"Hope it makes both teams worse": Nick Nurse jokingly reacts to former team Toronto Raptors trading OG Anunoby to Knicks
Former Toronto coach Nick Nurse had a funny take on the recent deal between the Raptors and the New York Knicks that involved 3-and-D player OG Anunoby.
The seven-year NBA veteran out of Indiana was dealt to the Knicks along with Malachi Flynn and Precious Achiuwa in exchange for a package that included RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickly, and the Knicks’ second-round pick in 2024.
Asked for his reaction to the deal, Nick Nurse, who is now the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, jokingly said (via Toronto sports analyst Blake Murphy):
"I hope it makes both teams worse"
It bears noting, however, that despite what he said being meant as a joke, it has significance since Nurse’s Sixers battle the Knicks and Raptors in the Atlantic Division of the NBA, along with the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets.
Nick Nurse is in his first year of coaching in Philadelphia after spending five years as the head coach of the Raptors, who he led to the NBA title in his first year in the 2018-19 season.
In his final year up north last season, he steered Toronto to a 41-41 record, but they missed the playoffs.
Now with the Sixers, the former NBA coach of the year (2020) is off to a solid start with a 22-9 record, good for third place in the Eastern Conference.
They were battling the Chicago Bulls on the road on Saturday and were looking to win their third straight game.
Nick Nurse grateful for time coaching the Raptors
Nick Nurse’s coaching tenure in Toronto started on a very high note, winning the NBA title in his first year in 2019. It, however, came to an end very differently, as he was sacked by the team at the end of last season after failing to lead the team to the playoffs.
But despite the way things ended for him with the Raptors, the 56-year-old champion coach is grateful for the time he spent coaching the team, saying it enriched him both as a coach and individual as well as his family.
In a farewell message he penned on Instagram, Nurse expressed his gratitude to the Raptors organization and the Toronto community, writing:
“Thank you. My family and I are forever grateful for the love and support you have shown us. Thank you to the City of Toronto, MLSE, Larry Tanenbaum and the board and the entire Raptors organization. We mill miss the people, the city, the country we’ve called home for the past 10 years…”
Nurse started with the Raptors as an assistant in 2013 before being elevated as head coach in 2018 to replace Dwane Casey. He immediately made a great impression at the helm, steering the team to a 58-24 record and culminating in them winning the NBA title in 2019.