Nurse, who was promoted from assistant coach in 2018 after the Raptors fired NBA Coach of the Year Dwane Casey, lasted less than two full seasons at the helm. In recent weeks it became apparent the gap between the Raptors and other top teams in the East was growing and the front office determined it was time to make a move.
With their star backcourt of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry past their prime and the roster mostly devoid of promising young talent, sources indicate the franchise is looking to blow up the team and begin what will likely be a long rebuild.
Nurse was thrust into his first head coaching job with sky-high expectations, as Casey had just been fired after winning 59 regular season games.
Some saw Nurse as a sitting duck from the start, a somewhat unknown who could come across as a brilliant hire if he was able to do what Casey could not and reach the NBA Finals -- or, more likely, the sacrificial goat when things finally fell apart. It's rumored Toronto hired Nurse, and shunned more expensive names who would have made a bigger splash, because of the high likelihood a rebuild was around the corner.
Despite letting Casey go, the Raptors did little else in the 2018 offseason to shake up a team that seemed to have maxed out its performance, as the regular season success caused hesitation when it came to making immediate and drastic personnel changes. They were also hamstrung by large contracts and a lack of feasible trade options.
With their star backcourt of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry past their prime and the roster mostly devoid of promising young talent, sources indicate the franchise is looking to blow up the team and begin what will likely be a long rebuild.
Nurse was thrust into his first head coaching job with sky-high expectations, as Casey had just been fired after winning 59 regular season games.
Some saw Nurse as a sitting duck from the start, a somewhat unknown who could come across as a brilliant hire if he was able to do what Casey could not and reach the NBA Finals -- or, more likely, the sacrificial goat when things finally fell apart. It's rumored Toronto hired Nurse, and shunned more expensive names who would have made a bigger splash, because of the high likelihood a rebuild was around the corner.
Despite letting Casey go, the Raptors did little else in the 2018 offseason to shake up a team that seemed to have maxed out its performance, as the regular season success caused hesitation when it came to making immediate and drastic personnel changes. They were also hamstrung by large contracts and a lack of feasible trade options.
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