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Precious Achiuwa's Toronto Raptors have fired Nick Nurse, Ime Udoka favorite to be the replacement.
The Toronto Raptors have parted company with their head coach, meaning Nick Nurse is gone ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Nurse served as a Raptors assistant under Dwane Casey starting in 2013, was elevated to take over as Casey's replacement in 2018, and has served in that capacity for the past five seasons.
His NBA head coaching career got off to a quick start as he guided Toronto to its first-ever title in 2019 before winning Coach of the Year accolades the following year.
Nurse's Raptors, on the other hand, have seen ups and downs since 2020, winning just 27 games while playing their home games in Tampa in 2020–21, followed by a dismal.500 regular season record in '22–23, which led to their elimination in their first play-in game.
Toronto had a 48-game winning season in 21/22 but lost in the opening round of the playoffs. As the head coach of the Raptors, Nurse had a combined regular season record of 227-163 (.582) and a playoff record of 25-16 (.610).
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Even though Nurse was a skilled tactician and was eager to try out fresh ideas and approaches, certain crucial connections with players, coaches, and management deteriorated throughout the 2022–2023 season.
When speculations regarding his future started circulating in March, Nurse addressed them directly and gave no guarantees about his long-term commitment to Toronto, instead telling reporters that he would consider his options after the current campaign.
The Raptors had one more year left on Nurse's contract, but it was thought that even if they wanted to keep him, he wouldn't be happy to stay without an extension.
After the team's season ended last week, he and the president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri met several times to talk about potential directions moving ahead. The team was likely made aware during those meetings that separation was in its best interest.
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Precious Achiuwa without a coach
The dismissal of Nurse means that Nigerian professional basketball player Precious Achiuwa is now without a coach.
Achiuwa played an integral role with the Raptors this season as they finished in ninth place during the regular season.
Achiuwa was part of the Raptors squad that lost to the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament.
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Ime Udoka to replace Nick Nurse
Ime Udoka, a former coach of the Celtics, is anticipated to be given serious thought by the Raptors as Nurse's replacement.
Udoka guided Boston to the NBA Finals in his first season in charge in 2021–2022, but he was later fired after being accused of having a sexual relationship with a team player.
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