Raptors hire new head coach, Nurse
Toronto promotes assistant to replace Casey, who lands in Detroit as Pistons’ coach
TORONTO — A dozen years ago, Nick Nurse walked into Jerry Crawford’s office and pitched his longtime friend an idea.
“He said ‘Have you heard about this D League?”’ Crawford recalled of that momentous meeting. “I said ‘Yes.’ He said ‘I think we should do it here in Des Moines.’ and I said ‘I think you’re right.’”
The 50-year-old Nurse has agreed to become the next coach of the Toronto Raptors, the culmination of a circuitous coaching journey that enjoyed a pivotal moment in Des Moines. Crawford founded the Iowa Energy (now the Iowa Wolves) in 2007. He, of course, named Nurse his first head coach.
“When people say that folks paid their dues to become head coaches in the NBA, rarely do they pay their dues to the extent that they had to start a team to be able to coach in order to get started on that pathway,” Crawford said. “That’s what Nick did.”
Nurse coached the Energy until 2011, when they won the D League (now G League) title, and the Iowan was named coach of the year.
Crawford first met Nurse when he was the head coach at Grand View College at just 23.
The two kept in touch for almost a decade while Nurse coached in Britain before they collaborated on the Energy franchise. The lawyer was thrilled for his friend Tuesday.
“A lot of us who care about Nick have been on pins and needles for a while, hoping that today would come,” Crawford said.
Nurse’s hiring comes a month after the Raptors fired Dwane Casey after Toronto was swept out of the second round of this year’s playoffs by Cleveland.
The Raptors’ decision also comes one day after Casey was hired by the Detroit Pistons as their new coach.
Raptors president Masai Ujiri had reportedly narrowed his search down to Nurse and San Antonio assistant coach Ettore Messina.
Mike Budenholzer, former head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, was also seen as an early front-runner before being hired by Milwaukee.
Nurse’s promotion suggests some continuity in style coming off a franchise-best 59-win season and the team’s first No. 1 seed.
Nurse has been credited with the Raptors’ major offensive makeover that saw them jump to third in the league offensively overall, and from 22nd to third in three-pointers.
Crawford said Nurse is a coach who relates well to his players, crediting him with an ability to never let a couple of losses turn into a skid.