Raptors Look For A New Head Coach
The drama surrounding Raptors head coach Jay Triano for the past three seasons has finally ended, as the team announced on Wednesday afternoon that they were not picking up the option on his contract.
“This was a difficult decision to make,” said Toronto Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo. “But after almost three full seasons of observation and evaluation I believe that bringing in a new voice as head coach will accelerate the progress we are looking to make in the coming years.”
With the NBA draft only three weeks away, Colangelo acknowledged that the search for a new head coach is not the team’s first priority.
“In a perfect world, I would have a coach in place for the draft,” said Colangelo. “But we don’t live in a perfect world and it may take some time to get this done. There is a timeline with respect to the draft and that takes priority.”
Triano has been with the organization since the 2002-03 season and was the first Canadian born and Canadian trained coach in the NBA and will remain as a consultant and special assistant to Colangelo.
Aside from the team’s obvious issues, Coach Triano was well liked by his young players, the media, and even the fans. There never were loud and persistent “fire Triano” jeers at the Air Canada Center like had happened to the prior Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell.
“I am very pleased that Jay has agreed to stay on and help see through the plan that we have designed and initiated together,” said Colangelo.
“I have great respect for Jay Triano both as a person and as a basketball mind. Jay deserves tremendous credit for developing our young players this past season and our most recent win-loss record does not appropriately reflect his many positive contributions to this organization.”
{AUTHOR_BOX}Firing your head coach doesn’t usually happen so amicably but in this case all parties seem willing to continue working together.
“I am grateful to the organization for the opportunity to (have been) a head coach in the NBA,” said Triano. “I look forward in assisting Bryan to deliver a championship team to Toronto.”
While Colangelo insists that this decision was not based on Triano’s win-loss record, that record was not very good at 87-142, plus the late season collapse in 2009-10 that saw the Raptors miss the playoffs by a single game still stings. . Lineup changes, unhappy players, and injuries all contributed to Triano’s record, but it was his inability to improve the team’s defense during his tenure was likely the major influence in coming to this decision.
Colangelo has given no real indications of what he wants in his next head coach, but despite his insistence that NBA playing experience will not be a significant factor, the apparent inability of Triano to get the most out of veteran players like Jermaine O’Neal, Shawn Marion, and Hedo Turkoglu suggests someone who is more seasoned and already well respected in the league should be his replacement.
There is no apparent rush to fill the void left by Triano. Colangelo insists that the team is operating based on business as usual with an ultimate goal of having a new head coach in place before the start of next season.
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