Did Raptors fire Nick Nurse? Debunking rumors about Toronto's head coach after tough loss to Bulls
The Toronto Raptors have officially been eliminated from the playoffs after suffering a 109-105 loss to the Chicago Bulls in the 9 vs 10 matchup of the Eastern Conference.
Toronto was considered 5.5-point favorites going into the matchup. The team once led by as many as 19 points. They were outscored 37-24 in the fourth quarter and were sent packing in front of their home crowd in frustrating fashion.
Twitter was quick to react to the matchup. This is just the second time since 2014 that the Raptors will not make the playoffs. They have failed to live up to expectations, and many fingers have been pointed at head coach Nick Nurse because of this. A number of accounts also floated out reports of him being fired by the organization following the loss.
BREAKING: The Toronto Raptors have fired head coach Nick Nurse, per league sources. https://t.co/zmeOaoGBDR
There have been some concerning reports about the relationship between Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors even before the disappointing play-in result. Nurse's name has been mentioned in connection to the Houston Rockets, who recently fired Stephen Silas. The Raptors' head coach also mentioned earlier this year that he isn't exactly sure what the future holds.
Nick Nurse says he's going to take some time to figure out his future following this season. 😬 https://t.co/60cFqrEWYv
However, for the time being, he remains employed by the Raptors. Less than 24 hours have passed since the play-in result, so this could be a decision that is drawn out over the next few weeks.
What's next for the Raptors?
Toronto has taken a notable step back and is at an interesting crossroads as a franchise. After winning a championship in 2019 with Kawhi Leonard on the roster, the Raptors retooled with a focus on constructing a roster around versatile and lengthy players. They embraced positionless basketball and looked to be trending in the right direction.
After going 48-34 last season and earning the sixth seed in the playoffs, they finished this year 41-41 and were unable to come out of the play-in tournament.
Pascal Siakam is also entering the final year of his contract next season and is in search of a major payday. Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. each have player options for next season, and Jakob Poeltl is a free agent this offseason.
Nick Nurse does not deserve all the blame for Toronto's failure to take the next step, but head coaches are often the first fall guy to be assigned responsibility. If Nurse's heart is not in it and if he is already being looked at by other franchises, there are plenty of signs that he will not be back next year.
For the time being, Nurse remains the Raptors' head coach, but this will be something to watch moving forward.