couple shots that we’ll make.”
- Big man Kevon Looney played 32 minutes, made both of his field goal attempts, pulled down nine rebounds and added two assists, a block and a steal. He re-upped with the Warriors on a three-year, $22MM deal last offseason and Marcus Thompson of The Athletic details how Looney has become an invaluable member of the team.
- The Warriors have now lost the first road game in a series 11 times under Kerr but they won Game 2 eight of the previous 10 times. That gives the Warriors plenty of reason for optimism, since they’re familiar with making adjustments, Thompson writes. “For the most part, I liked the way that we played,” Curry said. “And if we can do that again — just with that level of execution, shore up some of our defensive kind of rotations and looks to try to slow those guys down. I know we can shoot the ball better and rebound the ball better. So if we can do those things, I like where we’re at … we’ve got to win one in this building at least, so, why not Game 2?”
- Jordan Poole is listed as questionable for Monday’s game after rolling his left ankle on Saturday.
Tyler Herro Breaks Hand; Giannis Injures Back
8:10pm: Herro broke the middle and ring finger on his shooting hand and is expected to be out appropriately four-to-six weeks, Chris Haynes of TNT tweets.
7:39pm: X-rays on Antetokounmpo’s back came back “clear,” according to Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer, Jamal Collier of ESPN tweets. “We’ll monitor him and see how he wakes up tomorrow,” Budenholzer said.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed Herro will miss the remainder of the playoffs, Darnell Mayberry of ESPN tweets.
6:38pm: Heat guard Tyler Herro suffered a broken right hand in Game 1 of the Heat‘s series against the Bucks, Marc Spears of ESPN tweets. Herro’s injury occurred late in the first half while diving for a loose ball.
Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo left Sunday’s game earlier in the half due to a lower back contusion, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Antetokounmpo suffered his injury when he crashed into Miami forward Kevin Love while driving to the basket.
Herro’s injury most likely is a season-ender, no matter how far the Heat might advance. Herro averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists during the regular season. He’s a 38.3 percent career 3-point shooter.
In 40 career playoff games, he has averaged 14.0 points. Caleb Martin and Duncan Robinson figure to play more prominent roles in his absence.
Herro’s four-year, $120MM contract extension kicks in next season. Herro scored 12 points prior to the injury.
Antetokounmpo’s injury could be an even bigger development, depending on his ability to return for the remainder of the series. He had six points in 11 minutes before he was declared out for the game.
Southeast Notes: Strus, Hawks, Davis, Leonsis
Max Strus‘ 31-point explosion, including seven 3-pointers, in the Heat‘s play-in victory over Chicago on Friday came at an opportune time in his career. Strus will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
That fact didn’t escape Heat teammate Jimmy Butler, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. “Honestly speaking, I think Max made himself a lot of money tonight,” Butler said.
The Heat can exceed the cap to re-sign Strus up to his maximum salary because they hold his Bird rights. Comparable shooter Joe Harris signed a four-year, $72MM contract with the Nets in the 2020 offseason, Chiang notes. Strus’ teammate Duncan Robinson received a five-year, $90MM deal in 2021.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hawks were down by 30 at halftime of their 13-point loss to Boston in Game 1. They’ll have to improve greatly to make it a series but coach Quin Snyder was encouraged by his team’s second-half effort. “The mental toughness to win a series in this league is significant,” Snyder said, per Jeff Schultz of The Athletic. “We have to demonstrate that, and I think we did.”
- Wizards guard Johnny Davis didn’t resemble a lottery pick most of his rookie season and spent a good portion of it in the G League. However, there were some encouraging signs after the All-Star break, Ava Wallace of the Washington Post notes. In the 13 NBA games Davis played before the All-Star break, he averaged 1.2 points in 4.7 minutes. In the 15 games he played after the break, he averaged 9.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 24.1 minutes. “Definitely a lot of ups and downs,” Davis said.
- Wizards owner Ted Leonsis needs to turn up the heat on front executives, the coaching staff and his star players, David Aldridge of The Athletic opines. Leonsis must hold everyone accountable as the franchise continues to wallow in mediocrity. GM Tommy Sheppard and coach Wes Unseld Jr. need to produce results next season or else lose their jobs, Aldridge adds.
Ja Morant Suffers Hand Injury, Game 2 Status Questionable
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant suffered an injury to his right hand and wrist midway through the fourth quarter of Game 1 against the Lakers on Sunday (ESPN video link).
X-rays were negative but “he’s in some pain,” coach Taylor Jenkins told Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link) and other media members afterward. The medical staff is still evaluating his hand and wrist. Morant already had a nagging injury to the hand before he crashed into Anthony Davis and was called for charging.
Morant said he re-injured his hand, not his wrist, on the play. Asked if there’s a chance he won’t be able to play in Game 2, Morant responded “yes,” Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian tweets. Game 2 is scheduled to be played on Wednesday in Memphis.
If Morant needs to miss any games, it would obviously be a huge blow to the Grizzlies’ chances to advancing. The seventh-seeded Lakers took complete command after Morant departed to the locker room and collected a 128-112 victory. No. 2 seed Memphis is already playing without starting center Steven Adams, who is expected to miss the entire postseason due to a knee injury.
Morant had a rough outing prior to the injury. He scored 18 points in 30 minutes but only had two assists, compared to six turnovers.
Clippers’ Paul George Likely To Miss Entire First Round
Clippers All-Star Paul George is now expected to miss Los Angeles’ entire first-round playoff matchup against the Suns, sources inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
This news isn’t completely unexpected. Even in late March, soon after George initially sprained his right knee during a regular season game against the Thunder, word trickled out that the Clippers anticipated they might need to advance beyond the first round to give the star forward a chance to return.
Rumors continued to persist earlier this week suggesting that George could sit out the Phoenix series as he continues to rehabilitate the knee.
Across his 56 healthy contests this season, the 32-year-old posted typically stellar numbers, averaging 23.8 PPG on .457/.371/.871 shooting splits, along with 6.1 RPG, 5.1 APG, and 1.5 SPG.
Without one of their two best players, the Clippers will have their work cut out for them against a healthy Suns club that could be much better than its 45-37 record suggests.
Phoenix has gone 8-0 in its games when newly-added All-Star small forward Kevin Durant has been available, and will start an intimidating lineup featuring Durant and fellow All-Star Devin Booker, along with future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul and maximum-salaried center Deandre Ayton. Josh Okogie rounds out the Suns’ healthy first five.
LA will hope that its remaining star forward, Kawhi Leonard, can help hold the line against Phoenix. The first game of the series tips off tonight.
Cavaliers Notes: Mitchell, Allen, Mobley, Playoff Test, Green
The stink of last year’s 4-2 first-round postseason Jazz loss to the Mavericks lingers with All-Star Cavaliers shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
Now, Mitchell is looking to prove himself anew with Cleveland during its first-round matchup against the Knicks. The 6’1″ swingman spent his boyhood as a Knicks fan in Elmsford, New York.
“I’ve felt that way the whole year. That’s just been kind of my M.O. throughout my career — trying to prove my caliber of play,” Mitchell said ahead of the two teams’ first playoff meeting this weekend.
“I know who I am and these guys know who I am and what I’m capable of and I just go out there and be leader,” Mitchell continued. “This is a team game and we’re not going to win if I just tried to shoot every single time. Got to do this as a group collectively. That’s what got us to this point. Just continue to do that.”
There’s more out of Cleveland:
- The Rockets played an outsized role in helping build the Cavaliers’ current starting frontcourt of center Jarrett Allen and power forward Evan Mobley, as Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports details. When trying to accommodate star guard James Harden‘s 2021 trade demand, Houston preferred to acquire a first-round pick instead of Allen, who was slipped to the Cavs. In that summer’s draft, the Rockets selected Jalen Green with the No. 2 pick, clearing the way for Cleveland to grab Mobley with the third pick.
- In their first game hosting the fifth-seeded Knicks Saturday, the Cavaliers couldn’t close out New York and fell 101-97 at home. Fedor writes in a separate piece that Cleveland failed to effectively respond to a late Knicks rally, and that New York’s advantages in offensive rebounding and second-chance points helped put the Knicks in the driver’s seat.
- The Cavaliers need to explore whether veteran marksman Danny Green can still contribute some of his signature playoff shot-making, opines Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. The three-time champ may not be the same defender he was in his prime, but the 36-year-old can still help Cleveland in one very critical area: corner triples. Cavs swingmen Isaac Okoro and Caris LeVert, ahead of Green in the team’s rotation, combined to go a lackluster 0-of-7 from deep.
2023 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker
With another regular season in the books, multiple teams around the NBA are making head coaching changes in advance of the 2023/24 campaign.
In the space below, we’ll provide regular updates on the head coaching searches for each club that has yet to give anyone the permanent title. Some of these searches could extend well into the offseason, so be sure to check back often for the latest updates.
You’ll be able to access this page anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site, or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu.
Updated 6-10-23 (7:49pm CT)
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Detroit Pistons
- New coach:
- Monty Williams (story)
- Previous coach:
- Dwane Casey (transitioning to front office)
- Other finalists:
- Also interviewed/considered:
- Other rumored candidates/targets:
- Bulls assistant Josh Longstaff (story)
- Former Celtics coach Ime Udoka (hired by Rockets)
The Pistons went just 121-263 (.315) in five years with Casey at the helm, but his transition to a front office role was framed as his decision rather than the team’s. Casey, 66 in April, may prefer a less hands-on position as he nears retirement age.
Following Casey’s move to an executive role, the Pistons reportedly narrowed their coaching search to Ollie, Collins, and Lee, then didn’t make a decision for weeks. During that time, Williams was let go by the Suns and it became clear that he immediately moved to the top of Detroit’s wish list, supplanting the other three finalists.
Williams rebuffed the Pistons’ initial advances, indicating that he planned to take a year off, but he ultimately relented and agreed to a record-setting six-year, $78.5MM contract to become the Pistons’ new head coach.
After Casey guided the Pistons through the most challenging years of their rebuild, Williams will be tasked with turning the roster from a collection of promising young pieces into a team capable of making it back to the postseason.
Houston Rockets
- New coach:
- Ime Udoka (story)
- Previous coach:
- Stephen Silas (team option declined)
- Also interviewed/considered:
- Other rumored candidates/targets:
Silas signed up to coach a team led by veteran stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook, but both players were gone 10 games into his first season in Houston. The first-time head coach ended up presiding over a full-scale rebuild — no NBA team posted a worse record during Silas’ three years with the franchise than the Rockets’ 59-177 mark.
After some reports indicated that Houston would be seeking a more experienced candidate this time around, the Rockets seriously considered veteran head coaches like Vogel and Borrego before landing on Udoka, who led the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first and only season as an NBA head coach in 2021/22.
Udoka’s tenure with Boston ended abruptly after he engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate within the organization. The Rockets presumably did their due diligence on that incident and determined they were comfortable with hiring Udoka, whose on-court résumé is strong. He reportedly signed a four-year, $28.5MM contract and will be tasked with turning a raw Rockets team made up of promising young pieces into a more coherent whole capable of making the playoffs.
Milwaukee Bucks
- New coach:
- Adrian Griffin (story)
- Previous coach:
- Mike Budenholzer (dismissed)
- Other finalists:
- Also interviewed/considered:
- Former Hornets coach James Borrego (story)
- Bucks assistant Charles Lee (story)
- Trail Blazers assistant Scott Brooks (story)
- Former Warriors coach Mark Jackson (story)
- Heat assistant Chris Quinn (story)
- Suns assistant Kevin Young (story)
- University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson (story)
- Wizards assistant Joseph Blair (story)
- Paris Basketball coach Will Weaver (story)
- Former Lakers coach Frank Vogel (story)
- Other rumored candidates/targets:
The NBA is a “what have you done for me lately?” sort of league, so the fact that Budenholzer led the Bucks to a title in 2021 and to the NBA’s best regular season record in 2022/23 was essentially negated by the team’s embarrassing first-round playoff exit this spring. As a result, Milwaukee opted to move on from the veteran head coach, who still had two years left on his contract.
Following an extensive search, the Bucks narrowed their options to three finalists: Griffin, Atkinson, and Nurse. Two of those candidates had prior head coaching experience, but Milwaukee opted to hire the one that didn’t, landing on Griffin, a veteran assistant who has worked for five teams over the last 15 years. He’s reportedly receiving a multiyear deal worth about $4MM annually.
This Bucks roster, headed by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, still looks capable of contending for championships. The organization – including Antetokounmpo, who gave Griffin his endorsement – is rolling the dice on a first-time NBA head coach helping the team once again reach those heights.
Philadelphia 76ers
- New coach:
- Nick Nurse (story)
- Previous coach:
- Doc Rivers (dismissed)
- Doc Rivers (dismissed)
- Also interviewed/considered:
- Former Lakers coach Frank Vogel (story)
- Other rumored candidates/targets:
The Sixers posted an impressive 154-82 (.653) regular season record during Rivers’ three years in Philadelphia, but the team’s inability to make a deep playoff run reflected poorly on the veteran coach, who had similar issues in Los Angeles with the Clippers. The 76ers were eliminated in the second round in three consecutive years, losing home games to end their season in 2021 and 2022 and then getting blown out in a Game 7 in 2023.
With Joel Embiid locked up for years to come, the Sixers have a franchise player to build around, but they could make some significant changes around Embiid this offseason, with James Harden a candidate to depart in free agency and Tobias Harris likely to end up back on the trade block.
Nurse, who led the division-rival Raptors to a championship in his first year as head coach in 2018/19, will be tasked with getting Embiid to the conference finals (at least) for the first time in his career. Nurse was reportedly a finalist for the head coaching jobs in Milwaukee and Phoenix before agreeing to join the Sixers.
Phoenix Suns
- New coach:
- Frank Vogel (story)
- Previous coach:
- Monty Williams (dismissed)
- Monty Williams (dismissed)
- Other finalists:
- Former Sixers coach Doc Rivers (story)
- Suns assistant Kevin Young (story)
- Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez (story)
- Former Raptors coach Nick Nurse (hired by Sixers)
- Also interviewed/considered:
- Other rumored candidates/targets:
- Clippers coach Tyronn Lue (story)
Williams helped reshape the culture in Phoenix over the last several seasons, leading the Suns to the NBA Finals in 2021 and earning Coach of the Year honors in 2022. However, after suffering embarrassing blowout home losses to end their playoff runs in both 2022 and 2023, the Suns decided to make a change.
Phoenix initially narrowed its search to five finalists before choosing Vogel, who has won a title and will be coaching his fourth NBA team. Given his experience and his résumé, Vogel should command the respect of veteran stars like Kevin Durant and Devin Booker as he tries to get the team over the hump in 2023/24 and beyond.
Vogel’s deal with the Suns will reportedly be worth $31MM over five years.
Toronto Raptors
- New coach:
- Darko Rajakovic (story)
- Previous coach:
- Nick Nurse (dismissed)
- Other finalists:
- Also interviewed/considered:
- Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez (story)
- Suns assistant Kevin Young (story)
- Spurs assistant Mitch Johnson (story)
- Heat assistant Chris Quinn (story)
- Nuggets assistant David Adelman (story)
- ESPN analyst JJ Redick (story)
- Former Nets coach Steve Nash (story)
- Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin (hired by Bucks)
- Other rumored candidates/targets:
- Barcelona coach Sarunas Jasikevicius (story)
- Suns assistant Patrick Mutombo (story)
- Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse (story)
- Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon (story)
- Former Suns coach Monty Williams (hired by Pistons)
- Former Celtics coach Ime Udoka (hired by Rockets)
Head coach Nick Nurse told reporters on March 31 that he would take some time after the season to evaluate his future. The Raptors took the same approach and eventually announced nine days after their season ended that they were relieving Nurse of his duties.
Toronto exercised extreme patience with its head coaching search and was the last team to make a decision this spring — word of Nurse’s dismissal broke on April 21, while Rajakovic was reported as the team’s choice of replacement on June 10, over a month-and-a-half later.
Nurse won a championship and a Coach of the Year award in separate seasons during his five-year stint as the Raptors’ head coach, so Rajakovic has big shoes to fill as a first-time NBA head coach. His résumé includes head coaching stints in Europe and in the G League, along with a decade as an NBA assistant, so he certainly seems qualified for his new role.