The Toronto Raptors have hired Nick Nurse as their next head coach, the team announced Thursday.
“Nick is an innovative coach who has a tremendous basketball IQ, and a unique approach to the x’s and o’s. We’ve valued his creativity and dedication as he focused on making our offense one of the best in the NBA, and we believe that he will bring those qualities to his new role as head coach,” team president Masai Ujiri said in a release. “This is an exciting and important season for the Raptors, and I believe Nick’s strong leadership and focus on winning are qualities which will help lead us to our ultimate goal, which is a championship.”
“I’m proud to take on the role of head coach of the Toronto Raptors, and to continue to work with the exceptional players we have here,” Nurse said. “I’m grateful to Masai, Bobby, Larry Tanenbaum and the MLSE ownership for this opportunity. Toronto and the Raptors organization has been my home for the past five years, and I’ve watched this group grow and succeed together. I’m looking forward to more of that this season, and to working towards our shared goal, which is to earn the right to call ourselves NBA Champions.”
The news was first reported by Marc Stein and Adrian Wojnarowski on Tuesday, and the team will make the move official sometime today. We have all the breakdown you need here and here. Wojnarowski reports that it’s a three-year deal worth $10 million total.
Ujiri will introduce Nurse at a press conference at 2:30 at the Air Canada Centre. We’ll have full coverage, as usual. Just wanted to drop this note about the timing and his salary before then.
