Earlier today it was announced that the Toronto Raptors will be parting ways with head coach Nick Nurse after five seasons. After winning the NBA championship in 2019, the Raptors have struggled to contend in the Eastern Conference, completely missing the playoffs this year after losing to the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament. With All-Star level talent in Pascal Siakam and Fred Van Vleet, as well as solid role players OG Anunoby and Jakob Poeltl, the Raptors miserably failed to meet expectations this season. The firing of Nick Nurse doesn’t come as that gigantic of a surprise, but his potential successor could stir up some controversy around the league:
Former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, who was fired for having an intimate relationship with a coworker over this past offseason, looks to be a top candidate for the vacant job in Toronto. With his immediate success in Boston, it makes sense that Udoka would be highly sought after, regardless of his uncontrollable horniness. Both Udoka and Nurse are also candidates for the Rockets vacant head coaching position, but the Toronto position would likely be more desirable for Udoka in comparison to the dumpster fire in Houston. Although the Rockets have a high likelihood of landing stud-prospect Victor Wembanyama in the upcoming NBA draft, Houston is still a very young team that has a lot of work to do before reaching a competitive level in the West.
This announcement is just the beginning of what we all should expect to be a wild NBA off-season. With the expiring contracts of stars like Kyrie Irving and Khris Middleton, I’m certain that a majority of teams will be looking to shake things up going into next year. For the Raptors, let’s just hope that Udoka can keep it in his pants if he ends up in Toronto.
