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Nurse gets a short at interim head coach giving an evaluation period for Masai as to his head coaching abilities and suitability. Meanwhile Kevin Ollie's buyout goes down to just $1M from current $4M at UCONN. KD is a pipe dream, no question, but there is enough smoke that I believe Masai will definitely pursue it. It is a bonus that Ollie seems to be a competent coach in addition to his relationship with Durant.
**should be noted that Nurse wasn't actually a Masai guy. Yes he was hired when Masai came on board but Casey had spent time with him interviewing and picking his brain about the horns offense. Colangelo got fired, Nurse didn't think a move to NBA would happen as Casey was unlikely to be retained by new GM, but lo and behold, Casey was retained and Nurse was brought in after all. I can't find story I read on these details. You'll have to take me at my word - lol.
League sources say the Raptors have already conducted initial interviews with assistant coach hopefuls Nick Nurse of the Rio Grande Vipers of the D League, former Raptor and current Brooklyn assistant Popeye Jones and ex-NBAer Tyronn Lue. Whether those three have to be re-interviewed once Ujiri is on the job full-time remains to be seen but the future of the current staff is cloudier than it’s ever been. None have contracts guaranteed past the end of June and it’s expected none will be in town this week when some players come back for workout sessions with members of the team’s training staff.
The emergence of those names as possible replacements to a staff including Johnny Davis, Scott Roth, Tom Sterner and Micah Nori is not news, the fact they’ve already spoken to members of the Raptors front office would suggest significant change to Dwane Casey’s staff is at hand. Team sources said weeks ago that seeking permission to interview potential new assistant coaches was simply a due diligence process; the desire now for change with a new general manager in place has been hastened.
Casey, according to league sources, has already spoken at length with Ujiri and Leiweke and would seem safe from any purge. He has a year left on his contract.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/raptor...ing_house.html
The emergence of those names as possible replacements to a staff including Johnny Davis, Scott Roth, Tom Sterner and Micah Nori is not news, the fact they’ve already spoken to members of the Raptors front office would suggest significant change to Dwane Casey’s staff is at hand. Team sources said weeks ago that seeking permission to interview potential new assistant coaches was simply a due diligence process; the desire now for change with a new general manager in place has been hastened.
Casey, according to league sources, has already spoken at length with Ujiri and Leiweke and would seem safe from any purge. He has a year left on his contract.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/raptor...ing_house.html
Great read on Nurse, very long, detailed article on him and his journey to NBA assistant coach:
In 2007, the NBA Development League (still in its early stages) awarded an expansion franchise to Des Moines. Given a chance to coach closer to home while simultaneously taking a step closer to the NBA, Nurse accepted an offer to coach the Iowa Energy.
Having coached at many different levels, Nurse says now that the D-League is the most challenging. The main reason is the unprecedented roster turnover that happens during the course of a season, as players are shuffled out of the league via NBA call ups, or decisions to take overseas offers or retire from the game entirely. “The nice way of putting it is that it’s a transitionary league,” Nurse explains. “It’s unbelievable training for rebuilding chemistry during a season. [In any other league], a coach will get a team, and once the chemistry is right, it stays that way. In the D-League, you’re rebuilding that 10 to 15 times within a single season.”
Nurse wasn’t just learning on the court and the sidelines. The D-League allows players to participate in continuing education courses through its player development program. Nurse became the first coach to take advantage of that opportunity. During his time in Iowa, he enrolled in online courses on Interpersonal Communication and Conflict Management offered by Michigan State University, which he said helped him improve his communication skills with both players and referees.
By the summer of 2013, Nurse had accomplished all that he could as a coach outside of the NBA. In his six seasons in the D-League—with the Energy and, later, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers—Nurse finished with a 192-123 record (.610) and became the first head coach in D-League history to lead two different teams to the championship. He’d also worked as an assistant for the British National Team and at NBA Summer League. He finally received the call from the NBA in July 2013, when the Raptors hired him to join Casey’s coaching staff for the 2013-14 season.
http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/n...ors-assistant/
Having coached at many different levels, Nurse says now that the D-League is the most challenging. The main reason is the unprecedented roster turnover that happens during the course of a season, as players are shuffled out of the league via NBA call ups, or decisions to take overseas offers or retire from the game entirely. “The nice way of putting it is that it’s a transitionary league,” Nurse explains. “It’s unbelievable training for rebuilding chemistry during a season. [In any other league], a coach will get a team, and once the chemistry is right, it stays that way. In the D-League, you’re rebuilding that 10 to 15 times within a single season.”
Nurse wasn’t just learning on the court and the sidelines. The D-League allows players to participate in continuing education courses through its player development program. Nurse became the first coach to take advantage of that opportunity. During his time in Iowa, he enrolled in online courses on Interpersonal Communication and Conflict Management offered by Michigan State University, which he said helped him improve his communication skills with both players and referees.
By the summer of 2013, Nurse had accomplished all that he could as a coach outside of the NBA. In his six seasons in the D-League—with the Energy and, later, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers—Nurse finished with a 192-123 record (.610) and became the first head coach in D-League history to lead two different teams to the championship. He’d also worked as an assistant for the British National Team and at NBA Summer League. He finally received the call from the NBA in July 2013, when the Raptors hired him to join Casey’s coaching staff for the 2013-14 season.
http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/n...ors-assistant/
Sunny ways my friends, sunny ways
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